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Egg freezing: making provisions for future pregnancies

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EGGFREEZING - FREEZING EGGS

Egg freezing and social egg freezing allow young women to freeze their eggs making them available for future in vitro fertilization. 

Dr. Brunbauer, YOUR FERTILITY EXPERT IN VIENNA  

PROVISIONS FOR THE FUTURE (SOCIAL FREEZING)  

By this method the wish to have a baby can be realized even at an advanced maternal age. Egg freezing gives women the option to postpone their family planning.  

The reasons might be the following:  

  • The reasons might be the following:  
  • You want to promote education and career first.  
  • Your relationship should be strengthened first.  
  • You have not yet found the right partner.  
  • You currently want to enjoy life carefree and without restrictions. 
  • You strive to create a stable financial and social foundation before having children.  

Egg freezing means women freeze young eggs as a reproductive precaution.  

Egg freezing is allowed in many countries. In Austria, however, legal restrictions apply.  

Social freezing, which is the freezing of eggs without medical indication, is prohibited in Austria. Egg cells may only be removed and stored if there is a risk of loss of fertility due to physical illness or to treatment (e.g. chemotherapy) - they may not be cryopreserved merely for reasons of simpler family planning. 

The medical need is indicated in the following cases: 

  • Ovarian cysts or endometriosis: surgery may require the removal of parts of the ovary. 
  • Treatments that can harm the ovaries.
  • Autoimmune diseases, such as diabetes mellitus
  • Cancer treatments, in which oocytes are destroyed by chemo- or radiotherapy or in which the ovaries must be removed. 

By this method it is possible to achieve a pregnancy at a later stage, even at an advanced maternal age. Egg freezing gives women the option to postpone their family planning.

The reasons might be the following:

  • You want to promote education and career first. 
  • Your relationship should be strengthened first. 
  • The right partner has not been found yet. 
  • You want to enjoy your current life carefree and without restrictions. 
  • You strive to create a stable financial and social foundation first. 

Egg freezing means women freeze young eggs as a reproductive precaution. 

OVERVIEW PROCEDURE EGGFREEZING

1. Initial COnsultation

Consultation and start of treatment

2. Examinations

Required gynecological examinations in the clinic

Start: on the 2nd day of menstruation

3. Maturation of egg cells

Stimulation of the ovaries by daily hormone supplements 

End of stimulation: usually on the 10th - 12th day of stimulation.

4. Puncture/retrieval 

Retrieval of mature oocytes under sedation

5. Cryoconservation

Freezing and storage of oocytes for possible future treatments

6. Pregnancy by IVF/ICSI/P-ICSI

We are happy to assist you if you want to freeze eggs before starting a treatment or because of your genetic predisposition. Our team has  years of experience  in cryopreservation. Our laboratory meets the latest technical standards. Our clinic offers you the necessary confidentiality. Following a detailed initial consultation, we plan your treatment in detail. 

Following the initial consultation, we perform all  necessary gynecological examinations. On the basis of the examination results, we will plan the next steps. Usually, we carry out a  hormone stimulation  to mature several egg cells. At their optimal maturity we retrieve the oocytes through the vagina, in a small, painless intervention, which is carried out in sedation (a short anesthesia). 

The extracted egg cells are frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored for you. If possible, we store up to 30 oocytes, so that a sufficient number is available for a later in vitro procedure. The majority of egg cells survive the freezing and their quality does not decrease, even if they are stored for years. When you want to become pregnant, we thaw the eggs during the course of an in vitro fertilization (IVF) and insert them into your uterus after fertilization.

 

Take advantage of the possibilities of modern medicine. Arrange an initial meeting with us. 
We are happy to inform and advise you on egg freezing. 

Egg freezing is a way of preserving your eggs to achieve pregnancy at a later date. 60 - 85% of all women  who use frozen eggs for in vitro fertilization  become pregnant. However, there is never a guarantee. The success depends largely on the age of the woman at the time eggs were frozen, as well as the age at the time of the in vitro procedure. 

As the number of oocytes decreases with age, chances of success  are the highest if the oocytes are extracted and cryopreserved before the age of 35. Another reason is, that the risk of genetic defects increases: in a 30-year-old woman, about every fourth egg is genetically healthy, whereas at the age of 40, only one in every 6-8 eggs is genetically healthy. 

In principle, you should not postpone your family planning too far into the future. The  younger you are  at the onset of pregnancy, the smoother the pregnancy and the  lower the risks for your baby. 

Arztzitat - Dr. Mathias Brunbauer

Dr. Mathias Brunbauer

Medical director | SPC for gynecology and obstetrics | IVF-specialist

"I agree with Novalis, who said: A child is a love that has become visible. We support you in making your love visible."

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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We have compiled the most common questions for you. For further information, please visit our comprehensive FAQ section. If you have additional questions or need personalised advice, feel free to contact us by phone at +43 (0)1 402 53 41. Our team is always happy to assist you.

Egg freezing and social egg freezing allow young women to freeze their eggs making them available for future in vitro fertilization. Thus the wish to have a baby can be realized even at an advanced maternal age. Egg freezing gives women the option to postpone their family planning. 

However, social egg freezing is prohibited in Austria. 

In  Austria, oocytes  may only be retrieved and stored if there is a risk of  losing the ability to reproduce  due to a physical condition or medical treatment (e.g. chemotherapy). 

Oocytes  may not be cryopreserved merely for  reasons of simpler family planning. 

In  Austria, medical necessity is a prerequisite. This is given in these cases, among others: 

  • ovarian cysts  or  endometriosis: if  parts of the ovary  need to be surgically removed. 
  • treatments  that  affect the ovaries. 
  • autoimmune diseases such as diabetes mellitus or Hashimoto thyroiditis. 
  • cancers  where  chemotherapy or radiotherapy will damage the eggs  or where the ovaries need to be  removed. 

First we see you for an  initial consulation. Following this, we perform all the  necessary examinations. In most cases  hormone stimulation  is then carried out, which results in the growth of several oocytes. We  collect the eggs at the optimal time of maturation and freeze them  in liquid nitrogen. 

If possible, we store up to 30 oocytes so that there are sufficient oocytes for later in vitro fertilization. The majority of eggs survive the freezing process without damage. The  quality  of the eggs  does not decrease  even if they are stored for years. 

60 to 85 percentof all women who use  frozen eggs  for in vitro fertilization  become pregnant.  However, there is no guarantee. Success depends largely  on the age of the woman at the time of egg retrieval  and on  how old she is when the in vitro procedure is carried out. 

The best chance of success is when the eggs are retrieved and cryopreserved before the age of 35. This is because the number of eggs decreases with age. At the same time, the risk of genetic defects increases.