Egg Freezing, which is also known as mature oocyte cryopreservation, refers to the method through which reproductive potential is restored among women. Eggs get harvested from the ovaries, frozen and in an unfertilized manner and are stored for purpose of using them later on. The egg freezing procedure is recommended for those women, who would like to delay conceiving baby due to various kinds of reasons.

Before the freezing of eggs, it is important to first retrieve the eggs. Let us look at how the eggs are retrieved, followed by the procedure of egg freezing through two different ways.

Retrieval of Egg

Egg Retrieval takes place just like it is done in case of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Women would need to be put under medication for hormones or through injections, which shall lead to the stimulation of ovaries, leading to more eggs getting matured. After this women would receive the necessary medication to stimulate ovulation and then the extraction of eggs takes place through the use of a needle. Specialists perform this whole procedure by putting women under the effect of anesthesia and are also guided by ultrasounds. Once the extraction is completed, the freezing takes place.

There are two different techniques involved in the egg freezing process. They include:

Slow Egg Freezing Method

A substance called cryoprotectant is used in order to protect the biological tissues from getting damaged out of freezing. This slow freezing method of getting eggs freezed relies on low initial concentrations of crytoprotectant. The cryoprotectant in low concentration is introduced when the egg is at a relatively warm temperature and still continues to experience the usual functions of a living cell. Then the cryptoprotectant would spread all throughtout thus fill the egg, hence replacing most of the water inside the egg. The egg is then inserted into a small container made of plastic and ultimately get placed inside a cooling chamber. The lowering of temperature, to around -6 degree centigrade, takes place through injecting very tiny amounts of liquid nitrogen into the cooling chamber. The cooling process is controlled by a computer.

The main purpose of these techniques is to avoid ice crystals from getting formed in the egg. During the spreading of the cryoprotectant, if the ice crystals are still present, they can cause damage to the egg and hence the egg may not survive the process of thawing. Then the temperature is lowered further to around -32 degree centigrade. By this time, the egg s metabolic rate become slow. The container where the egg was placed, is then dipped inside the liquid nitrogen, forming a solid.

Rapid Egg Freezing Method or Vitrification

At the time of rapid freezing method, there is high concentration of initial cryoprotectant whereas the cell remains at room temperature. The egg is unable to stay for long in this temperature and thus gets poured immediately onto the liquid nitrogen. Cryoprotectant spreads at a rapid rate so as to avoid ice-crystal from getting damaged. Vitrification is a very new method for freeing eggs. Recent research has shown that vitrification of eggs largely improves the possibility for survival after thawing and the rates of pregnancy.

Different Techniques That Can Be Used For Egg Freezing!

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a medical procedure followed for those women or couples suffering from infertility or for certain specific genetic problem. In the normal course, women or couples experience positive results within a few IVF cycles. However, in spite of reasonable pregnancy rates, some women may require few more cycles to achieve pregnancy. In such cases, in order to ensure a healthy pregnancy, the gynecologist may suggest the women undergo Endometrial Scratching before IVF. 

Endometrium explained in brief: 

The uterus is located in the pelvic region and it is in the size and shape of a pear. The inner cavity of the womb or uterus is protected by the tissue lining called endometrium, also called endometrial. The endometrium plays a significant role in supporting the pregnancy. 

The enhanced success of achieving pregnancy: 

The endometrial scratching procedure is a very simple one, which is resorted, so as to improve the results of IVF procedure. In this procedure, the gynecologist uses a very fine catheter and makes a small scratch on the endometrial lining. In fact, the scratch causes a kind of inflammatory reaction in the uterus. This inflammatory reaction induces the endometrium to be highly receptive to embryos during the successive menstrual cycle. This added receptivity enhances the success of pregnancy during the next menstrual cycle. 

Considering the higher level of success in achieving pregnancy, the endometrial scratching procedure has gained popularity in the IVF procedure. However, some of the other issues related to endometrial scratching may be as follows: 

Endometrial scratching optimises the uterine lining and thereby, makes it easier to continue the embryo implanting procedure. Normally, before the endometrial scratching procedure, the gynecologist may suggest endometrial biopsy. 
The endometrial procedure is usually suggested for those women who had two or more unsuccessful IVF procedures, despite having good quality embryos. However, in some cases, depending on the health of the patient and various other factors, the gynecologist may suggest this endometrial scratching at the very first IVF procedure. This procedure can be availed either for fresh embryos of the couple or frozen embryos or for the donor egg. 
Although this is a part of a surgical procedure; endometrial scratching is very simple and painless and it is done without administering anesthesia. The procedure does not require any hospitalisation. In fact, the patient can go home soon after the procedure. Except for a few pain killers, this procedure does not require any extensive medication. 
This is a safe and easy procedure. Neither does it lead to any side effects, nor is the procedure burdensome for your wallet. Many couples have been benefited by this endometrial scratching procedure.

Endometrial Scratching and IVF - Can it Help You Get Pregnant?

When we talk about infertility attention usually falls on treatment for women. However, infertility can affect men as well. The condition of infertility, can be described as the inability to become pregnant for a period of 1 year despite having unprotected, well-timed sexual intercourse. A low sperm count is one of the primary reasons for infertility in men.

Typically there should be fifteen million sperm per milliliter of semen. Low sperm count refers to the ejaculation of less than a normal amount of sperm in semen. This can also be termed as oligospermia. A complete absence of sperm in semen is known as azoospermia. Low sperm count does not mean that you cannot impregnate your partner but it reduces the chance of a successful conception. Thus, one of the most common ways to treat infertility caused by low sperm count is IVF.

IVF involves harvesting eggs from the woman s uterus and sperm from the male partner and combining them in a laboratory to form a zygote. When IVF is used to treat male infertility, a semen analysis is the first step. This helps determine the patient s sperm count, sperm motility, volume, pH levels, white blood cell levels etc.
The ejaculated semen is then processed so as to separate the sperm cells from the plasma. In this process sperm cells with higher motility are identified and segregated. These cells have a higher chance of fertilizing the egg.
Sperm cells are then injected into the harvested egg. Some techniques may require the injection of 50,000 or more sperm cells while others such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) can be effective with a single sperm cell. Once the egg is fertilized, it is allowed to develop for a few days in the laboratory. 
Two or three embryos are then selected to be reintroduced into the woman s uterus with the help of a catheter. The remaining fertilized embryos are preserved in an embryo bank in case the pregnancy is not successful. If these need to be used later, the woman does not have to go through the initial stages of IVF treatment to stimulate the follicles and harvest eggs from the ovaries.
When it comes to IVF, the success rates are very high. However, one of the most common side effects is the birth of twins or triplets. This is because multiple embryos are inserted into the uterus. The number of babies born then depends on the number of embryos that are implanted successfully.

Declining Sperm Count - How IVF Can Help Deal With It?

Frozen Embryo Transfer or FET is an extremely effective method to conceive a pregnancy. Recent studies have proved that there is a increased chance for pregnancy when the embryos, which get used are frozen and get placed inside the uterus at a time right after the ovaries are stimulated. Still, certain issues can arise with the transfer of frozen embryo, such as:

A Thin Lining of the Uterus
Research has shown that there are not many women who get pregnant if the lining in their uterine does not tend to thicken enough. It is not clear exactly why this problem occurs in most women and moreover there is no sure shot treatment to make the lining of the uterine thick. The experts on fertility would try out different methods like increasing the amount of estrogen or change the way how estrogen is given. There are other instances when women might be given supplemental medicines, while for some, the problem will continue to exist.

What Should Be Done In Case The Problem Persists?

In case the problem continues for some women, then there are certain approaches which experts might look to adopt. The first one is to cancel the transfer of embryo and try once again at any later stage, that too with a different treatment method.
The second option which they could think of is to go ahead with the transfer, wherein they might feel that a thin lining does not necessarily mean that it is impossible for a woman to get pregnant but definitely the efficiency would be reduced.
One last option is to make use of the opportunity for undergoing additional tests which would help them to assess the ability of the uterus to allow implantation of the embryos.
Unexpected Ovulation
For enabling the embryos to get implanted into uterus, placing them very precisely and at the appropriate time is important. This is regarded as the window of implantation. The time taken, is based on the time frame since progesterone reaches the lining of the uterine.

Doctor knows the exact time to place the embryos, right from the time he or she instructs a woman to start having progesterone supplements. In case a woman was to ovulate, the production of progesterone would begin earlier than the normal time and would lead to the shift of the window of implantation. As identifying the correct time of ovulation is almost impossible, so that would lead to some sort of uncertainty into the timing.

Due to this reason, there are doctors who would use medication in order to prevent unexpected ovulation from occurring. Generally an injection called Lupron is usually used as medication.

Timing for the Embryo Transfer is Inappropriate
This is a problem related to early ovulation. There are case when the implantation window is shifted, still the timing of the transfer becomes accurate. Recent studies have shown that quite a nominal percentage of women might have a window of implantation, which could be either earlier or later than normal time. A test called the Endometrial Receptivity Array can help determine at what time is the window of implantation open.

Frozen Embryo Transfer - Complications Associated With It!

It is as important for the man as it is for the woman to undergo certain tests before the IVF cycle is started. Fertility is not only an issue for a woman, but it also might be for the man in question. There are certain tests that need to be conducted on men before they can gear up for IVF:

1. Semen Analysis: One of the most important tests for male infertility is semen analysis. Sometimes, a man may be completely healthy, but his sperm production could be of poor quality. Semen analysis is done to provide an accurate evaluation of sperm number, the ability to move (motility), size and shape (morphology), as well as the consistency and volume of the sample collected.

2. Binding Test: Sometimes agglutination occurs where the sperms might stick to each other by their heads or tails. Sperm antibodies might cause this problem. The IVF treatment's success might be compromised if this happens. A simple binding test is done to determine this.

3. Trial Wash: This is also known as sperm wash. It is mostly done to remove chemicals from the sperm. Not doing a sperm wash might end up affecting the later stages of the IVF treatment. In this process, the misshapen and immotile sperm is separated so a clean sample of motile and healthy sperm can be collected.

4. TUNEL Assay: Since sperms build up about half of a child's genetic makeup, a TUNEL Assay or 'sperm DNA test' is required. This test is done to measure the sperm population that have fragmented DNA. Negative impacts on genetics can hamper the success of the fertility treatment.

TUNEL Assay is usually recommended to men with:
a) Leukocytes detected by the sperm analysis
b) Age approaching 50
c) A history of diabetes II type or prostatitis
d) Exposure to chemicals or prolonged heat at workplaces

5. Screening for Infectious Diseases: This test is done for both the partners to check for diseases like AIDS, Hepatitis C, and so on.

Tests Suggested for Men Before IVF

As we all know that IVF stands for In vitro fertilisation. It is a method of stimulating the ovaries in a female body, to release an ovum (egg), which is taken out of the body and fertilised artificially in the laboratory with the help of a sperm. After this, the embryo is transferred back to the uterus where it grows and develops naturally.

Understanding the Procedure

The doctor attempts to have complete control over your menstrual and ovulation cycles, so as to know the correct time of the month when you ovulate. This includes, charting basal body temperatures, hormonal therapy drugs etc.
Frequent blood tests, ultrasound will be required to map the progress of ovulation.
Injections, drugs will be prescribed in required dosage to stimulate the ovaries.
During this time, the doctors will monitor the growth of oocytes (eggs).
After a suitable growth of the oocytes follicles, the eggs are retrieved for artificial insemination. (Fertilisation with the use of sperm cells in the laboratory).
After the successful fertilisation, the embryo is transferred back to the uterus.
Can IVF have side effects?

As a side effect it has a major chance of multiple pregnancies. People intending to have just one child, may not be mentally or economically prepared to take the responsibility of more than one child.
The drugs and medicines used throughout the IVF procedure may create hormonal complications in the long run. It bears a risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, if the mother has to go through the cycle multiple times.
But it offers a number of benefits too...

IVF increases the chance of pregnancy by a large percentage. It is one of the most successful methods of boosting fertility and pregnancy.
Couples, who have repeatedly failed to bear children naturally, can opt for this treatment to produce their own offspring.
In case the couples are completely infertile, donor eggs or sperms may be used in the process. However, in that case, the offspring will not bear the DNA of both parents.
IVF can greatly reduce the chance of surgery on the fallopian tubes.
IVF also provides an opportunity to choose the healthiest embryos before implanting it back in the uterus. A procedure, known as the pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, determines the presence of any abnormal genes or other chromosomal absurdity.
The procedure of IVF has a very high success rate and with technological advancements in the field of medicine, it has also become much safer.
IVF allows women, who go into premature menopause, to be able to bear a child. This treatment is mostly for women who decide to experience motherhood at a slightly older age.
IVF allows same sex partners and single women to bear an offspring.
It is extremely helpful for women who have their fallopian tubes damaged, blocked or surgically removed.

IVF - 9 Benefits You Must Know!

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