Cryopreservation

In this era of technology, different freezing methods are available.

Cryopreservation is of three types:-

1. Oocytes Freezing

2. Sperm Freezing

3. Embryo Freezing

In Embryo Freezing, an embryologist freezes and stores unused embryos (fertilized eggs) created during IVF/ICSI. Freezing the embryos is the first step of embryo cryopreservation.

The frozen embryos are then stored and later thawed, as needed, for future use in IVF. This allows patients currently undergoing IVF to save time and money on future cycles and can harvest from the frozen embryos. This ensures that the patient will not have to undergo additional egg retrievals and take as many medications.

Typically, people elect to freeze their embryos because they want to preserve their option to become a parent at a later stage in life. Factors such as cancer treatment, increasing age or risk of injury (due to a medical condition or military deployment, for example) are reasons why people often consider cryopreservation.

OOCYTE CRYOPRESERVATION

The field of oocyte cryopreservation (OC) had advanced dramatically since the first reported birth from cryopreserved oocytes in 1986, with a significant increase in pregnancy rates described over the past 5 years due to improvements in vitrification technology, a cryopreservation method which virtually means to achieve a "glass-like" state through avoidance of ice formation. The potential clinical benefits of achieving efficient OC protocols have long been recognized. Specifically, OC can be offered to women facing fertility-threatening situations such as therapy for cancer, premature ovarian insufficiency, or need for ovarian surgery as a measure to preserve fertility. Moreover, many women who plan to delay childbearing are interested in pursuing OC to protect their future against age-related fertility decline. For infertility practices, efficient OC technology tends to dramatically streamline donor egg programs and is helpful in situations where sperm is unavailable at the time of egg retrieval, or for couples who do not wish to cryopreserve supernumerary embryos created from in vitro fertilization for moral/ethical reasons. Given the remarkable improvements in pregnancy rates witnessed over the past five years, OC is certain to play a much larger role in reproductive medicine over the coming decades.