Egg freezing – a method that helps women to embrace motherhood only when they are ready to do it! With the advanced technology’s assistance, women can put their fertility on hold by freezing their fertile eggs.
Most women opt to preserve their eggs when they are not ready to become pregnant due to various reasons. That may include physical, economic, or psychological factors. They might also consider preserving their eggs if undergoing through any treatment for an illness that may hamper fertility potential in the future.
Egg freezing, also known as oocyte preservation, is most beneficial to women diagnosed with severe diseases such as cancer. Women are increasingly adhering to this medical procedure so that; they can bear children when they are ready to do it.
However, it’s essential to note the age when you’re deciding to freeze your eggs. Since it’s an attempt to freeze fertility, eggs are usually of the highest quality when a woman at a young age is freezing it.
The Medical Director of Nordica Fertility Centre of Lagos, Dr Abayomi Ajayi announced, “Women of 35 years of age or less has maximum chances for their frozen eggs to survive.”He further added, “Babies that are born from frozen eggs are as normal as babies produced with fresh eggs.”
Vitrification is the procedure used to ensure the survival of the frozen eggs when they are implanted in the mother’s ovary. This flash-freezing process involves turning the egg into a similar glass substance using liquid nitrogen at 196ᵒC temperature. As vitrification, success rates for egg freezing have increased considerably since the 1980s; this frozen procedure has since then started gaining momentum.
Big corporations such as Google, Apple, and Facebook have started offering insurances that cover egg freezing for their female employees.
However, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, or famously known as the RCOG, cautioned people in their latest report about “social egg freezing”. It says that even though the procedure aids women in having a future family, that doesn’t detract them from their contribution to society and economy’s upliftment.
Ajayi supported ROCG’s statement and made a further clarification. They did so to ensure women availing this technology reaps the maximum benefit. Also, women referring to this medical procedure must be provided with “age-specific success rates” by their clinic.
According to various studies on egg preservation, reports say 90% of eggs, which are frozen and thawed, survive. And, 75% of them will be successful at fertilizing. However, the chances of pregnancy after their implantation drop to 30-60%.
That’s why the age when you freeze your eggs become crucial as it determines the eggs’ efficacy. Any 30-year-old’s chance of successful freezing and thawing of her eggs is always higher than that of a 40-year-old woman.
Ajayi says, “A woman has to freeze 15-20 eggs when she’s 35. But, that number increases to 30 or even 40, when she comes to us at 40-years-old. And, it’s not always possible for women who have less ovarian reserves, that is, number of eggs in the ovary.”
Therefore, before going through this medical procedure, one must keep in mind that their age plays a determining factor during the whole process.