Specialists in Reproductive Medicine & Surgery, P.A.www.DreamABaby.com

Egg Freezingfor

Your Future

canbeagamechangerforwomen40yearsofageandyounger.

Thesewomencannowpreservetheirfertility,potentiallystoppingtheirbiologicalclocksuntiltheyarereadytostartafamily.

It has tremendous potential for women who are faced with a cancer diagnosis, as

well as those who want to delay childbearing.

Egg freezing

What is oocyte cryopreservation, or egg freezing?Oocytecryopreservation(OC)isaprocedurewhereawoman’seggs(oocytes)arefrozen(cryopreserved)forfutureuse.Itiscommonlyknownaseggfreezing.

Morethan1,000childrenhavebeenbornthroughOC.1In2012,theAmericanSocietyforReproductiveMedicine,theleadingprofessionalorganizationforthereproductivemedicinefield,announcedthattheprocedureshouldnolongerbeconsideredexperimental.2

Who qualifies for and who may benefit from egg freezing? Womenbetweentheages13(puberty)and40yearsoldwillbeconsideredforOCwithinformedconsentorsignatureofalegalguardian.Patientsmustbehealthyenoughtoundergolightsedation.Goodcandidates,whowillbeevaluatedindividually,are:

1. Womenwantingtodelaychildbearingmayfreezetheireggsforuseinthefuturewhentheirnaturalabilitytoreproducewouldotherwisebereduced.

2. WomenwithupcomingpelvicsurgeryormedicaltreatmentsthatcouldresultinthelossofovariantissueoreggsarecandidatesforOC.Thisincludeswomenwithbenigndiseases(i.e.,ovariancysts,endometriosis)aswellascancer.

3. WomenatriskforearlymenopausebecauseoftheirfamilyhistoryorgeneticreasonsmayalsoconsiderOC.

What risks does egg freezing pose?Themedicationsusedintheovarianstimulationprocessandduringeggretrievalareuseduniversallyaroundtheworld.Thereisnodataforhumansthatindicatesthatthemedicationshavelong-termcomplications.TheriskoftheeggretrievalprocedureitselfatSpecialistsInReproductiveMedicine&Surgery,P.A.(SRMS)isestimatedatonepercentorless.

Are children conceived through oocyte cryopreservation normal? Approximately3.5millionchildrenhavebeencreatedthroughIVFworldwideandthechildrenaregenerallyashealthyasthoseconceivednaturally.6Althoughstudiesareongoing,theredoesnotappeartobeanincreaseintherateofbirthdefectsorchromosomalabnormalitiesinchildrenbornfromcryopreservedoocytes.7,8,9

What are the successful live birth rates following egg freezing?Successratesforlivebirthsaredependentupontheageatwhichyoufrozeyoureggs,thenumberfrozen,thesurvivalratefollowingthaw,thenumbersuccessfullyfertilizedaswellasthenumberandqualityofembryoseventuallytransferredtoyouruterus.Eachpatientwillreceiveaconsultationestimatingtheoverallchancesforfuturesuccess.Basedonrecentstudies,successratesarelikelytobesimilartoinvitrofertilization(IVF)usingfreshoocytes.4,5

How much does it cost?SRMShasbeenquitecarefultoaccuratelycalculatethecostsfortheOCprocess.CostsareavailableindetailintheDownloadCenteronthewebsite.Yourinsurancepolicymaycoverall,partornoneofthefeesinvolved.Thereisa20%reductiononchargesbilledbySRMSforasecondeggretrievalprocedure.

WomenneedingeggfreezingbecauseofacancerdiagnosismayqualifyforfinancialassistancethroughLIVESTRONG’s Sharing HopeprogramandthroughVerna’s Purse.ContactSRMSformoredetails.FerringPharmaceuticalsalsooffersfreemedicationsthroughtheirHeartbeat Programtowomenwithacancerdiagnosisneedingeggfreezing.ToapplyorformoreinformationaboutFerring’sHeartbeatprogram,pleasevisit:heartbeatprogram.com.

How do I get started?1. Pleasereviewtheon-lineOCinformationlocatedwithintheDownloadCenterontheSRMSwebsite,DreamABaby.com

2. ScheduleaninitialconsultwithanSRMSspecialistwhowillreviewyourmedicalrecordsaswellasobtainahistoryandphysicalexamination.

3. Youwillhaveapelvicultrasoundandlabstudieswillbeperformedtodetermineyourovarianreserve.

4. Forapproximatelytwotothreeweeks,yourovariesarepreparedwithdailyhormoneinjectionsgivenjustbeneaththeskin.SRMSmonitorsyourprogresswithperiodicpelvicultrasoundsandbloodtests.

5. Youwillbegivenintravenous(IV)lightsedationwhereyouwillbeasleepandbreathingonyourown.Thedoctorwillthenretrieveyoureggsusingaslenderneedleplacedthroughthewallsofthevaginaandintotheovariesunderultrasoundguidance.

6. Matureandhealthyoocyteswillbecryopreservedinliquidnitrogenforfutureuse.

7. Dependinguponyourageandthenumberofoocytescryopreserved,itmaybeidealtoundergoasecondproceduretoessentiallydoublethenumberofcryopreservedoocytes.

8. OnceyourOC/eggfreezingproceduresarecompleted,thecryopreservedoocyteswillbetransferredtoalong-termstoragefacility,locatedoutoftheregion,forsafekeeping.

9. Thecryopreservedoocytesmaylastforyears,decadesandperhapsevenlonger.Ithasbeenconfirmedthattherearenodifferencesinlivebirthratesbetweenoocytesthawedandtransferredafter48monthscomparedtothosethawedearlier.3

References:1.Rodriguez-WallbergKA,OktayK.Recentadvancesinoocyteandovariantissuecryopreservationandtransplantation.BestPractResClinObstetGynaecol2012Jun;26(3):391-405.2.ThePracticeCommitteesoftheAmericanSocietyforReproductiveMedicineandtheSocietyforAssistedReproductiveTechnology.Matureoocytecryopreservation:aguideline.FertilSteril.2012Oct12.3.ParmegianiL,GarelloC,GranellaF,GuidettiD,BernardiS,CognigniGEetal.Long-termcryostoragedoesnotadverselyaffecttheoutcomeofoocytethawingcycles.ReprodBiomedOnline2009;19:374-9.4.GrifoJA,NoyesN.Deliveryrateusingcryopreservedoocytesiscomparabletoconventionalinvitrofertilizationusingfreshoocytes:potentialfertilitypreservationforfemalecancerpatients.FertilSteril2010;93:391-6.5.Hodes-WertzB,NoyesN,MullinC,McCaffreyC,GrifoJA.Retrospectiveanalysisofoutcomesfollowingtransferofpreviouslycryopreservedoocytes,pronuclearzygotesandsupernumeraryblastocysts.ReprodBiomedOnline2011;23:118-23.6.WennerholmUB,etal.Childrenbornaftercryopreservationofembryosoroocytes:asystematicreviewofoutcomedata.HumReprod.2009Sep;24(9):2158-72.Link:http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/24/9/2158.full.pdf+html7.TaoT,ZhangW,DelValleA.Humanoocytecryopreservation.CurrOpinObstetGynecol2009Jun;21(3):247-52.8.WinslowKL,YangD,BlohmPL,BrownSE.Oocytecryopreservation/athreeyearfollow-upofsixteenbirths.FertilSteril2001;76(Supplement1):S120-S121.9.CoboA,RubioC,GerliS,RuizA,PellicerA,RemohiJ.Useoffluorescenceinsituhybridizationtoassessthechromosomalstatusofembryosobtainedfromcryopreservedoocytes.FertilSteril2001;75:354-60.

For more information, please visit www.DreamABaby.com, emailFertility@DreamABaby.com

or call 239-275-8118.

Specialists in Reproductive Medicine & Surgery, P.A.12611 World Plaza Lane,

Building 53Fort Myers, FL 33907 USA

Specialists in Reproductive Medicine & Surgery, P.A.www.DreamABaby.com