Oocyte cryopreservation
(egg freezing program)

Oocyte Cryopreservation (Egg Freezing Program)

What is egg freezing?

Oocyte cryopreservation, the scientific name for egg freezing, is a technique that allows women to freeze and preserve their eggs until they want to start or expand a family. There are both social and medical reasons for egg freezing. Social reasons include couples planning to postpone starting or expanding a family. Medical reasons include women undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy, those with autoimmune diseases, low ovarian reserve, or a family history of premature ovarian failure (POF).

Benefits of egg freezing:

The benefits of egg freezing are divided into both social and medical benefits:

• Social benefits include couples who plan to postpone starting or expanding a family.
• Medical benefits include females who:

• Undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
• Have a low ovarian reserve.
• Have a family history of premature ovarian failure.
• Patients with autoimmune diseases.

How are eggs frozen?

• When a client decides to take advantage of the egg freezing program at Sunrise Fertility Center and begin her fertility journey with us, we start with a series of diagnostic tests, including hormone tests, an ovarian reserve test, and an ultrasound scan to assess the potential outcome of the egg quantity.
• Following these diagnostic procedures, we begin a hormonal ovarian stimulation protocol, which stimulates the release of multiple eggs instead of the single egg typically released each menstrual cycle. Follow-up visits are then required to monitor the response and progress of the ovarian stimulation by ultrasound.
• Once the ovaries are ready, the eggs are retrieved either vaginally or abdominally, depending on the patient’s preference, under general anesthesia.

Until recently, abdominal egg retrieval was relatively rare, as few centers had the expertise or capacity to offer this service. Sunrise Fertility Center has the experience, capacity, and skill to offer this option to our patients.

• During the egg retrieval procedure, we aim to retrieve approximately 15-20 eggs in the hope that we can provide our patients with the best possible fertility preservation chances.
• Then, the retrieved eggs are cooled using cryopreservation technology and stored in specialized tanks at a very low temperature.

You can contact us via WhatsApp on  01200682828 to learn more about the egg-freezing program.

Duration of egg freezing:

Eggs can remain frozen for many years, retaining their quality. However, it is recommended to use frozen eggs within ten years of freezing.

Are there any complications from egg retrieval for freezing?

Some side effects may occur as a result of using hormonal medications to stimulate the ovaries, such as nausea or mood swings. Minor side effects may also occur after the egg retrieval procedure, which typically resolve on their own after the first week, such as bloating, abdominal cramps, or light spotting.

What is the appropriate age for egg freezing?

Women can freeze their eggs at any time after puberty. However, the optimal age for egg freezing is between 30 and 40. The optimal age for egg freezing is before 35, as egg quality is higher than after that age.

Effect on menstrual cycle:

Egg retrieval does not affect the menstrual cycle in any way, as the woman’s menstrual cycle continues normally after the procedure, as usual.

Menstruation typically occurs for the first time approximately 14 days after egg retrieval. Some irregularity may occur during the first two months after egg retrieval due to hormonal imbalances resulting from ovarian stimulation medications, but menstruation will return to normal afterward. 

Pregnancy using frozen eggs:

The success rates of pregnancy using frozen eggs depend on several factors, including:

• The woman’s age at the time of egg retrieval and her age at the time of ICSI.
• Women’s general health, and uterine health in particular.
• Number of eggs frozen.
• The quality of the hospital or center where the eggs were retrieved and frozen, as well as the ICSI procedure performed using the frozen eggs.

What is the difference between embryo freezing and egg freezing?

Embryo freezing and egg freezing are two completely different processes:

• Embryo freezing means fertilizing eggs with sperm outside the uterus in the laboratory, and storing the fertilized embryos until you want to implant them in the uterus and complete the pregnancy.
• Egg freezing means keeping mature eggs that have been retrieved from the uterus without fertilization, until the decision is made to fertilize them with sperm through assisted reproductive techniques such as in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Cost of egg freezing:

The cost of egg freezing varies depending on several factors, including:

• The efficiency of the fertility center where the procedure is performed, and the techniques it uses to perform the procedure.
• The experience and skill of the physician performing the procedure.
• Number of eggs to be frozen.
• The duration of storage for the frozen eggs.

Finally:

Cryopreservation (egg freezing) has provided an opportunity for many women who wish to postpone having children, whether for social or medical reasons, to fulfill their desire and not be deprived of their dream of motherhood and starting a family. However, this procedure must be performed at a specialized fertility center such as Sunrise Fertility Center, the leading fertility center in Egypt, to ensure the procedure is performed using the latest methods and technologies to maximize the benefits.

When the ovaries are ready, the eggs are retrieved either vaginally or abdominally, depending on the patient’s preference, under general anesthesia. Until recently, abdominal egg retrieval was relatively rare, as few centers had the expertise or capacity to offer this service. Sunrise Fertility Center has the experience and capacity, as well as the skill, to offer this option to our patients. During the egg retrieval procedure, we aim to retrieve approximately 15-20 eggs in the hope of providing our patients with the best possible fertility preservation outcome.

When the ovaries are ready, egg retrieval is performed either vaginally or abdominally, upon the patient’s request, under general anesthesia. Until recently, the practice of the abdominal method of egg retrieval has been relatively rare as few centers have the experience or capability to offer this service. Sunrise IVF has both the experience and capability, as well as the expertise, to offer this option to our patients. During egg retrieval, we aim to retrieve approximately 15-20 eggs in hopes of being able to give our patients the best possible outcome of fertility preservation.