The reason for freezing ova are diverse, depending on whether it is a medical recommendation or a personal decision, although both must go hand in hand. Some examples are:
- Before initiating a Oncological Treatment
- As a precaution in certain surgeries that may affect ovaries
- Low ovarian reserve at a very young age
- Preserving fertility for psychological reasons
- Postponing maternity to wait for a stable economic or social situation
- Moral/ethical reasons for wishing not to freeze embryos.
- Age and ovarian reserve
- Employment-related reasons
- Not having a partner and wish to preserve fertility for the future
- Other reasons
Common reasons for postponing maternity
Preparing oneself mentally
Diseases
Waiting for a stable social or economic situation
Oncological treatments
Employment-related reasons
Other reasons
Una de las causas de infertilidad más común es que las mujeres retrasan su edad para ser madres, comprometiendo un futuro embarazo con sus propios óvulos.
One of the most common causes of infertility is that women postpone their age to become mothers, as the quantity and quality of their ova are affected by age.
At birth
Every woman has over 2 million potential ova in their ovaries at birth
Puberty
From puberty an ovum will be produced in every menstrual cyle
Adult
At age 30 these ova will start losing their reproductive quality
At age 35 ova start presenting chromosomal anomalies
Embryos of women older than 40 usually present high risk of chromosomal alterations.
Maturity
Ova are no longer produced with menopause
When and why should I freeze my ova?
Quality and age
Your ova will have the same quality and age at the moment you froze them and will continue like that until the moment you need them.
Rapid and comfortable process
The treatment is easy and rapid. In a total of 15 days. In addition, hospitalization is not required and daily life can continue with no complications. You can apply for the first visit through videoconference.
Preserve your Fertility and Genetics
When it comes to using your ova, you will know they will have the same fertile capacity as the moment you froze them. In addition, you will preserve your own genes without having to resort to ova from Donors.
Free process
You will only have to pay in case of using them in the future. You can use them for any Assisted Reproduction Technique at our centres or at any other you wish.
What does the process look like?
Ova freezing is a rapid, simple and painless process. The fundamental objective is to achieve the highest number of ova as possible and for this reason we perform the following processes:
Ovarian stimulation
It consists in a hormonal stimulation so that your ovaries can develop the highest number of ova as possible.
Ovarian puncture
Once your ova are mature, we will extract them vaginally by means of a small ambulatory surgery. This surgery consists in aspirating the content of your ova through an ultrasound puncture vaginally. For this purpose we will resort to soft sedation so that you do not feel any discomfort.
Medical and ultrasound control
In order to achieve a safe and proper development of your ova, every 2-3 days (for 10-12 days) we will perform an ultrasound and analytic examination in which we will regulate the dosage of medication you need.
Ovarian vitrification
Once your ova are extracted and processed in the laboratory, we will continue with its vitrification. It consists in freezing your ovum by means of a prior process of dehydration that impedes the formation of ice crystals that alter its inner structure. Finally, they will be stored at -195 ºC.
How long does it take?
Ova freezing is a rapid, simple and painless process
- It will start at the beginning of your menstrual period.
- On the date you wish
- The process will take from 10 to 12 days
Medication
In order to stimulate your ovaries we must employ hormonal medication
- The medication pattern will be adapted to the type of ovary of each woman.
- • Medication costs for an ova preservation treatment fluctuate between 600-1200€/li>
How and when can I use my ova?
You can use your ova at the moment you decide since they will have the same quality and age as the moment you froze them.
When it comes to make the decision of using your ova, the following information will be explained to you:
- What the process to make use of them is
- According to your personal situation, if you have a partner
- If you don’t and want to opt for a donor sperm bank
Still, this process is much simpler than the process you underwent for ova freezing, as the only thing to do is fertilizing your ova and preparing your uterus to receive the embryos resulting from the defrosting of your ova.
How and when can I use my ova?
At the moment you decide to become a mother and you can not become pregnant in the natural way, you will be able to use your ova as they will have the same quality and age as the moment you froze them.
When it comes to making the decision of using your ova, you will be counselled and informed in detail:
According to your personal situation, whether you have a partner or not.
If you want to opt for a donor sperm bank or perform any previous genetic technique.
We will inform you about all the assisted Reproduction techniques with which you can use your ova.
We can send you Ova to the Assisted Reproduction Centre you tell us if you wish.
How the Process look like
Ovarian devitrification
Process by means of which we will defrost your ova to be fertilized.
Study of the embryo’s development
Once ova are fertilized, the different stages of the embryonic development start. These embryos will be in incubators that reproduce the conditions of the development of women’s uterus and, in addition, will allow us to study the evolution thanks to a latest-generation system, Embryoscope Time-Lapse.
Treatment to favour pregnancy
In this stage of the treatment, we will use different medicine that will help to favour the implantation of the embryo and its subsequent development. It will not be necessary to undergo more medical controls if everything is favourable. It has a duration of 14-16 days from the ovarian puncture. You must control your physical activity and, in certain situations, rest.
Confirmation ultrasound of pregnancy
Within the 14 days following the pregnancy test, the gestation will be confirmed through ultrasound. It will be observed if the foetus has heartbeat and if it is singleton or double pregnancy.
Ova fertilization
Once ova are defrosted and processed in the laboratory, we will start its Fertilization. We will use the ICSI Technique, which consists in microinjecting a spermatozoon in each ovum in order to assure that ova have been fertilized.
Transfer of embryos
Once embryos are classified according to their study of development by Embryoscope Time Lampse, the embryos that are suitable for fresh transfer will be selected. Embryos will be transferred to the inside of the uterus through the cervix by means of an embryo-transfer catheter. It has a duration of 30 min. You will be recommended to rest for 48-72 hours after the transfer.
Pregnancy test
After 14-16 days from the embryo transfer a blood analysis will be performed to confirm the presence of the pregnancy hormone in the mother.