Cryopreservation is the freezing and storage of mature eggs or embryos, whether for medical or social reasons, for later use in in vitro fertilization (IVF). This technology offers the potential to conceive in the future.
Many factors can limit one’s future ability to conceive, making cryopreservation an empowering option. These factors include:
Planned surgery to remove the ovaries
Radiation/chemotherapy, which can damage eggs and reproductive organs
Medications that alter egg quality
Genetic/medical causes of rapidly decreasing egg numbers
Advancing age
The personal choice to delay family building due to career, relationship, or other social factors
The natural decline in available eggs is one of the most common causes of infertility. Women and AFAB individuals are born with their lifelong supply of eggs, and as they age, their egg numbers diminish. While it’s possible for your uterus to carry a pregnancy to term well into your 40s, the quality of the eggs produced after age 35 declines significantly.
RSCNJ offers treatment options to help these patients address the ever-growing disconnect between the readiness to have children and the biological limitations of aging eggs. Many people are waiting longer to have children due to social factors such as career, education, travel, and relationships. In some cases, maternal age then becomes a factor in achieving the goal of parenthood. With egg and embryo cryopreservation, however, patients can take a proactive role to protect their future fertility.
Oncofertility: Cryopreservation Before Cancer Treatment
Cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery can speed up the natural decline in available eggs, potentially reducing or eliminating a person’s egg reserve. These treatments may also damage reproductive organs, making pregnancy more difficult or, in some cases, impossible.
The risk of infertility after cancer treatment depends on several factors, including the type and dose of treatment, age, and baseline fertility health. Because time is often limited between diagnosis and the start of treatment, it’s important to speak with a fertility specialist as early as possible to preserve future options.
Fertility Preservation Programs
Ferring Fertility Heartbeat Program
This program aims to make it easy for patients to receive select fertility medications at no cost. Click below for more information on program offerings and qualification requirements, or call 888-347-3415.
This program offers discounts on the Follistim AQ Cartridge, Ganirelix Acetate Injection, and Pregnyl medications to oncology patients undergoing fertility preservation. Click below for more information on program eligibility and how to apply, or call 844-385-5403.
RSCNJ is proud to partner with Chick Mission, a nonprofit whose mission is to ensure every young woman newly diagnosed with cancer has the option to preserve fertility through direct financial support, educational programs, and advocacy efforts.
To advance their cause, Chick Mission works directly with fertility practices to provide monetaryneed-based grants to assist patients with the cost of fertility preservation. RSCNJ is delighted to be a Chick Mission partner practice.
Embryo freezing, sometimes referred to as embryo banking, is a very successful way to preserve fertility. This process is accomplished by fertilizing eggs with sperm in a lab and then freezing the resulting embryos. This can be done using a partner’s or donor’s sperm. If being done as part of oncofertility, the IVF and egg freezing processes are performed before starting cancer treatment.
About 50-70% of embryos survive the thawing process. Once thawed, the embryos are transferred to the aspiring parent’s uterus through a process called frozen embryo transfer (FET). Pregnancy rates are approximately 40% per embryo placement, although this varies with the quality of the embryo and the patient’s age at the time of freezing.
Egg freezing
Egg freezing (oocyte cryopreservation) is an option for individuals who wish to preserve their fertility without creating an embryo. After 10-12 days of hormone injections to stimulate the ovaries, the physician retrieves the eggs. The unfertilized eggs are then frozen for future use.
When the patient is ready to use their cryopreserved eggs, they are thawed; the surviving eggs are fertilized with sperm from a partner or donor using IVF. One or more of the resulting embryos are then transferred to the uterus.
In most cases, RSCNJ is able to cryopreserve 5-15 eggs in a cycle, of which 70-80% will likely survive the freeze/thaw process. Typically, we would expect 50-70% of the thawed eggs to fertilize. The success rate is approximately 30% each time an embryo is created from a frozen egg and is placed into the uterus.
Start Your Fertility Preservation Journey in New Jersey Today
If you’re ready to explore fertility preservation, take the first step and connect with the Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey. Using the most cutting-edge reproductive technology and compassionate care, we’ve helped countless individuals and couples from Brick, Hamilton, Princeton, Red Bank, and all of NJ expand their families. Contact us today for more information about fertility preservation or to schedule an appointment at one of our fertility clinics in Eatontown, Toms River, or Lawrenceville.
