Preserve the Promise of Parenthood!
Through Devotion Health, reserve your bookings with reputable hospitals and clinics that specialise in Embryo Freezing.
What is Embryo Freezing?
Embryo freezing, also known as embryo cryopreservation, is a process of preserving embryos for future use. It involves fertilising eggs with sperm in a laboratory to create embryos through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and then freezing these embryos for later use.
Why Choose Embryo Freezing?
- Flexibility and Timing: Embryo freezing provides flexibility in family planning by allowing the storage of embryos for future use. This is particularly beneficial for individuals or couples who want to delay parenthood due to personal, medical, or professional reasons.
- Maximising IVF Success: Embryo freezing allows selection of the most viable embryos for freezing, as they have undergone fertilisation and initial development in the laboratory. By freezing high-quality embryos, the chances of achieving a successful pregnancy increase when embryo transfer is done.
- Preserving Fertility: Freezing embryos before undergoing treatments such as cancer treatments or surgeries allows the preservation of fertility and future opportunities for biological parenthood.
- Genetic Screening: Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) can help identify embryos free from certain genetic disorders or chromosomal abnormalities, increasing the chances of a healthy pregnancy and reducing the risk of passing on inherited conditions.
The Embryo Freezing Procedure
- Ovarian Stimulation and Egg Retrieval: Women using their eggs will undergo ovarian stimulation to produce multiple mature eggs. The eggs are then retrieved using transvaginal ultrasound-guided aspiration, a minor surgical procedure performed under sedation.
- Fertilisation and Embryo Development: The retrieved eggs are fertilised with sperm in the laboratory through IVF. The resulting embryos are cultured and monitored for several days as they develop and reach specific stages of development.
- Embryo Selection: The embryologist will assess the quality and development of the embryos and select the most viable ones for freezing. High-quality embryos are more likely to survive the freezing and thawing process and have a higher chance of resulting in a successful pregnancy in the future.
- Embryo Freezing (Cryopreservation): The selected embryos are frozen using vitrification. Vitrification involves rapidly cooling the embryos to extremely low temperatures, which helps preserve their structural integrity and minimise potential damage.
- Storage and Monitoring: The frozen embryos are carefully stored in specialised containers called cryotanks in a controlled laboratory environment. They are monitored and securely stored until being used.
- Embryo Thawing and Transfer: When women are ready to use the frozen embryos, they are thawed and transferred to their uterus during an IVF cycle. This process may involve preparing the endometrial lining through hormonal medications to create an optimal environment for embryo implantation.
