Preserving Your Future Parenthood Options
Embryo freezing can help give you options to have a baby in the future. It differs from egg freezing in one key way: Eggs are fertilized before they are frozen.
You may choose to have embryo freezing if you wish to postpone pregnancy for medical or personal reasons. Embryo freezing can allow you to preserve your fertilized eggs until you’re ready to move forward.
What is Embryo Freezing?
Embryo freezing, also called embryo cryopreservation, is a treatment to preserve fertilized eggs for future use.
Fertilization takes place outside of the body through invitro fertilization (IVF). As part of this process, eggs are retrieved and combined with sperm in a lab. They are then frozen and stored in a special storage facility.
When you’re ready to start a family, the embryo can be thawed and placed in a woman’s uterus to begin a pregnancy. You may choose to have the embryo placed in your uterus. Or, you may choose to have the embryo implanted in a gestational carrier to carry out the pregnancy. This can expand your fertility options and help increase your chances of having a biological baby.
Who Should Consider Embryo Freezing?
Embryo freezing can support fertility preservation for couples and individuals who hope to become parents in the future. If you’re a woman without a partner, you may use a donor sperm to create embryos for freezing.
Embryo freezing candidates may include IVF patients who:
- Have leftover embryos from a fresh cycle (one of the most common reasons for a frozen embryo transfer). You can use the extra embryos that have been previously created.
- Decide to have pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT) performed on the embryos and need to freeze them while waiting for test results.
- Have medical reasons to delay. For example, these may include ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) or an issue with the endometrium (uterus lining), such as a polyp or a thin lining. Also, a premature rise in the level of progesterone before egg retrieval may result in a delay.
You may also consider embryo freezing if you are:
- Undergoing fertility preservation before cancer treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
- Using gestational surrogacy.
- Using donor eggs to better plan the embryo transfer.
- Pursuing gender transition (transitioning to male from female).
- Delaying childbearing for personal reasons, such as work, military deployment, or finding the right partner.
The Embryo Freezing Process
Your exact pathway to deciding on embryo freezing will be unique to you. In general, the process includes the following steps.
- Consultation. A fertility specialist will discuss your goals, medical history, and suitability for IVF and embryo freezing.
- Fertilization. You'll undergo an IVF cycle to create embryos. This involves ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval, and fertilization with sperm. Fertilization takes place outside of the body in a lab. For this process, the eggs will be injected with sperm about four to six hours after the eggs are retrieved.
- Embryo development. After fertilization, the embryos develop in the lab for about five to seven days before freezing. During this time, specialists monitor the embryos as they go through different phases. For example, the egg and sperm should fuse together and develop into a “blastocyst.” This is a cluster of dividing cells that leads to a pregnancy.
- Embryo selection. Next, a fertility specialist will choose embryos for freezing based on their quality and developmental stage.
- Vitrification and embryo storage. A rapid freezing technique called vitrification preserves the embryos in liquid nitrogen for future use.
Timelines can vary, but the embryo freezing process – from consultation to having a fertilized embryo –usually takes about six to eight weeks. This time will be longer if you choose to have pre-implantation genetic testing.
Benefits of Embryo Freezing
Both individuals and couples may experience the following benefits of embryo freezing:
- Increased pregnancy rates. Compared to using fresh embryos, frozen embryos can sometimes offer similar or even slightly better pregnancy rates in certain scenarios.
- Preserving fertility. Embryo freezing can help preserve future fertility if you’ve been diagnosed with cancer or have other medical or personal reasons to delay childbearing.
- Reduced risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Freezing embryos allows doctors to control the timing of embryo transfer, potentially reducing the risk of OHSS, a side effect of some fertility medications. OHSS is a potentially serious condition that can occur if the body has an exaggerated response to excess hormones, causing the ovaries to become swollen and painful, among other symptoms.
- Improved uterine lining. Separating embryo creation from transfer allows more time for the body to develop a uterine lining that can support a healthy pregnancy. This can potentially increase implantation success.
- Family planning and reproductive options. Embryo freezing empowers you to delay parenthood for various reasons, such as focusing on your career or education, or finding the right partner.
Risks and Success Rates of Embryo Freezing
Risks
Our team is committed to ensuring the safety of embryo freezing. Still, there are some potential risks. Embryo freezing risks can include the following:
- Embryos may stop developing after fertilization and may not be viable for freezing.
- Successful pregnancy may not result after embryos are thawed and implanted.
- Multiple births may result if more than one embryo is implanted.
- The risk of certain pregnancy-related issues, such as preeclampsia or placenta accreta spectrum may be higher.
Success Rates
Embryo freezing can help many people have a baby, but it does not guarantee pregnancy. Results can vary. Embryo freezing success rates center around two important steps:
- Embryo thawing success. The survival rate of thawed embryos has generally been found to be high — more than 90%.
- Transfer of the thawed embryo to a women’s uterus to begin a pregnancy (also called frozen embryo transfer or FET). Many factors can affect the success of this process, including:
- The health of the parents.
- The quality of the egg and embryo.
- The age of the mother at the time eggs are retrieved.
- The thickness of the uterine lining.
- Previous fertility treatments and pregnancies.
- Fertility issues such as fibroids, polyps, and endometriosis (which may make it harder for an embryo to implant to the uterus wall).
If you’re considering embryo freezing, talk with your provider to learn more about these factors and how they may influence your potential outcomes.
Embryo Storage and Duration
The primary method for freezing (cryopreserving) embryos for storage is called vitrification. This process adds a special liquid to the embryos to protect them from ice crystals. The embryos are then placed in tanks of nitrogen to preserve them until you’re ready to use them.
With this method, the embryos are preserved at their biological age when they are frozen. Therefore, they remain the same even if you come back to use them years later.
Long-term storage of frozen embryos occurs in special labs and facilities that can monitor them to help ensure the proper conditions are maintained. The duration of embryo freezing depends on your family planning goals. Frozen embryos can last in storage for decades.
Cost and Financial Considerations of Embryo Freezing
Embryo freezing costs can vary. In general, you can expect it to cost $11,000 or more. Plus, there is an annual storage fee to preserve and maintain your embryos until you’re ready to use them.
Insurance coverage typically does not cover the costs of embryo freezing or fertility preservation. But it’s still important to check with your insurance to see if you have any benefits.
Our team at UHealth understands that these can be challenging financial considerations. We’re committed to doing everything we can to support you in your family planning and fertility preservation efforts.
To help make our services more affordable, we offer cost-effective treatments and financing options. We can work closely with you to help you understand your options and achieve your goals.
Preparing for Embryo Freezing
The first step in embryo freezing preparation is to confirm your readiness for the procedure. Your provider or fertility specialist will check your hormone levels and conduct any other testing needed, such as an ultrasound.
This will help confirm that you are ready to begin the egg retrieval process. Egg retrieval (or egg harvesting) involves the following steps:
- Taking medications to stimulate your ovaries to produce mature eggs. “Mature” means they are capable of developing into an embryo.
- Undergoing a procedure (under sedation) where a doctor uses an ultrasound-guided catheter and needle to retrieve eggs for fertilization. The eggs will be fertilized with sperm in a lab as part of the IVF procedure.
IVF preparation can be stressful. But this is a time to be good to yourself. Take extra care of your body and try to:
- Eat a healthy, nutrient-rich diet and avoid processed foods.
- Avoid alcohol, smoking, and vaping.
- Do moderate exercise.
- Get plenty of sleep.
- Decrease stress.
Your provider can talk with you more about the process and any other tips to help you prepare.
What Happens After the Embryos Are Frozen?
The next steps after your embryos are frozen are up to you. You may choose to use your embryos for an IVF procedure soon after freezing them. Or you may keep them in storage for years until you’re ready to use them.
The post-freezing process involves thawing your embryos to get them ready for implantation in the uterus. The thawing typically takes place on the day of your implantation procedure. For this process, specialists remove the embryos from the liquid nitrogen. They then use thawing materials and a warming process to bring the embryos to the desired temperature.
Not all embryos survive thawing. But the survival rate is high, usually over 90%.
Getting Started with Embryo Freezing
Embryo freezing can support future family planning and fertility preservation for many couples and individuals. You may choose this option if you wish to preserve your embryos for future use. Whether you’ve been diagnosed with cancer and wish to preserve your fertility – or if you wish to delay childbearing for personal reasons.
If you’re considering embryo freezing, we can help.
The first step is to schedule a consultation with one of our fertility specialists. They can discuss your individual situation, answer your questions, and help you determine if embryo freezing is the right choice for you.
Contact Us: Have questions? Contact our fertility experts today. Call us at 305-243-8642.
Why Choose UHealth?
Patient-centered fertility preservation care. The ideal approach to fertility preservation varies for each patient. Factors like age, diagnosis, family planning goals, and potential fertility challenges all play a role. We work closely with you to understand your specific risks and fertility preservation options. This ensures you receive the best possible care.
Focus on urgency and personalized care. Early action is key, particularly when treatments such as radiation or chemotherapy pose a risk to fertility. Our compassionate team works closely with you to explore fertility preservation options and prioritize your consultations in our schedule.
Wide range of innovative treatments. If you need specialized services such as genetic testing to aid you in your fertility planning, you can find them right here with us. We offer treatments for both women and men, including diagnosis of infertility, pre-implantation genetic screening (PGS), semen analysis, and microsurgeries that restore the normal function of the reproductive organs.
High pregnancy rates. We can support you through every stage of your family-planning journey – from fertility preservation to in vitro fertilization (IVF) when you’re ready to pursue parenthood. We have some of the highest pregnancy rates in not only South Florida, but in the entire United States. Our success stories include even the most challenging cases. When caring for each of our patients, we strive to always maintain the highest ethical standards and practices.
Academic medical center expertise. Faculty members at the Miller School of Medicine, a nationally recognized institution, currently conduct nearly 2,000 research projects in science and clinical care in a variety of fields. Our emphasis on research and innovation ensures you receive the most sophisticated diagnostic tests and advanced fertility treatments available. This combination of our physician-directed practice within a university-based health system emphasizes research and innovation in fertility medicine.
Active members of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologies (SART). Our experts strive to uphold the highest standards in our field of medicine. As members of SART, we follow the strictest guidelines and rules set forth by this industry-leading organization.
Affordable fertility care. We offer cost-effective treatments and make the process as affordable as possible with our competitive pricing, view our financing options. Our center prides itself on integrity and we are dedicated to providing a transparent process. Your treatment options are clearly outlined and presented to you at the time of consultation. We provide financial consultations and will show you how our plans differ from what other centers in our area offer. We are committed to making sure you know what to expect upfront. We offer financing through Lending Club Patient Solutions. In addition, we do not bundle price for our in-vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles, which means if you get pregnant within one cycle, you will only be charged for that one cycle. If pregnancy does not occur in the first cycle, we provide discounts for second and third IVF cycles.
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