Egg freezing by vitrification - stop your biological clock and preserve your fertility !

IVF labs have been routinely freezing sperm and embryos for many years. However, freezing eggs has always been a challenge. However, using a new technique called vitrification (vitros = glass) or flash freezing, we can now reliably freeze eggs as well.

IVF labs have been routinely freezing sperm and embryos for many years. However, freezing eggs has always been a challenge. This is because the egg is the largest cell in the body and contains a large quantity of water. Using conventional slow freezing techniques meant that this intracellular water would often form ice crystals while the egg was frozen, resulting in the egg being damaged.

However, using a new technique called vitrification (vitros = glass) or flash freezing, we can now reliably freeze eggs as well.

How does vitrification work ? The principle is simple. This new method of cryopreservation allows ultra-rapid freezing. We put the eggs in very small droplets of vitrification solution in special straws, and plunge them directly in liquid nitrogen. This means the egg is cooled from 37 C to -196 C in a few seconds , so that the water does not get a chance to crystallize ! Vitrification uses a very high concentration of antifreeze solution (DMSO and ethylene glycol), allowing instant super-cooling into solid with no ice crystal formation at all.

Of course, it is not quite as simple as it might sound. Such high concentrations of antifreeze could be toxic to cells. This is why technical skill, experience and expertise is critically important !

Using this vitrification technique for freezing, we can reliably preserve eggs as well as embryos so that the pregnancy rate is as good as with fresh eggs.

This breakthrough will now allow us to offer the following additional services to our patients

• Formation of donor "egg banks" to facilitate and lessen the cost of oocyte donation. We can ship these frozen oocyte anywhere in the world. However, it is critically important that the receiving IVF lab have enough expertise in vitrification, to be able to thaw these properly
• Provision of egg cryostorage for women who wish to pursue their career and want to postpone childbearing.

This is the standard egg vitrification treatment protocol.

Treatment starts from Day 1 (the day the bleeding starts) of your cycle. At GnRH analog mfr by Hoechst), 0.5 ml sc daily . On Day 3, you need to do an ultrasound scan to confirm there is no ovarian cyst, after which we start your superovulation with 4 ampoules of HMG (Menogon) daily. The dose of HMG will depend upon your ovarian morphology and your antral follicle count.

We do the next scan on Day 10, after which you would have to be in Bombay for about 10 days. All the treatment is performed at our clinic, which means you never have to go elsewhere.

This is what the daily schedule would look like.

If there is a cyst, we aspirate/ puncture it under ultrasound guidance and continue with the treatment.

Vaginal ultrasound scan to monitor follicular growth

The Buserelin and Menogon injections will continue on a daily basis; and scans will be performed every alternate day, until the follicles are mature. This is usually Day 14- Day 16 for most patients. At this time, an HCG injection will be given, and eggs retrieved 36 hours after this.

The eggs will then be vitrified.

You can travel back 3 days after the egg collection.