Not long ago, on Weibo, the well-known artist Ah Sa broke the news that she had just undergone egg freezing surgery, so many girls also said: Although I don't know what is going on, this wave of female celebrities can be considered to catch up. Is egg freezing really such an amazing thing? Today, I'm going to talk to you about egg freezing.
Why would anyone want to freeze their eggs? Wouldn't it be okay to do IVF in the future?
As a woman, the biggest difference between a woman and a man is that sperm is born at any time, but the egg is nested in the ovaries from birth. Therefore, as the age increases, the quantity and quality of eggs will inevitably go downhill, and the speed of decline from the age of 35 onwards is like skiing on the advanced trail, and the faster you go. The resulting rates of infertility, miscarriage, and chromosomal abnormalities have also increased significantly, eventually resulting in a situation where "eggs are less when they are used".
Good eggs are a necessary condition for the success of IVF, which means that when you are old and want to do IVF, you may have "nested and rotted". Therefore, women who do not have the conditions or do not want to complete the birth at the moment will want to "freeze the age" of their eggs.
Can egg freezing ensure that "there is an egg"? Is it guaranteed to have a baby?
There is evidence that young patients who use egg freezing for IVF have similar fertilization rates and clinical pregnancy rates as patients with fresh egg retrieval, and even give high scores of 90% to 97% for recovery success rate and 36% to 61% for clinical pregnancy rate. But! There are also many data showing that the pregnancy rate of frozen eggs is significantly lower than that of fresh eggs, for example, a study of 120,000 IVF cycles in Italy showed that the pregnancy rate of frozen egg embryos per transfer was 69% compared to 13 for fresh egg embryos5%。
So in short, whether there must be an egg or not, this is not too clear yet. In addition, even if the egg wakes up in a melting warmth, it still has to go through the stages of fertilization, implantation, etc., as well as the influence of many factors such as the endometrium, and death and injury are inevitable. In a study of 137 patients, the live birth rate was 50% for women aged 35 years or older and 23% for women aged 36 years or older. The older you are, the lower your chances. So what can be said now is: egg freezing, there is no guarantee that there will be a baby.
Is there an age limit for egg freezing? At what point should I consider egg freezing?
First of all, you must have guessed that eggs frozen at the age of 20 are definitely better than eggs frozen at the age of 40. So this matter has become a game problem: if it is frozen early, it may not be used at all, and it will cost you money for medicine and injections; It's late to freeze, and the quantity and quality are not good.
Several observational studies have evaluated the effect of a woman's age on the success of egg cryopreservation. As with fresh eggs, success rates are expected to decrease as we age. Another report also noted a significant reduction in pregnancy rates in women over the age of 40 who had frozen eggs. Most experts believe that the success rate of egg freezing before the age of 38 will be higher in the future, and the maximum age for egg freezing can be 45 years old, but only if they understand and accept the fact that the success rate is low. However, the specific situation should be analyzed individually, and you can check the ovarian reserve function according to your age and then find a professional doctor to help you judge.
How to achieve egg freezing?
To put it simply, egg freezing needs to be completed after a series of physical examinations, and the patient is injected with ovulation induction drugs for 10-14 days to fatten multiple eggs (ultra-ovulation induction), and at the same time, ultrasound and blood monitoring see that the eggs are ripe, and they will be taken off one by one (usually 8-15) and put in the basket through ** puncture (usually anesthesia). This basket contains cold-boiled liquid nitrogen, which instantly lowers the temperature of the eggs to reduce damage (vitrification). Wait for the time you need to use it and gently warm them up.
Is egg freezing safe for myself and my offspring?
Ovulation induction and egg retrieval are relatively safe** and procedures for women themselves, and the associated risks include ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and some surgical complications. For babies, current studies have shown that the incidence of chromosomal abnormalities in frozen embryos is no different from that of fresh embryos. There was no difference in the incidence of congenital malformations between frozen and fresh eggs. While short-term data may seem reassuring, long-term data on developmental outcomes and safety data for different (especially older) populations are lacking.
The most hardcore suggestion
The American Reproductive Association believes that although this technology may achieve delayed fertility, the safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of egg freezing technology applied on this premise are not clear. In fact, only 137 (9%) of the 1,468 women who had their eggs frozen for selective fertility preservation ended up using their own egg freezes. Coupled with the requirements of relevant domestic policies, single women and women without medical indications cannot complete egg freezing, and they also need to go to Thailand and other cities or other countries where policies permit, so if there is a woman who has this idea, she must consult a reliable doctor before making a decision.