Best Egg Freezing in Faridabad

Under Oocyte Cryopreservation, the procedure to mature and retrieve ovarian eggs are similar to the process used for In-vitro Fertilization (IVF). The process simply consists of following steps:

1. Ovarian Hyper Stimulation- Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) injections along with other ovulation inducing drugs such as Clomid are used to stimulate ovulation.
2. Ovarian Stimulation: The IVF specialist or the RE (Reproductive Endocrinologist) after a successful ovarian scan, injects stimulating medicines called HCG (human Chorionic Gonadotropin) for the growth of ovarian follicles to produce mature eggs which causes ovulation after a breeding period of 36 hours.
3. Egg Retrieval- Once the eggs mature they are then retrieved through ultrasound guided needles from the vagina. All this is done under sedation.
4. Freezing the Eggs- Eggs can be thawed and preserved either through Controlled rate slow cooling method or rapid cooling method such as Vitrification.
   1. Slow Programmable Freezing- It is a controlled rate freezing technique of ovarian eggs using cryoprotectants fluid at temperature down to 196 degree Celsius. The frozen eggs are then transferred into containers of liquid nitrogen and are kept for future use.
   2. Vitrification- The collected eggs are mixed with cryoprotectants (chemical substance to protect biological tissue during freezing) and are thawed immediately. The cryoprotectants help the eggs to dehydrate themselves so that formation of ice crystals does not occur within the eggs.

Frozen egg proves very beneficial for many women who want to continue with their pregnancy at a later age due to reasons such as-

1. Women diagnosed with cancer- Cancer treatment procedures such as Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy are toxic for the oocyte health, and so in these cases freezing the eggs before opting for cancer treatment is a option opted by many patients.
2. Frozen eggs help those women opposing physical sex due to various religious, cultural or medical reasons.
3. Egg Freezing is also beneficial for those women who due to various reasons such as education and job, want to postpone their pregnancy. Frozen egg lives up to 10 years and a woman can use it any time during this time span.

Research shows that IVF cycles with frozen eggs are as successful as freshly retrieved eggs. However, maternal age is a factor for a successful fertilization with both kinds of eggs-freshly retrieved or frozen. Women above the age of 35 years normally tend to have a much lower success rate of pregnancy. The pregnancy success rate for women below the age of 35 with frozen eggs is 41.5 % as compared to 1% for women with maternal age of 45 and older.

The procedure for Egg freezing involves ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval, thawing and preserving the ovarian eggs for future use. Though being simple, the procedure still involves some risk factors, which should not be undermined.

1. Due to fertility drugs (Clomid, HCG i.e.) used during ovarian stimulation, one may experience side effects such as headache, bloating, insomnia, tender breast, hot and cold flashes.
2. In some cases, women may experience OHSS (Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome) due to use of fertility drugs leading to symptoms such as increasing weight gain, blood clots in legs, and breath shortness.
3. Frozen egg can lead to many complications during pregnancy such as Gestational Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, and baby being born under-weight.
4. Freezing eggs for a longer time can put you in serious emotional risk such as Depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
5. Egg freezing is a high risk procedure and includes the risk of damage due to human or technical error. There are cases of ice formation, membrane damage etc. during the freezing process of the eggs.