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Fertility Preservation 101: 5 Facts About Egg and Sperm Freezing

In today’s modern fertility care landscape, choices about family planning have become increasingly diverse, especially regarding safeguarding your reproductive future. Thanks to cutting-edge technologies and advanced laboratory techniques, more people than ever before are choosing to take control of their path to parenthood through fertility preservation. Also known as cryopreservation, this medical practice involves retrieving and freezing eggs or sperm and storing them in liquid nitrogen so that they can be used later down the road in an in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle. In this blog post, we’ll explore some interesting facts about the fascinating world of fertility preservation.

1. Vitrification Is the Key to Fertility Preservation Success

With fertility preservation, eggs and sperm, also known as gametes, are frozen through a technique known as vitrification. In this process, the gametes are treated with cryoprotectants (i.e., a substance that protects biological tissue from damage caused by freezing) and rapidly frozen into a glass-like state, preventing the formation of ice crystals. This method enhances cell survival and maintains the quality of the gametes during freezing and thawing, significantly improving success rates.

2. Eggs and Sperm Can be Frozen for a Long Time

Eggs and sperm, preserved through advanced cryopreservation techniques like vitrification, can endure the test of time. While there is no strict limit on how long gametes can be frozen, storage is typically considered indefinite. Again, this is largely due to the use of cryoprotectants and flash-freezing, which helps to ensure structural integrity. When stored in a specialized facility at ultra-low temperatures, frozen eggs and sperm can be preserved for extended periods without their quality being compromised.

3. Age Is Important When it Comes to Fertility Preservation

For women, the optimal age for egg freezing is typically in the late 20s to early 30s, as egg quality tends to decline with age. Men also benefit from considering sperm freezing earlier, as sperm quality can diminish with aging. By undergoing fertility preservation procedures during these prime reproductive years, individuals can safeguard their fertility potential, ensuring more favorable outcomes when they decide to start a family later in life.

4. Fertility Preservation Gives You Flexibility

Fertility preservation provides individuals with the flexibility to pursue their life goals without compromising their reproductive options. By safeguarding your fertility at the age when your reproductive potential is at its peak, you can confidently navigate career advancements, educational pursuits, or other personal goals without the constraints of a biological clock, thereby fostering a harmonious balance between your aspirations and future parenthood.

5. Fertility Preservation Helps Secure Your Options When Facing Cancer

While many individuals choose to freeze their eggs and sperm for social or elective reasons, fertility preservation also plays a crucial role for medical purposes, such as oncofertility. Oncofertility is a subset of medical care that lies at the crossroads of cancer treatment and fertility care. Many of the treatments used for treating cancer, including chemotherapy and radiation, can damage the reproductive system in both men and women, making it difficult to conceive later on in life. However, fertility preservation makes it possible for cancer patients to save their gametes before undergoing cancer treatment. 

Fertility Preservation: Planning for the Future

Fertility preservation has proven itself to be a proactive strategy for anyone who wishes to have a family in the future. Whether for personal reasons or medical ones, the choice to freeze one's eggs or sperm is a monumental decision that deserves consideration. Beyond the incredible technology and techniques that make it possible, fertility preservation is an opportunity to take control of your family-building destiny and create a plan that’s shaped by your goals and timeline. If you’re interested in learning more about fertility preservation and seeing if it’s right for you, we invite you to connect with the fertility specialists of Center for Reproductive Medicine. With fertility clinics in Winter Park and Celebration, FL, we are proud to serve the entire Orlando metro area.

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