Egg Freezing – Reality or Fiction?

Freezing and preserving ova (eggs) seems like an attractive option for women nearing menopause, those undergoing cancer treatment, or for those who may want to postpone having children. While cryopreservation of embryos (fertilized eggs) has proven very successful as compared to freezing unfertilized eggs, many women are turning to ovum cryopreservation in an attempt to prolong their fertility while postponing childbearing.

What is Cryopreservation?
Cryopreservation is a precise method used to preserve embryos, eggs, ovarian tissue, and sperm by cooling and storing them at a very low temperature and then thawing them at a future date for use.
Today, cryo-egg clinics are becoming more common and many women and couples are buying into the promise of being able to successfully freeze their eggs and defer pregnancy. Women and couples seeking fertility options are extremely vulnerable and are often willing to invest an enormous amount of money into egg cryopreservation even though it has a very low chance of success.

Is Ovum Cryopreservation Successful?
“The reality is that in human studies, millions and millions of eggs have been cryopreserved with just a handful of babies born. So, the efficiency of this system -- the starting number of eggs to number of babies born -- is rather discouraging,” says Christos Coutifaris, MD, PhD, director of Penn Fertility Care and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. “This is in sharp contrast to the relatively highly successful freezing and thawing of embryos (fertilized eggs).”

Although to date no babies have been born utilizing cryopreserved ovarian tissue, animal studies suggest that this method holds more promise than the cryopreservation of single oocytes (immature eggs). In Europe, a cancer patient had healthy ovarian tissue cryopreserved and then transplanted back into an ovary where ovulation later occurred. Although not conclusive, experts agree that the ovary with the transplanted ovarian tissue produced the ovulation.

A September 2004 practice bulletin from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine concluded that the cryopreservation of both eggs and ovarian tissue for cancer patients has significant potential but at this time should remain an investigational procedure with strict oversight and provided at no charge to patients.

How Do I Know Which Fertility Option is Right For Me?
Women are born with approximately one million follicles in their ovaries and by puberty just 300,000 remain. This number continues to decline until menopause when almost no follicles are left in the ovaries.

“For women with a diminished ovarian reserve, or who are experiencing early menopause, or who have undergone cancer treatment, using eggs donated by a young, healthy woman is the best chance for conception and a live-birth,” says Dr. Coutifaris.

For women who are having trouble conceiving, a board-certified fertility specialist may be able to help.

Donor Egg Program at Penn Fertility Care
Recent national data show an approximate 50 percent live-birth rate for patients over age 38 who used fresh donor eggs. The Donor Egg Program at Penn Fertility Care matches women who are unable to produce a healthy egg with an egg donor, to give infertile women a chance at conception.

Penn is one of only eight centers in the nation funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to perform clinical infertility research and the only center funded by the NIH for laboratory research specifically related to infertility.

To make an appointment with a specialist at Penn Fertility Care, please call 1-800-789-PENN (7366).

When Should You See a Fertility Specialist?

• If you are under age 35 and have not conceived after a year of trying to get pregnant.
• If you are age 35 or older and have been unable to conceive after six months of trying.
• If you have lost two or more pregnancies to miscarriage.
• If other infertility treatments have not been successful.
• If you do not have regular menstrual cycles, or have had a prior gynecological problem (e.g. endometriosis, tubal pregnancy, pelvic surgery or infections), you should seek assistance sooner.

	Need an appointment? Request one online 24 hours/day, 7 days/week or call 800-789-PENN (7366) to speak to a referral counselor.