Do you dream of having a child, but not quite yet?
Social freezing (egg cryopreservation) is a modern way to enable pregnancy with your own eggs later, if the current moment does not feel right to start a family.
Social egg freezing is currently the most effective and advanced way to preserve a woman's fertility for the future. Sperm freezing became routine already in the 1970s, and embryos have also been reliably frozen for several decades. Egg freezing, on the other hand, has been technically more challenging and therefore slower to develop. The egg is the largest cell in the body and therefore more sensitive to the freezing process.
Available freezing methods have made significant progress in the past few decades, enabling efficient egg freezing. Egg freezing may be needed, for example, before cancer treatments that can impair fertility. In addition, trans men can freeze their eggs before starting hormone therapy.
Today, social freezing has already played a significant role, enabling individuals to freeze their eggs without a medical reason. They might for example want to postpone having children due to their life situation, relationship, career plans, or other personal reasons. The best results are achieved when eggs are frozen before the age of 30-35. Fertility naturally declines with age, and especially in women over 35, the deterioration of egg quality can significantly affect the benefits of freezing. Since the exact quality of eggs cannot be assessed in advance, careful planning and timing of treatment are particularly important for a successful outcome. Frozen eggs can be stored safely for several years.
Eggs have been frozen for years for both medical and disease-related reasons in order to preserve fertility. Such reasons include, e.g. cancer treatments that damage the ovaries, severe endometriosis or certain autoimmune diseases, the treatment of which can prematurely reduce the egg reserve. Fertility preservation may also be needed for other reasons. By freezing one's own eggs under the age of 35, a woman may gain additional time, for example, to find a suitable partner. Social freezing will preserve the possibility of having a genetic child of her own for longer. Even women living in a relationship may need to consider proactive egg freezing for various reasons. The purpose is to give a little extra time to start a family.
Did you know that fertility can be tested?
A transvaginal ultrasound of the uterus and ovaries can be used to count and estimate the number of ovarian follicles (antral follicle count, AFC) in the ovaries, and a blood test can be used to test the level of Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH), which reflects the amount of remaining egg cells. The ultrasound also evaluates reliably the structure of the uterus. Combining these findings with the woman's age, a reasonably good estimate of a woman's fertility is obtained.
You can read more about female fertility tests here.
Book an appointment for Ovumia's fertility consultation, we are here for you!
The idea of egg freezing can raise a variety of thoughts and feelings. Many people who are considering this option may feel guilty about not being ready for a child right away, even though the reasons for postponing having a child are usually very understandable and justified. Some women experience uncertainty about whether they want children at all. Others may have experienced disappointments looking for a partner with whom to start a long-awaited family with children. Sometimes, on the other hand, an existing partner may be reluctant to become a parent. Meeting with a psychotherapist can help with processing various emotions and planning for the near future. Egg freezing can strengthen a woman's feeling that she has done everything to maximize her chances of having a child when her life situation allows for a baby.
Ovumia clinics have been pioneers in egg banking in Estonia – we have been operating egg banking for over 15 years. We constantly monitor the reliability of the methods used and ensure that the eggs remain viable after freezing and thawing.
This expertise is especially important when we are planning a woman’s fertility preservation for the future. Have you considered social egg freezing, but don’t know where to start?
Call your nearest clinic directly, we will help!
The freezing process starts at a doctor's office, either during a fertility check-up or during the first appointment. The tests include an assessment of the current fertility and the doctor will explain the course of treatments related to egg freezing in detail. In addition, the legislation governing infertility treatment in Estonia is discussed (including the Artificial Insemination Act and the Tissue Act).
In a menstrual cycle that aims at egg freezing, the ovaries are stimulated with hormones for about 10-14 days, after which the eggs (oocytes) are collected for freezing. The course of treatment is similar to in vitro fertilization (IVF), but instead of fertilization the eggs are frozen for later use. Egg collection (ovum pick-up, OPU) is a fairly simple procedure that takes about 30 minutes. Egg collection has no effect on fertility nor does speed up menopause. Collecting the eggs does not decrease the available reserve of eggs.
Frozen eggs can be stored in liquid nitrogen for years. When the desire to have a child becomes relevant and despite efforts to achieve a pregnancy naturally have failed, a woman has the opportunity to use her previously frozen eggs. At the doctor's office, the use of frozen eggs is planned and checked to ensure that the body is as ready as possible for the upcoming pregnancy. The frozen eggs are thawed and fertilized with sperm from the spouse or a donor selected from a sperm bank. After successful fertilization, one developed embryo is transferred to the uterus 2-5 days after fertilization. The embryo can be transferred to the uterus either during the natural menstrual cycle after ovulation or, if ovulation does not occur, the uterus can be prepared for embryo transfer with hormone medication. Other good-quality embryos obtained during treatment are frozen for later use.
Embryo freezing is a long-standing and much-studied laboratory technique. Egg freezing is a more complex process than embryo freezing, as the egg is a large cell and its unique genetic structure is more fragile than in embryos. With the development of sophisticated freezing methods, in vitro fertilization treatments with frozen eggs can now be offered routinely. Egg freezing requires special expertise and continuous maintenance of know-how in the fertility laboratory to ensure and maintain high-quality treatment results. Freezing is done by vitrification, i.e. very rapid cooling to a temperature of -196°C. The eggs are stored in liquid nitrogen. The storage time in the frozen state does not affect the final result of the treatment.
The woman's age at the time of egg freezing and the number of frozen eggs affect the success of the treatment. If a 30-34 -year-old woman has about 20 frozen eggs, the probability of a good pregnancy and a child being born is over 80%. The older the woman is at the time of freezing, the more eggs may be needed for a successful pregnancy. On the other hand, it is good to understand that even one egg may be enough to give birth to a child. Age also significantly affects the number of eggs that mature and can be collected. It is possible that the hormone stimulation and egg collections may have to be repeated if the wanted number was not obtained the first time. The younger the woman is at the time of freezing, the more likely it is that higher-quality eggs will be collected and stored. Ovumia has extensive experience in freezing, thawing and using donated eggs in fertility treatments, and the treatment results with frozen and fresh eggs are almost equally good. However, it is important to be aware that with social egg freezing we cannot guarantee an early pregnancy and the birth of a child, and pregnancy planning should never be left solely to frozen eggs.
We carefully and individually assess each woman's situation. The focus of the assessment is, among other things, how many frozen eggs would be sufficient to have a realistic probability of a pregnancy in the future. You can trust that the experts at Ovumia clinics will help you make well-considered and safe decisions to protect your own fertility.
