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Oocyte Freezing

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Oocyte freezing as can be understood from the name is a process of freezing the oocytes that is the eggs from the females. The freezing of oocytes is done with the intention of preserving the eggs for use in the future. This technique has evolved to be an extremely popular one which actually enables the women to postpone their pregnancy to a later date because of medical reasons like treatment of cancer or several other reasons such as studying, employment etc. Therefore, the preservation of the oocyte by freezing it to extremely low temperatures the eggs to stay fresh for using later as required.

At KARE, oocyte freezing which is more popularly known as oocyte cryopreservation is carried out by experienced professionals so that the overall process can be conducted smoothly without any kinds of interruptions. Extreme care is taken so that the oocyte is properly taken out from the females and then preserved in the perfect way so that these oocytes can be put to use as per the requirements in a later date. This method is nothing but a method which is carried out in order to preserve the reproductive potential in the females.

Importance of the Process

Freezing of Eggs is considered to be a useful option in case the females are not ready to become pregnant yet but at the same time, they want to make sure that their ability to get pregnant or get a biological child in the future intact. In contrast to the process of embryo freezing or cryopreservation, oocyte freezing does not need sperm. This is because of the fact that the eggs are not fertilised before they are frozen. Oocyte freezing is extremely important and helpful in the following cases.

• If the female is diagnosed by cancer or any other disease which might affect her fertility potential in the future. This is because the female might need to go for a chemotherapy or radiation therapy as a part of the treatment process.
• The females are undergoing any kinds of assisted reproductive treatment procedures who are not able to go for embryo freezing as an option due to a number of reasons. It might be that the partner of the female is not able to produce sufficient sperm on that day.
• Oocyte preservation can be helpful for the females who wants to preserve their fertility for having children because they do not have a partner at present or due to a number of other reasons.
• This process is helpful in case the females want to preserve their younger eggs at present for use in the future in the most appropriate time.

Procedure
The overall procedure of oocyte freezing involves the following steps.
Ovulation Induction – The process starts with the treatment with artificial hormones which actually stimulates the ovaries for producing multiple eggs which is referred to as ovulation induction. The experts at KARE, uses a number of appropriate medications for stimulating the ovaries for producing several mature eggs. At the same time, certain medications are used for the prevention of premature ovulation as well. Frequent doctor visits are necessary for a careful monitoring which is done with the help of several blood tests and ultrasound tests.
Retrieval of Eggs – The next step is the harvesting of the eggs from the females. The retrieval is usually done under sedation where an ultrasound probe is inserted in the vagina of the female for the proper identification of the follicles. Now a needle is guided through the vagina into a follicle and with the help of a suction device attached to the needle, the egg is removed from the follicle.
Freezing – This is the final step in the process where the harvested eggs are supercooled to sub zero temperatures. In these temperatures, all the biological activities are stopped and are preserved for use in the future. Cryoprotectants are added which helps in the prevention of ice crystals while freezing

Authored by Dr. Nirmal Krishnan