How are embryos frozen and thawed? How long can my embryos be stored? How am I going to be billed for storing my embryos? How are embryos discarded? Breaking Barriers, Building Families Since , we have pioneered fertility treatment for every kind of family.
We want to help you achieve your dream of having a baby. Embryos may be frozen at different times after fertilization. At RSC embryos are frozen five or six days after the sperm and eggs are combined. The freezing or vitrification process at the blastocyst stage causes minimal to no harm to the embryo.
To prevent this from happening, the doctor uses a process called cryopreservation. It involves replacing the water in the cell with a substance called a cryoprotectant. The doctor then leaves the embryos to incubate in increasing levels of cryoprotectant before freezing them. After removing most of the water, the doctor cools the embryo to its preservation state. They then use one of two freezing methods:.
Slow freezing : This involves placing the embryos in sealed tubes, then slowly lowering their temperature. However, slow freezing is time-consuming, and it requires expensive machinery. Vitrification : In this process, the doctor freezes the cryoprotected embryos so quickly that the water molecules do not have time to form ice crystals.
This helps protect the embryos and increases their rate of survival during thawing. The process of thawing an embryo after cryopreservation has a relatively high success rate, and research suggests that women who use thawed embryos have good chances of delivering healthy babies. According to a comparative study and review published in , babies born after cryopreservation showed no increase in developmental abnormalities.
However, the medical community still requires more long-term follow-up studies. Any complications or side effects of embryo freezing usually occur when the doctor is extracting the eggs. At this temperature, almost no biological processes, such as aging, can occur. There are examples of successful pregnancies resulting from eggs that people have stored for up to 10 years. No long-term research into embryo freezing exists because doctors have only been carrying out the procedure since Some countries regulate the length of time that a person can store their embryos.
Freezing and storage are expensive, and each clinic has its own rules about what happens if a person can no longer use their embryos or keep them frozen. A study published in the International Journal of Reproductive Biomedicine looked at the results of over 1, instances of embryo transfer involving either fresh or frozen embryos. The researchers found no statistical difference between the types of embryos, in terms of pregnancy rates or fetal health.
The authors pointed out that people could use frozen, but not fresh, embryos for additional transfers in the future. Results of research published in indicate that frozen embryo transfer might lead to a higher rate of pregnancy and better outcomes for both the woman and baby.
People who are approaching an advanced reproductive age and who are not yet ready to have children may also benefit from freezing embryos for later use. People may benefit from this process if they have a higher risk of ovarian stimulation syndrome.
The pregnancy rate after transfer of frozen embryos is almost the same as that of fresh embryos. Extended storage in liquid nitrogen has no effect on embryo viability. Embryos which have been thawed after just a few months are just as viable as those which have been frozen for several years. Furthermore, there have been no reports of birth defects in children born from embryos which have been frozen for an extensive period.
As far as medical experts know, frozen embryos remain viable indefinitely. To date, the longest an embryo has been frozen before a successful transfer is 24 years. Cryopreservation has several practical advantages.
By jodorsett on April 01, Reasons to Consider Embryo Freezing You may be wondering now why you may want to freeze your embryos for later use. Some common reasons include: Not ready to have a child at the current moment but would like to in the future Preventing ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome OHSS during an in vitro fertilization IVF procedure About to undergo treatment for cancer Current medical problems may impact fertility Donating viable embryos for infertile couples Is Embryo Freezing a Good Option for Me?
Learn More About Cryopreservation For more information about fertility preservation and your many other options for starting a family later in life, be sure to contact an experienced fertility specialist. Popular Tags. All Posts by Month. The Centre for Reproductive Medicine. Contact Us Today. Phone Number. Lubbock Office
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