A woman may wish to freeze her eggs for a number of reasons, both medical and social.  Medically, for example, if a patient is diagnosed with cancer, she is likely to require chemotherapy or radiation therapy.  This will often result in infertility. If she has frozen her eggs prior to her treatment she has a chance to use these in the future, possibly allowing her to have a baby when she would not have the chance naturally.

Other women may still be waiting to meet the right partner to have children with, or wish to concentrate on their careers, and see egg freezing as a way of preserving their fertility.  A woman’s chance of being able to conceive decreases as her age increases, especially after the age of 35.  When these ladies decide they are ready to try for a baby, they have the ‘younger’ eggs stored as a back-up in case they have problems becoming pregnant on their own.

The egg freezing technique involves collecting eggs from the patient in the same way as if she was undergoing a cycle of IVF.  The mature eggs are then frozen the same day.  When pregnancy is desired, the eggs are thawed and fertilised via IntraCytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI).  Resulting embryos are then transferred to the uterus.

Egg freezing has been more of a challenge scientifically than the freezing of embryos because the egg is the largest cell in the human body and contains a lot of water.  During the freezing process, this water may turn to ice crystals, which could destroy the egg.  The procedure that has been shown to have the highest post-thaw survival rate for both eggs and embryos is called Vitrification, and Barbados Fertility Centre is proud to offer this technique to our patients.

So far around 3000 babies have been born worldwide using frozen and thawed eggs.  The rate of chromosomal and birth defects of these babies has been no higher than in babies born from ICSI with fresh eggs.

EGG FREEZING PRE-CYCLE LABWORK LIST

Below is a list of lab tests required for you to undergo an EGG FREEZING cycle at Barbados Fertility Centre:

Female

Blood Tests:

HIV 1 & 2
Hepatitis B SAg
Hepatitis C Ab
RPR/VDRL
FBC (Full Blood Count)
ABO/Rh
AMH (Anti-Mullerian Hormone)
TSH
Prolactin

Physical Evaluation

• Pap Smear Test
• All results must be current – i.e. within 1 year.
• All these test results MUST be emailed or faxed to us prior to cycle start
  Fax: + 246-436-7467.