Postponed for the future: Frequently Asked Questions about freezing eggs

Even if there is in us and that very maternal instinct, can always be enough of a reason to not have a child here and now. You need to get up on its feet, to be realized in relation to career and personal, travel around the world, and it will all be much more difficult with the advent of the child.

Statistics are not on our side: when you reach the age of 30 the likelihood of conception, pregnancy and light gradually decreases, causing the girls there is a fully justified fear that having a child will not have had. Fortunately, technology is not standing still, and now you can try the cryopreservation (freezing) the egg in order to maintain their own fertility.

Who is doing and why?

Freezing eggs for a number of reasons it may be useful for women who want to have biological children, but not at a given time. They lay their time having children to pursue a career or education. Who is the age at which women have their first child in the developed world is greatly increased in Russia is 25 years old.

More and more in the society it is normal to begin to get a good education and marry before having children.

Even this method is recommended to apply in the case of the diagnosis "cancer" that after heavy chemotherapy to be able to conceive a healthy child. Conventional treatments 90% lead to infertility or other problems that prevent nurturing.

Also, there is another important reason why the doctor may refer to this procedure - early menopause, which is genetically passed down from generation to generation. According to the girls already have practiced this procedure, they have significantly reduced the fear that they will be difficult to find a suitable partner who could speak the father of their children, as well as the confidence that they realize their ambitions before they become mothers.

When should you think about it?

Not all women can become pregnant for health reasons or have children without prior treatment. From this they can think about how much time they have left on it to resolve this issue. It is best to spend as much as cryopreservation reproductive years - from 20 to 30 years. In order to assess their level of fertility at the moment, you can pass the basic tests for hormones, assessing ovarian reserve - egg quantity allocated. So you can see the complete picture of your health and decide whether it is really necessary.

Companies that carry out similar procedures usually provide services of a psychologist, as well as help to make the schedule plan and procedures. The whole process takes about two menstrual cycles.

How does the freezing of eggs?

Ovum - the largest cell in the human body, which consists mostly of water. In conventional freezing of ice crystals are formed, which can destroy it. But with the advent of new technologies, scientists have learned out of the cell water, replacing it with a kind of antifreeze that prevents the formation of ice. Since the shell is hardened by freezing, then the sperm will enter a special needle - this technology is called intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Then injected fertilized egg back into the patient's uterus.

How is the procedure?

To remove the egg freezing, the patient must undergo a special course of hormones, the same as in vitro fertilization. The only difference between this procedure of IVF - after removing the egg they are frozen for a long time, not fertilized at the same time. After a certain period they are thawed and transferred into the uterus already in the form embryos.

For all of the freezing process takes about three weeks, and training scheme similar to the preparation for IVF. The first two weeks the patient should take the pill to disable the hormones that are produced in the body. Next, the 10 injections for ovarian stimulation to accelerate maturation of multiple oocytes. Once they mature, they should be removed with a special needle through the vagina under ultrasound guidance. This procedure is performed under intravenous sedation, so it is absolutely painless. Then the egg immediately frozen.

How long can you store?

Based on scientific evidence, as well as on the experience of many companies working with frozen eggs, long-term storage of eggs not lead to a reduction in quality. Quite acceptable time frame from a few months to 10 years. Statistics different clinics often closed, but on anonymous data, the average age of the current cell storage - from 1 to 3 years.

How much egg?

Cryopreservation of eggs - a relatively new procedure, the first case of pregnancy with freezing was recorded in 1986, and their first child was born with this technology in 2005 alone in the United States. Based on the research, only 75% of eggs are normal after thawing. If the clinic 10 frozen eggs, it is assumed that only 7 survive and only 5 will become embryos. Typically Reproductology recommend store up to 10 eggs for each attempt conception. A majority of women aged 38 years or younger may rely on the collection of 10-20 eggs per cycle.

Is it safe is it?

Unfortunately, at the moment the amount of information about the health of children born after the use of this technique of freezing eggs is still not sufficient - but the situation is about to change, because more and more women resorted to the procedure.

Now the research results do not show increased frequency of chromosomal defects between embryos obtained from frozen oocytes, compared with embryos derived from fresh oocytes. On the other hand, when the procedure of IVF carried out analyzes that help to evaluate the quality of the embryo before transfer to the uterus and egg do not by freezing.

There is a small risk of a failure of the hormonal system, if the injection will lead to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. This can lead to abdominal pain, nausea and other symptoms, so Reproduction recommend observed by a doctor a year before and after the procedure. In addition, it may be necessary to go to the hospital for up to 2 weeks after the procedure.

As this is from the point of view of religion?

The different denominations to cryopreservation are more loyal than for IVF procedure, during which the embryos may die, recognized in religious movements man with a soul. Some priests, of course, may oppose the procedure, because they see in it predzamenovanie spread of atheism. Others agree that such technology does not mean withdrawal from God. In any case, there is no consensus.

How much is the procedure?

In Russia, the procedure is relatively new - some medical companies provide similar services for only five years, but still has the statistics of successful fertilization.

Price stimulation and egg retrieval is about 150-200 thousand rubles, the same number - for the cryopreservation, and even paid for separately storing each year - about 5000 rubles.

In other countries, the situation may be different. For example, in 2014, Facebook and Apple agreed to pay their female employees egg freezing, paying 20 thousand dollars companies. The so-promising employee will be able to focus on a career, much less risking their health and the health of their children.

It's only in the offices of IVF can undergo the procedure, having the license of the Ministry of Health. Usually they are individual reproductive centers providing a full range of services for the study conception and possibilities of pregnancy.