Oocyte cryopreservation
Transgender men and non-binary individuals seeking certain kinds of gender-affirming care may opt to use oocyte cryopreservation before undergoing medical procedures that may affect fertility.
In some cases, persons may prefer oocyte cryopreservation over other options, where freezing embryos is the primary procedure.
This process includes one to several weeks of hormone injections that stimulate ovaries to ripen multiple eggs.
Eggs (oocytes) are frozen using either a controlled rate, a slow-cooling method, or a newer flash-freezing process known as vitrification.
Vitrification is associated with higher survival rates and enhanced development compared to slow-cooling when applied to oocytes in metaphase II.
[14][15] Recent modifications in the protocol regarding cryoprotectant composition, temperature, and storage methods have had a large impact on the technology, and while it is still considered an experimental procedure, it is quickly becoming an option for women.
[16] The ASRM noted that from the limited research performed to date, there does not appear to be an increase in chromosomal abnormalities, birth defects, or developmental deficits in the children born from cryopreserved oocytes.
The ASRM recommended that pending further research, oocyte cryopreservation should be introduced into clinical practice on an investigational basis and under the guidance of an Institutional Review Board (IRB).
In October 2012, the ASRM lifted the experimental label from the technology for women with a medical need, citing success rates in live births, among other findings.
Specifically, in the UK, egg freezing costs range from approximately £3,300 to £3,900 for the procedure, with annual storage fees between £350 and £400.
[19] Medical tourism may offer lower costs compared to performing egg freezing in high-cost countries like the US.
Some well-established medical tourism and IVF countries such as the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Greece, and Cyprus offer egg freezing at competitive prices.
Providing the lead to a new direction in cryobiology, Dr. Lilia Kuleshova was the first scientist to achieve vitrification of human oocytes that resulted in a live birth in 1999.
The frequency of this procedure has steadily increased since October 2012 when the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) lifted the 'experimental' label from the process.
[24] There was a spike in interest in 2014 when global corporations Apple and Meta Platforms announced they were going to pay for the procedure of egg freezing as a benefit for their female employees.
A string of "egg-freezing parties" hosted by third-party companies have also helped popularize the concept among young women.
[26] Social science research suggests that women use elective egg freezing to disentangle their search for a romantic partner from their plans to have children.
[27] In 2016, then US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced that the Department of Defense would cover the cost of freezing sperm or eggs through a pilot program for active duty service members, to preserve their ability to start a family even if they sustain certain combat injuries.
[29] Most risks associated with egg freezing aren't necessarily related to the practice itself, but rather come as consequences to the administration of medications intended to stimulate the ovaries.
Severe OHSS is serious with even further bloating so that the abdomen appears very distended, and thirst and dehydration occur with minimal urine output.
