Origins Hospital FERTILITY PRESERVATION PROGRAM is designed to serve the reproductive needs of individuals who intend to store their oocytes/eggs, embryos, or sperm for later use.
The diagnosis of cancer and the treatment process can be overwhelming. Preserving your eggs or sperm samples prior to cancer treatment makes you feel comfortable and better prepared for the future. Information about fertility preservation before you begin cancer treatment can help you make an informed decision.
Embryo cryopreservation: This procedure involves harvesting eggs, fertilizing them, and freezing them so that they can be transferred into the uterus at a later date for implantation. Research shows that embryos can survive the freezing and thawing process up to 90%.
Egg freezing (oocyte cryopreservation): In this procedure, you’ll have your unfertilized eggs harvested and frozen. Human eggs don’t survive freezing so well as human embryos.
At what age should you freeze your eggs? Fertility starts to decline from the age of thirty and is greatly reduced after forty years of age. Therefore, it is the optimum age to freeze your eggs in your late twenties. However, freezing eggs at thirty to thirty-five is also possible.
Sperm cryopreservation: This procedure involves freezing and storing sperm. Samples are frozen and can be stored for years.
The Fertility Preservation Program team will consider your age, your treatment plan, and the amount of time you have before treatment begins to help determine the best approach for you. They will be involved in evaluation, treatment, and preservation.