FOR CANCER PATIENTS AND THOSE FACING FERTILITY ISSUES, THIS FREEZING TECHNIQUE IS EMERGINGAS A SAFER WAY TO HAVE HEALTHY BABIES.
An ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedure in which a single sperm is injected into the egg and froze the embryo.
With late marriages and external factors like stress and pollution leading to a rise in fertility issues in both men and women, several couples are opting for techniques like embryo freezing. The Indian Society of Assisted Reproduction estimates that around 27.5 million couples in India are infertile. While 35 were assumed to be the cut-off age for a smooth pregnancy earlier, doctors say this age is progressively getting pushed back. However, by freezing their embryos, couples can bypass the biological clock to a good extent through no procedure offers guarantees.
But what exactly is it and how is it different from freezing one’s eggs? Specialists say embryo freezing is a process that requires fertilized eggs and sperm. “For embryo freezing, one needs to wait till the blastocyst stage (5-6 days after fertilization, for a high success rate in pregnancy). The selected embryos are frozen.
There are couples who use it for family planning as well. “Couples who conceive successfully during their first IVF cycle and wish to have another child without undergoing another IVF cycle also go for embryo freezing. We also see women with severe endometriosis, recurrent miscarriages, or uterine abnormalities come to us along with their partner to freeze their embryos.”
Even the international patients too is as the cost of embryo storage is lower in India compared to western countries, and the quality of service is also much better.
“During the woman’s IVF cycle, the fertility team successfully retrieved and froze six embryos. After the highest quality embryo was transferred and a successful pregnancy achieved, the couple were overjoyed.
However, according to the Assisted Reproduction Technology (Regulation) Act of 2021, embryos can be stored for a maximum of 10 years, after which they must either be allowed to perish or be donated to a registered research organization with the consent of the commissioning couple or individual.
Frozen embryos, combined with advanced genetic screening techniques, can also prevent inherited diseases. Previously, these tests would be done after conception, where doctors would have to advise abortions in case of life-threatening genetic anomalies, which would be traumatic for couples and families. “But now, by enabling preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), we can identify embryos free from genetic disorders before implantation, ensuring healthier future generations while giving parents the opportunity for informed reproductive choices.”
Such genetic screening is also useful in cases where families having a child with thalassemia want to conceive a second time with the hope that the second child could be a match for stem cell transplantation.
But simply freezing embryos does not guarantee a pregnancy in future. “Along with the quality of the embryo itself, success also depends on the woman’s age and her uterine health.” And it’s pretty expensive, too. A one-time fee for IVF and freezing of embryos ranges between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh in a tier-one city. Additionally, annual payments for embryo storage may amount to Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000.
HOW IT WORKS:
- Eggs and sperms are retrieved from respective donors.
- Then, they are fertilized in the lab, where a single sperm is injected into a single mature egg. Usually, multiple eggs are fertilized.
- Once embryos reach the blastocyst stage, 5-6 days after fertilization, the best ones are selected for freezing.
- Embryos are frozen through vitrification, a fast-freezing technique that prevents ice crystal formation and preserves embryo quality.
- Once needed, one embryo is thawed at a time and implanted into the uterus of the mother or a surrogate.
