التكنولوجيا وأخبارها بوابة الإمارات لتكنولوجيا المعلومات والإتصالات
Egg Freezing: All You Need to Know
Dr. Melado, IVF expert at the world-renowned IVF Clinic UAE offers insights into
the process
Increasing fertility awareness and the rising trend of
delayed parenthood in women have helped spike the
demand for egg freezing over the recent years. “From
technologies used to success rates, learning the
fundamentals before opting for this procedure is an
essential key to achieving the desired results”, emphasized
Dr. Laura Melado, IVF Specialist, IVI Fertility Clinic Middle
East, which runs clinics in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Muscat in Oman.
“Egg freezing is an advancement in the field of
Reproductive Medicine that provides many women with an
option to pursue motherhood later in life; whatever their
reason be. However, we advise those who are thinking of
going this route to conduct extensive research and talk to
an IVF specialist first so that they can properly plan
everything beforehand. Like in everything else, we
advocate for education and empowerment in this process
too,” further added
Dr. Melado.
She clarified that fertility preservation through egg freezing
is not just a choice available to women who wish to
postpone their pregnancy. The doctor said egg freezing is
also for those who are diagnosed with cancer, autoimmune
diseases, are planning to undergo chemotherapy and bone
marrow transplants, or are at risk of needing repeated
ovarian surgery due to endometriosis and other conditions.
Egg freezing, the IVF doctor noted, may help reduce failed
In-vitro Fertilization (IVF) cycles as well.
Under this procedure, the eggs, medically referred to as
oocytes, are extracted and frozen at a temperature of -196
degrees Celsius. Freezing the eggs ensures that they
remain young and in the best condition. The extracted eggs
are then stored away, gradually unfrozen, and fertilized.
These fertilized eggs are then transferred back into the
uterus as embryos through IVF when the woman and her
husband are ready to get pregnant.
The chance of a successful pregnancy in the future is higher
if more eggs are produced and extracted. For this purpose,
female patients are recommended to undergo
subcutaneous injections every day to help stimulate the
follicles and produce mature eggs, which are then collected
from the woman’s ovary under anesthesia. In case, a
woman does not produce many eggs in a cycle, her IVF
Specialist at the treating IVF Fertility Center may
recommend a second round of retrieval process.
“From ovarian stimulation to egg extraction, the entire
procedure may take an average of
13 days. As for the retrieved eggs, they can remain frozen
for years. Oocyte survival is traditionally longer, giving
women more room to postpone conception with reasonable
guarantees of success,” Dr. Melado said.
The doctor also pointed out that egg freezing works best
when quality eggs are taken. In such a case, age plays a
factor. Therefore, the best time to undergo the procedure is
when a woman is in her prime reproductive age and is
usually not recommended in women over 38. It’s because,
after 38, females undergo genetic and biological changes
that impact their capability to produce quality eggs.
“At IVI Fertility Clinic UAE, we make sure that our patients
are aware of the entire egg freezing process, including the
financial, emotional, and even the social aspects of the
procedure. There are many factors that they need to know,
which may impact their chances of a successful pregnancy
in the future. By educating them, we enable the couples to
think things through and arrive at a better and more
informed decision,” Dr. Melado concluded.
IVI Fertility is a renowned IVF clinic that runs three state-
of-the-art infertility clinics in the Middle East – Fertility
clinic Abu Dhabi and Fertility clinic Dubai in UAE as well as
Fertility clinic Muscat in Oman. IVI Fertility has the highest
success rate in the region of over 70% and hundreds of IVF
specialists with years of global experience work together to
deliver success for couples.
