Preservation of fertility: freezing eggs and sperm

Fertility preservation consists in freezing the eggs and spermatozoa in straws or other freezing methods, and keeping them stored submerged in liquid nitrogen.

Thus, these cells can be preserved intact for an indefinite period until the time when they are desired to have offspring. When the time comes, they can be used in an assisted reproduction treatment.

Another option is to freeze ovarian or testicular tissue, but these procedures are still in the experimental period. It can be used in cases where freezing of eggs or semen is not possible.

Next you have an index with all the points that we are going to treat in this article.

Index

Preservation of fertility: freezing eggs and sperm

1. When does fertility need to be preserved?
2. How can I preserve my fertility?
2.1. Vitrification of ova
2.2. Freezing sperm
2.3. Freeze the ovaries and testicles
2.4. Vitrificating embryos
3. Prices
4. Questions of users
4.1. Until what age can eggs be frozen? Can they freeze at age 41?
4.2. How can sperm and eggs be frozen at home?
4.3. How can live sperm be preserved?
4.4. How long is frozen sperm?
4.5. Is the preservation of fertility in cancer patients possible in Social Security?
5. Recommended Reading

When does fertility need to be preserved?

Fertility can be preserved mainly in two specific cases: in cancer patients and when it is desired to delay maternity.

Cancer patients may lose their fertility in chemotherapy and radiation treatments. These are very aggressive treatments that attack the precursor cells of eggs and spermatozoa, so they can not have biological children. In these cases, gametes can be frozen to avoid having to resort to donor eggs or semen in the future.

Access this article for more information on preserving fertility in cancer patients: Cancer and fertility.

It is also possible to use methods to preserve fertility when you want to delay maternity. The woman is born with a finite number of eggs, which is reduced with time. From puberty, in each menstrual cycle, the egg population (ovarian reserve) continues to decrease monthly until the complete exhaustion, known as menopause.

With age a loss of female fertility occurs and can not be recovered. Not only is the number of eggs diminishing: there is also a decrease in their quality. This implies that their ability to be fertilized decreases, the ability to divide properly once fertilized and that increases the likelihood that they have genetic alterations.

Therefore, the woman can preserve her fertility when she is young and her eggs are of good quality. Thus, you can avoid having to resort to ovodonation in the future.

How can I preserve my fertility?

To preserve fertility it is necessary to resort to a freezing method commonly used in assisted reproduction: vitrification. It is a cryopreservation method by which it freezes superfast in liquid nitrogen.

Thanks to advances in freezing techniques, it is possible to:

Freezing eggs
Freezing ovarian tissue (experimental)
Freeze semen
Freeze testicular tissue (experimental)
Freeze embryos

To do this, it is necessary to use cryoprotectants. These are molecules that prevent the formation of ice crystals, which form in freezing and are harmful to the cells and tissues that are to be preserved.

Vitrification of ova

The vitrification of eggs consists of cryopreservation of eggs in vitrification straws, for which cryoprotectants are used. Ova are stored frozen inside tanks of liquid nitrogen called egg banks. Thus, the eggs can be stored for unlimited time without losing their physical and functional characteristics.

In order to vitrify eggs, it is necessary for the woman to administer the hormonal medication prescribed by the doctor. This medication will mature several eggs at a time so they can be aspirated directly from the ovary by follicular puncture, an intervention with sedation.

The eggs obtained by the vitrification method are then frozen and stored in an egg bank, where they remain indefinitely.

Steps to freeze eggs

By means of the vitrification process, very good survival rates and post-freezing oocyte recovery are achieved.

The assisted reproduction treatment to be used once is to be mother is in vitro fertilization (IVF) with frozen eggs.

Freezing sperm

To freeze and store semen, you do not need to take any medication. The man should simply collect a sample of semen with a previous sexual abstinence of between 3 and 5 days. In the laboratory, they will analyze the sperm quality (concentration, mobility, morphology and vitality) through a seminogram.

Finally, the semen is processed to obtain the best quality spermatozoa and put them in straws, which are sealed and stored in a semen bank. Samples of frozen sperm will remain stored until descent is decided.

Freeze the ovaries and testicles

It is not possible to freeze the ovary or the entire testicle, only a small portion can be frozen. In the case of women, the method is called freezing of ovarian tissue, and in man, testicular tissue freezing. It is a treatment still in experimental phase.

These methods can be used in cases of cancer, mainly in:

Childhood cancer: puberty has not yet been reached and, therefore, no eggs or spermatozoa can be produced that can be vitrified.
Women with cancer that require immediate treatment: it would not allow time for a cycle of ovarian stimulation to vitrify eggs.
Women with hormone-dependent cancer: hormonal stimulation necessary for egg-freezing is contraindicated.

The procedure consists in extracting, through biopsy, small pieces of the bark of the ovaries in the woman or the seminiferous tubules in the man. This is where ova and sperm develop respectively in adulthood. In the child, in these tissues are the precursor cells of ovules and spermatozoa.

The extracted immature tissue is dissected and cut into thin sheets, which are frozen in liquid nitrogen. Subsequently, once it has been confirmed that the cancer has disappeared and reaches adulthood, it is self-transplanted into the ovary or into the testis. It is also possible to make the graft in another part of the body, such as in the arm.

Extraction of ovarian and testicular tissue by biopsy

Complex surgery is required and success rates are substantially lower than those achieved with egg and sperm freezing due to technical difficulty and limited survival of the graft.

Vitrificating embryos

An alternative to the vitrification of eggs offered to heterosexual couples is to freeze fertilized eggs when they have already begun to divide. The main reason for choosing embryo vitrification instead of egg freezing is that it has a higher survival rate and post-freeze recovery.

The freezing process is similar to that of egg vitrification. The embryos are introduced into a medium with cryoprotectants and placed in vitrification straws. The straws are then stored in a bank of embryos, where they remain frozen in liquid nitrogen until they are used.

Prices

Prices vary depending on the treatment and the complexity of the process. The simplest and least expensive technique is the freezing of semen, whose price ranges from 200 to 700 ?.

The freezing of ova and embryos are more complex and laborious techniques, so their cost is higher. Embryo freezing can cost 3,500-6,000 ?, while freezing eggs has a price of 2,500-4,000 ?. In both cases, a process of hormonal stimulation is necessary, so it will be necessary to add between 1,000 and 1,200 ? extra for the medication, which is not usually included in the price.

In Assisted Reproduction ORG we have obtained agreements with different Spanish clinics to offer you treatments at a cheaper price and with no initial cost. With the download of the following coupons, the first visit will be free:

Discounts for egg vitrification
Discounts for semen freezing

User questions

Until what age can eggs be frozen? Can they freeze at age 41?

There is no age limit to freeze them, can be done when you want. However, the ideal is to do it when the woman is young and her eggs are of good quality. Thus, there will be a greater probability of success when in vitro fertilization treatment is done to have offspring.

How can sperm and eggs be frozen at home?

These cells can not be frozen at home, should be done in a specialized medical center. So that eggs and sperm can be used later, they must be frozen under specific conditions that can not be achieved at home. In addition, to freeze eggs, they should first be surgically removed.

How can live sperm be preserved?

Current sperm freezing methods allow the sperm to be practically intact. Thanks to the cryoprotectants that are already used and the rapid freezing that is used, they are preserved without suffering any damage and the survival rates are high.

How long is frozen sperm?

They can be frozen for an indefinite period of time. The method used for freezing allows the preservation of samples without suffering damage and maintaining practically intact their physical and functional characteristics.

Yes, both men and women with cancer can preserve their fertility so they can have children in the future when they have recovered. In fact, cancer patients often have priority in Social Security. However, women who want to freeze their eggs to delay maternity should go to a private center.

Search This Blog

Assisted reproductive technology