Egg & Sperm Freezing

What is oocyte cryopreservation?

Human oocyte cryopreservation is a procedure to preserve a woman’s eggs. This technique has been used to enable women to postpone pregnancy to a later date – whether for medical reasons such as cancer treatment or for social reasons such as employment or studying

The cryopreservation of oocytes or eggs is a relatively new technique in reproductive medicine. Cryopreservation of oocytes is more difficult than cryopreservation of embryos.

Why is the cryopreservation of oocytes is more difficult than cryopreservation of embryos?

The oocytes are more fragile because of their stage of meiosis (development). The structures within the oocyte, such as the spindle and the centromeres, are very delicate and, therefore, more susceptible to injury during the freezing process.

Is the cryopreservation of eggs succesfull?

Because of the delicate nature of the chromosomes in eggs, the cryopreservation of eggs is less successful than the cryopreservation of embryos.

For that reason, this procedure is primarily offered to patients undergoing treatment for cancer. It is also offered to some patients who do not have a partner and desire to delay their fertility. Due to recent advances in the promising new technique of vitrification, we anticipate that oocytes will soon be cyropreserved using this method. We expect that this will produce an increase in the chance for survival and pregnancy.

How is the cryopreservation of embryos done?

Embryos that have not been selected for transfer back to the uterus during an IVF cycle are allowed to continue to grow to Day 6 with the hope of the option to freeze. Those embryos that are continuing to divide and meet specific criteria for potential viability on Day 5 or 6 are frozen (cyropreserved) at that time. Cryopreservation of the excess embryos provides an opportunity for achieving pregnancy at another time in the future, thus increasing the number of potential transfers from a single retrieval cycle.

How is the sperm freezing done?

Sperm may be cyropreserved for patients who will be undergoing an IVF procedure or who will have an IUI procedure. The reasons for freezing sperm vary, but usually include one or more of the following situations:

before chemotherapy or radiation treatment for cancer
as a back-up sample in case of anticipated difficulty with the collectionof a semen sample needed for IVF or IUI
as a back-up when a semen sample contains a very low number of motile sperm
when work schedules and travel may interfere with the collection of a semen sample on the day of a planned procedure

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