Egg Freezing & Banking

Egg freezing offers a way to preserve your eggs at their healthiest so you can use them months or years later, whenever you’re ready. At La Jolla IVF, esteemed infertility and in vitro fertilization (IVF) specialist David B. Smotrich, MD, FACOG, works with elite fertility lab experts to supportively guide you through the entire egg freezing and IVF process when it’s right for you. Call the La Jolla, California, office or click online booking now.

What is egg freezing?

Egg freezing means retrieving eggs from the ovaries and preserving them in their current state using a process called vitrification. In vitrification, the egg freezes very rapidly, which prevents the drawbacks of slow freezing, such as ice crystals that could damage the egg.

With egg freezing, your eggs can be “stored” or kept in a secure environment in its frozen state, for up to 10 years or longer. 

When might I want to consider egg freezing?

Common reasons to consider egg freezing are:

Delaying pregnancy

If you’re not ready to get pregnant now but think you might want children in the future, freezing your eggs can keep your options open. Preserving young and healthy eggs now allows you to use those eggs later rather than the lower-quality eggs that come with aging. 

Protecting fertility

If you’re planning chemotherapy or another treatment that can affect your fertility, freezing eggs now can be a smart choice. That way, even if you’re infertile following chemotherapy, you still have access to your healthy eggs for future pregnancies.

Preserving eggs before you lose them

If you have a family history of early menopause, you’re at risk of rapid egg loss as early as your 30s. By freezing your eggs now, you can have those healthy eggs to use in a future pregnancy, even if you go through early menopause.

Some parents have legal or ethical reasons for choosing egg freezing. If any of these sound like good reasons to you, La Jolla IVF can explain the egg freezing process.

Is egg freezing the same as embryo freezing?

No, egg freezing and embryo freezing are different. With egg freezing, all eggs are unfertilized. Those eggs will never grow into a baby until they’re deliberately fertilized in the lab, creating an embryo. 

With embryo freezing, the eggs are fertilized before they’re frozen and, once thawed, can be implanted into an intended parent or surrogate to achieve pregnancy. 

How does egg banking affect success rates?

In recent years, thawed frozen eggs have survival, fertilization, and pregnancy rates rivaling those of fresh eggs thanks to ever-improving preservation methods like vitrification.

The more eggs you freeze and the younger you are when that happens, the better your chance of a future pregnancy using those banked eggs. 

To learn more about egg freezing and banking, call La Jolla IVF or click online scheduling now.