What is Egg Freezing?
Egg Freezing is used to delay pregnancy through freezing of eggs. The concept is presently common nowadays and it is important to consider the costs and how egg freezing can preserve fertility.
The Egg Freezing Process and Timeline
The timeline can vary and one can expect the entire egg freezing procedure to take a time duration of 2 to 3 weeks. However, most cycles can be completed in less than 3 weeks. Besides, the simulation of the ovaries to generate eggs is timed based on the menstrual cycle to enable optimal results. Therefore, the process of the ovaries is consistently monitored through ultrasounds and blood work to acquire hormone levels.
Female Egg Freezing Medical Exam
You will have to meet a fertility doctor to discuss the desire to freeze the eggs. The doctor then schedules an exam where a complete medical past, hormone testing and blood work is completed.
The process might require you to do a transvaginal ultrasound to perform an antral follicle count which is a method that is used to assess the ovarian reserve and the number of eggs remaining in the ovaries.
The doctor then outlines the recommended stimulation protocol to enable the maximum number of eggs that can be safely retrieved without putting someone at risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).
Ovarian stimulation and monitoring
The process first includes the client taking birth control pills and other treatments like estrogen, Lupron and Agestin to assist in synchronizing the follicles so that they reply equally to the stimulation medications that someone will take later.
If the birth control and other medications are recommended a person will usually begin ingesting them either during the period and immediately after the ovulation has happened. Moreover, the patient is checked through blood tests or ultrasounds to enable the stimulation of the injections at the right time.
The medication regimes and treatment process can vary as most individuals take gonadotropins follicle-stimulation hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). The tow helps with the stimulation of the ovaries to produce numerous eggs during a cycle. Besides, the injections are administered over 10 to 12 consistent days and are taken subcutaneously in the lady’s belly.
Female Egg Freezing retrieval
Egg harvesting is the process that involves the removal of eggs from the ovaries. Throughout the process, the patient has to undergo anaesthesia. The doctor includes the transvaginal ultrasound probe with a needle, which is injected into the follicles under ultrasound direction. The fluid helps the egg to be aspirated and collected into the tubes. Moreover, the embryologists examine the follicular fluid to identify the eggs.
Remark
In a few hours of egg retrieval, the mature eggs that are successful are collected and frozen via a process that is known as vitrification. The procedure relies on quick rapid freezing via the use of liquid nitrogen to help reduce the risks of ice crystals forming on the eggs that aim to enhance survival rates.
PHOTO CREDIT: Google.com
WRITTEN BY: Amedicc.com