The
ability to freeze and thaw embryos successfully is one of the
greatest advancements in assisted reproductive technology (ART). Many
fertility patients who undergoes (IVF)
reap the added benefits of frozen
embryos.
Embryo freezing—cryopreservation—has existed for many years, but
earlier techniques were associated with undesirable ice crystal
formation. Vitrification,
a flash or fast-freeze technology, has greatly improved outcomes from
cryopreserved embryos. Patients who use frozen embryos now
experience
high success
rates
or better than from fresh Embryo Transfer cycles.
The
Advantages of Frozen Embryos
1. Frozen
embryos provide patients with additional cycle opportunities.
Having
frozen embryos allows you additional opportunities for success from a
given egg
retrieval.
If
your fresh transfer is unsuccessful, frozen embryos may provide the
possibility of
trying
again without having to take ovarian stimulation medication or to
have another egg retrieval. The development of vitrification
technology has led to outstanding outcomes, with more and more
patients achieving live birth from a single stimulated cycle
2. Frozen
embryo transfer (FET) cycles are less costly than fresh cycles
Following
a fresh IVF Treatment cycle, subsequent FET cycles are less costly
for patients. Expenses of both medication and treatment are less than
in a fresh cycle. Costs of treatment are reduced since there are
fewer monitoring visits, and there is no need for egg retrieval,
insemination, or embryo culture. In addition, Shady Grove Fertility
is currently conducting a clinical research study on FET.
3. Freezing
all embryos for future FET(s) overcomes the negative effect that
elevated progesterone levels have on pregnancy outcomes
Recent
research has shown that if a woman’s
progesterone
levelsrise
during the ovarian stimulation portion of her treatment cycle, the
endometrium (or uterine lining) is less receptive to embryo
implantation, and pregnancy rates are reduced. If progesterone rises
above a critical threshold, your physician may recommend that you
freeze all available embryos rather than proceeding with fresh
transfer. An FET can then be performed in a cycle without stimulation
medications. Women who have a ‘freeze-all’ cycle experience the
same excellent live birth rates as do women who have a fresh transfer
(and normal progesterone levels) prior to their FET.
4. Frozen
embryos offer the potential to grow your family at a later date
Vitrified
embryos maintain reproductive potential far into the future, giving
our patients time to make the decision to expand their families.
While women can only go through FET at SGF until the age of 51, FET
can suspend the proverbial biological clock, since embryos thawed for
FET maintain the reproductive potential associated with the age of
the egg at the time it was fertilized.
For example, if a woman has her first child at 38 through IVF and has
remaining embryos cryopreserved, she can come back to have embryo(s)
transferred via FET, at a time when conceiving with her own eggs
would otherwise be unlikely.
