Tag: egg freezing

EGG FREEZING 2.0; interpretation of emerging data can be confusing

by Robert Greene, M.D., posted in egg freezing, egg quality, Egg/embryo donation, vitrification

Within days of writing about the modern benefits of egg freezing a new study was published in JAMA based upon old data. They looked at national data from 2013 and concluded that pregnancy rates from egg donors were lower if the eggs had been frozen than if they were fresh. That was probably true back then. But technology is advancing at an exponential rate. Reproductive medicine is arguably one of the most technology dependent fields of medicine. So applying 2013 results to current decision making is flawed from the very onset. Having said that, let’s consider what this publication may be able to teach us and how we should more accurately interpret it today.

This study looked at the 2013 Annual Report of the pregnancy rates from fertility centers in the USA which were collected by the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. The science and experience of most centers using this technology has advanced considerably since then.  In fact, it was in late 2013 that the Practice Committee for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine published the guidelines for oocyte cryopreservation.  In their review they pointed out the fact that much of the data that they analyzed was from Europe as few clinics in the USA had published their experience with egg freezing at that time. They also clarified how the difference in techniques used to freeze/thaw the eggs had progressed rapidly resulting in dramatic improvements in success rates. As a result, the removed the “experimental label” from the procedure because of these advances. However one of their most important ultimate conclusions was that “success rates may not be generalizable, and clinic-specific success rates should be used to counsel patients whenever possible.” Despite that clearly stated recommendation, this latest research paper lumped together all of the clinic data and created the latest public misinformation campaign.

Today, many more centers have experience in freezing/thawing eggs using the most modern technique of vitrification. As a result, more patients that need donor eggs are able to benefit from the lower cost and greater convenience of frozen eggs and still enjoy the very best in success rates. Better still, many egg banks offer special guarantees so that if a specific donor’s eggs do not perform well: they will have access to replacement eggs without additional cost. So the best message for patients in need of donor eggs today is to be a wise consumer. Patients should ask their clinical very candidly about their unique experience with frozen donor eggs. I think that they will find greater reassurance in today’s science than in yesterday’s news.

EGG FREEZING: the latest twist on “family planning”

by Robert Greene, M.D., posted in egg quality, fertility planning, Fertility Preservation

For decades, “family planning” was synonymous with contraception. The Guttmacher Institute—a prominent reproductive health think tank—stated that “controlling family timing and size can be a key to unlocking opportunities for economic success, education and equality” for women. In fact, their most recent analysis concluded that effective contraception has contributed to increasing women’s earning power and narrowing the gender pay gap. Whether it’s for these reasons or not, studies have consistently demonstrated that many women are choosing to delay childbearing. The age at first birth for women is now approaching 28 year of age and the birth rate in the USA is at an all time low. As more women choose to delay (or extend) their reproductive years, it is important that more women become aware of the potential benefit of oocyte freezing. In a recent study called “Baby Budgeting” one research group described this technique of freezing/storing eggs as a “technologic bridge” from a woman’s reproductive prime to (her) preferred conception age.

Today egg freezing has made it possible for women to truly “plan their family” by storing eggs for later use. The first successful pregnancy from frozen eggs was reported in 1986. But for decades the process remained very inefficient; requiring about 100 eggs for each successful pregnancy. Therefore the procedure was considered experimental and primarily offered to women that were faced with chemotherapy, radiation or other fertility-robbing treatments used to treat serious illnesses. But with the development of more effective techniques for freezing eggs; success rates in many centers using frozen eggs is as good as it is with using fresh eggs. As a result of this improvement in pregnancy rates, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine lifted the “experimental” label from egg freezing and began supporting its use for social (rather than medical) reasons. Recently, two different studies determined that the most common reason for women to seek egg freezing as a means of protecting their fertility was the “lack of a current partner.”  That said, Facebook and Apple have made egg freezing available to their employees and many predict other companies to follow this trend as well. As more women consider this option of preserving their fertility, there are several questions that they should think about in order to create an individualized plan.

For practical reasons, the process of creating a fertility plan should be tailored to a woman’s current age, how many children she would like to have and her current ovarian reserve. Existing guidelines suggest that if a woman is in good health, less than 31 years old and with a normal ovarian reserve—she should wait and reevaluate her situation every one to three years. On the other end of the spectrum, if a woman is over 38 years of age she should consult with a board certified reproductive endocrinologist to discuss her options. So the women that are typically the most suitable candidates for egg freezing are women between 31 and 38 years of age that are seeking to delay pregnancy for at least 2 years. The “Baby Budgeting” study found these are the patients for whom the procedure is most cost-effective. A similar study found that based upon successful pregnancy rates women should ideally freeze their eggs by 35 to 37. Testing a woman’s ovarian reserve however is the critical factor in customizing these recommendations.

Ovarian reserve represents the best estimate of how fertile a woman is compared to other women of the same age. It is usually tested by means of a blood test and/or a properly timed ultrasound examination of her ovaries. Sometimes, this test reveals that a young healthy woman may have a fewer number of fertile eggs remaining than would be otherwise expected. That’s why this test is so important. It can inexpensively identify if someone should consider egg freezing prior to the 32-38 year old age range. This test is also predictive of how many eggs a woman is likely to produce in a single egg-freezing cycle. The current recommendation is that women should try to have 15 to 20 eggs available for each one or two pregnancies that she hopes to have. Many women will produce this number in a single egg-freezing cycle whereas others may need to go through the process two or three times in order to bank this many eggs. Once properly frozen, the eggs are generally considered as fertile on the day that they are thawed as they were on the day that they were frozen—effectively prolonging fertility for 10 years or longer.

Each egg frozen is estimated to have a 2 to 12% chance of producing a live birth. That’s the reason that it is recommended that women store a larger number of eggs than the number of children that she hopes to have. Doing so improves the odds of having several that are of good quality. Since a woman’s age serves as an estimate of her egg quality, online databases can provide estimates of a successful live birth based on a few simple questions. So now it is a lot easier for women that aren’t quite ready to become pregnant to create a proactive family plan that fits in with the rest of her personal and professional goals.

Here’s brief segment on Egg Freezing from Colorado & Co