Egg Freezing and Fertility Preservation
The ‘biological clock’ is the decline in egg quantity and quality in the ovary as a patient gets older, and which accelerates after 35 years of age. Undergoing an egg collection procedure in a similar process to IVF allows eggs to be frozen and stored for future use. Those eggs do not age further until they are thawed and fertilized, sometimes many years later, allowing patients to pause their biological clock.
Vitrification is a reliable method of egg freezing.
It has been well established that vitrification (a fast process with high concentration of cryo-preservants) is the best method of egg freezing with the best success rates. Unfortunately, this this technique is operator-dependant, so the skill of the technician doing the freezing is essential to maximising success when you actually thaw the eggs.
Eggs can be frozen at any age, but the best success is obtained from eggs frozen when the patient is under 35 years of age.
Egg freezing can be classified as:
- Social - due to social circumstances, including
- no partner,
- career focus,
- deferring children for financial reasons
- Medical - due to a medical condition including:
- genetic condition,
- pre-chemotherapy for cancer treatment,
- pre-hormonal therapy for transgender patients.
Your egg freezing classification will affect medicare rebates and medication costs for the procedure, your doctor will consider this carefully with you.
If you have an urgent medical risk to your fertility, such as impending surgery, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, or other medical treatment that may jeopardize your egg quantity or quality, please contact us so that an urgent egg freeze procedure can be arranged.
Urgent referrals of this nature will be prioritised, and patients seen within 48 hours. (The same applies to patients needing sperm freezing).
Your First Step to Fertility Support
A fertility assessment with Dr. Weston seeks to understand your reproductive health and the essential factors for conception. This proactive check-up is the foundation for creating your personalised care plan.
