Treatment

Egg freezing is one way to protect yourself against the ticking biological clock, but there’s another way that can extend the chance of pregnancy while also saving you time and money. Enter: frozen embryo transfers. SGF physician Dr. Lauren Roth tells Parents Magazine how egg freezing is different from frozen embryo transfers (FETs) and how the process works. Dr. Roth sees patients in SGF’s Frederick and Rockville, Maryland offices.

What’s the Difference between Egg Freezing and Frozen Embryo Transfers?

What differentiates egg freezing and frozen embryo transfers has to do with fertilization. When a woman decides to freeze her eggs for reasons often related to education, career, or relationship status, she doesn’t need a partner to participate in the process. When she’s ready to have kids, however, she’ll undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) in which the sperm, provided either by a partner or a sperm donor, will fertilize the thawed egg.

Frozen embryos, on the other hand, have already been fertilized before they’re frozen. After being inseminated, the embryo goes through a process called cryopreservation, which replaces the water in the cell with cryoprotectant. This keeps it safe during vitrification, where the embryo is frozen and then stored in liquid nitrogen until a woman is ready to become pregnant.

Frozen embryo transfers are a compatible option for women who already intend on using IVF treatment to conceive. “If a couple is having their first child through in vitro fertilization (IVF), they may decide to create multiple embryos. They can freeze and save some of these embryos for later cycles,” says Dr. Roth. Women also have more control over their pregnancy, as they can select the day of their transfer months in advance, which will then be used to determine their cycle initiation date.

Understanding How Embryo Freezing Works

Similar to egg freezing, a woman will need to undergo the egg retrieval first. This requires the woman to take hormone injections for around 8 to 10 days before the egg retrieval to stimulate the growth of multiple mature eggs, according to Dr. Roth. The egg retrieval is a short surgical procedure, lasting up to 30 minutes and uses mild anesthesia to keep the woman from feeling or remembering anything.

Once the eggs have been retrieved, they are fertilized during in vitro fertilization and can be transferred fresh, or frozen when the woman is ready. The number of embryos viable for freezing depends on the couple and often the woman’s age. “More embryos become blastocysts when the female is under 35 years old—usually about 50% of embryos. This number is a little lower in older couples,” says Dr. Roth.

There are also options available if the woman decides against using her frozen embryos. She can either discard them, donate them for research purposes, or donate them anonymously to another woman or couple.

Patient Story: Carly Thompson

SGF patient Carly Thompson shared her experience and how frozen embryo transfer changed her perspective on age. “It did feel like the ticking clock stopped, and I didn’t feel rushed anymore. I knew I would never have to worry about getting older, or how that would affect the quality of my eggs.”

Carly used a fresh embryo transfer for her first child and then frozen embryo transfers for her two other kids. “It was a remarkable thing—I went from having no control over my fertility to having complete control over how many kids I could have and when I could have them,” says Carly.

To learn more or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Lauren Roth or another SGF physician, please call our New Patient Center at 877-971-7755 or fill out this brief form.

Dr. Lauren Roth, who sees patients in SGF’s Frederick and Rockville offices, was tapped by Parents Magazine recently to discuss the pressure women feel to get pregnant and how egg freezing can relieve the stress of the ticking “biological clock.”

Why Choose Egg Freezing?

Regardless of the reason—which is commonly education-, career-, travel-, and/or dating-related—more and more young women are choosing egg freezing as a means to prolong and protect their fertility and safeguard their family building options for when the time is right.

A woman’s eggs begin to decrease in quality and quantity as they get older, most rapidly beyond the age of 35. This oftentimes puts pressure on women to find the right partner or put their jobs on pause for the sake of creating a family, as they consider the health of their eggs with each passing year.

Egg freezing provides a solution for this, and it doesn’t require women to put their lives on hold.

How Does Egg Freezing Work?

“The process begins first with hormonal injections that stimulate the simultaneous growth of multiple eggs,” says Dr. Roth. “Once the eggs are developed to maturity, they can be retrieved during a 15-20 minute surgery and will later go through the actual freezing process called vitrification.”

When a woman is ready to become pregnant, her doctor will unfreeze the eggs and facilitate the retrieved egg(s) being inseminated by sperm and placed back inside a woman’s uterus as a fertilized embryo. For a successful pregnancy, a doctor may retrieve around 20 eggs with the majority being preserved. Women older than 35 will expect to retrieve even more to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

Since the eggs remain protected in their frozen state, the pressure to conceive is removed from the equation.

What then happens to eggs if the woman decides against having children? “The most common choice is always to discard them,” says Dr. Roth. “But you can also donate eggs, either to an anonymous infertile couple or through directed donation.”

Is This Something I Can Do?

SGF physician Dr. Shruti Malik, who sees patients in SGF’s Fair Oaks, VA location and who went through the egg freezing process herself, explains how it’s arguably easier than women expect.

“The biggest misconception a lot of my patients have is that egg freezing is not something you can do while you’re going about your everyday life,” Dr. Malik says. “In reality, it’s minimally disruptive.

On average, it’s about 2 weeks, with appointments early in the morning. It’s very easy to balance.”

The process places the power back in the woman’s hands. She may choose to save her eggs until she’s more serious with a partner, or more established in her career. Or, she may choose to give them to a couple in need. Regardless of her decision, she can now tune out the ticking clock that reminds her of her reproductive health and focus on living her life.

To learn more about egg freezing, call our New Patient Center at 1-877-411-9292 to schedule an appointment with an SGF physician or complete our brief online form.

Thanks to technological advancements made in the last decade surrounding in vitro fertilization (IVF), thousands of SGF patients have achieved their dream of parenthood faster and with fewer IVF cycles.

Read more about the advancements in assisted reproductive techniques that help SGF provide every advantage to patients wishing to start or grow their family:

1.) Advanced freezing technology allows more patients to have multiple children as a result of one IVF cycle, thereby reducing the cost and easing the process for patients.

The ability to freeze unused embryos following a fresh IVF cycle has existed for many years, but earlier techniques were associated with undesirable, often damaging ice crystal formation. Vitrification, a flash or fast-freeze technology that’s used today, has greatly improved pregnancy rates seen during cycles using a frozen embryo.

“The ability to freeze and thaw embryos successfully using vitrification is one of the greatest advancements in assisted reproductive technology (ART) over the last decade. Thousands of SGF fertility patients who undergo IVF each year are able to realize the added benefits of frozen embryos,” said Dr. Eric Widra.

“When compared to a fresh stimulated IVF cycle, frozen embryo transfers (FET) cost less and are easier for patients because you do not need the egg retrieval surgery or anesthesia, and they’re faster, as each cycle requires very little testing in advance,” adds Widra. “The technology has become so refined, with success rates equal to, or better than, those from fresh embryo transfer cycles, we see hundreds of SGF patients every year who are able to have multiple children from one fresh IVF cycle,” adds Widra.

In the event a fresh transfer is unsuccessful, frozen embryos can provide the possibility of trying again without having to take ovarian stimulation medication. Plus, using a frozen embryo makes it possible to correct for hormone levels that might not be as supportive as necessary of a healthy pregnancy.

2.) Genetic testing of embryos lowers miscarriage rate and increases the likelihood of pregnancy with a healthy baby.

Among the numerous advancements in reproductive medicine, physicians can now effectively screen an embryo for chromosomal abnormalities and test for specific genetic conditions that might normally cause miscarriage or an inherited disease.

Once the embryos reach the blastocyst stage, usually on day 5 or 6 of embryo development, an embryologist can take a few cells from the embryo for chromosomal analysis. Then, during a frozen embryo cycle, the embryologist will only thaw an embryo that tested normal for the correct number of chromosomes and the physician can transfer it to the woman’s uterus.

“We advise our patients who are considering genetic testing of their embryos, while the testing will not improve their fertility, it will definitely help decrease the likelihood of a miscarriage as well as increase the likelihood of becoming pregnant with a healthy baby. When put in those terms, most patients agree, genetic testing is beneficial,” adds Dr. Widra.

3.) Egg freezing keeps future family building options open.

Thousands of women have decided to freeze their eggs, giving them the power to have children when the timing is right, not when their biological clock dictates they should have them. Given the advances made in egg freezing technology, SGF has grown to be one of the top five egg freezing programs in the U.S., and the number of women choosing this option continues to rise.

“The success of our egg freezing program is multi-faceted and relies not only on very effective vitrification technology to properly freeze the eggs but also on the skillfulness and expertise of our embryologists during the thaw. Patients trust SGF because we are one of only a few centers in the nation with published success rates for women who return to use their frozen eggs. In addition, we have more experience than most centers with egg freezing and thawing, having completed 720 egg freezing cycles in 2018, and nearly 400 egg thaw cycles since 2009. Not every lab has the expertise and experience to vitrify, or flash freeze, eggs and then have them survive the thaw, fertilize, and develop into an embryo that leads to pregnancy and delivery,” adds Widra.
[Read more about how egg freezing provides women with family building options.]

4.) SGF’s predictive analytics tool, PRISM, helps forecast IVF success rates, making treatment decisions easier for patients. 

“Will IVF work for me?” is often among the first questions patients ask of their reproductive endocrinologist. However, how SGF physicians answer this question is different than how physicians from other centers would answer, as SGF created a customized predictive model, known as PRISM (Predictive Response to IVF Success Model) to help patients make more informed decisions about their care.

Based on 15,000 treatment cycles from 10,000 SGF patients since 2009, PRISM leverages its own IVF success data to determine pregnancy probability, offering patients insight when making difficult treatment decisions.

“Because success rates vary so much from lab to lab, SGF’s PRISM model offers a more precise prediction because it relies on data gathered here, from our prior patients who have gone through IVF in one of our labs. Most other centers use national data that lacks specificity to any one lab’s protocols or technological capabilities. The advantage to our patients is our vast experience since our practice began in 1991. The data allows us to continually fine tune and personalize our treatment protocols to maximize their effectiveness,” adds Dr. Widra.

5.) Sperm injection and extraction techniques have nearly eliminated infertility among couples with a severe male factor.

Commonly used in cases of male factor infertility, especially when there is a problem with sperm movement, shape, or number that impairs the sperm’s ability to penetrate the egg on its own, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a technique in which an embryologist injects a single healthy sperm into an egg. Once fertilization occurs and the embryo matures properly, a physician can transfer it into the uterus.

“ICSI has transformed the treatment of male factor infertility and has been a game changer, especially for couples who have had repeated failed fertilization attempts,” adds Widra. “By injecting the sperm directly into the egg, we negate the need for the sperm to fertilize the egg on its own. Also at our disposal are sperm extraction techniques that are beneficial when a man presents with no sperm in his ejaculate but he still produces sperm in his testes. A simple outpatient procedure allows one of our urologists to extract sperm directly from the testicle,” adds Widra.

SCHEDULE AN EGG FREEZING APPOINTMENT

An anonymous couple shares their inspiring fertility journey and experience having their miracle baby through SGF’s Donor Embryo Program:

Trying to Conceive

My husband and I felt the Lord calling us to have another child. Having had a vasectomy in the past, he waited 6 months to get in with the most successful specialist in our area to perform the reversal. It was successful and we were elated! Since I got pregnant with my first child so quickly, I went out and bought a whole bunch of maternity clothes. Months went by, and we still weren’t pregnant.

Shocking News

Months quickly turned into years. We tried Clomid and Letrozole (Femara). Making love was now a chore that revolved around ovulation tests and my cycle. Fervent months of praying turned into weariness. Deep sadness was growing in my heart. My cycles stopped. I finally scheduled an appointment with my OB/GYN, who revealed I was in premature menopause.

We were in shock and disbelief! I was too young, and we had felt God calling us to pursue another child. We had never grieved so much. How could this be? How could you feel called to do something and it doesn’t turn out? Maybe we had heard Him wrong.

Friends suggested we adopt overseas or domestically. Although they had good ideas, we had felt called to be pregnant and nurse our baby. That was no longer an option.

After a few months, my husband seemed to accept everything, which made it harder for me at times. It was difficult to rejoice when friends were getting pregnant. I wept every time I saw a pregnant woman or a new baby. More time went by and I was finally able to give it over to the Lord. My heart eventually grew softer and more settled. Joy was returning, sprinkled with bouts of crying when I saw a pregnant woman or little babies, but I was no longer bitter. My husband and I were thankful.

Embryo… What?

Months later, when the thought of having another child was no longer at the forefront of our minds, I came across an article in a magazine. The topic was embryo donation. What!? This got my attention! We had never heard of such a thing. My husband and I found out that sometimes when a couple goes through IVF and has remaining embryos left, they can elect to donate those embryos to another patient(s) in hopes they might be born one day.

Coming to Shady Grove Fertility

Years earlier, I had some prior contact with Shady Grove Fertility when I was researching IUIs and other treatments. SGF was nationally recognized for their fantastic success rates and they were always coming up in Google searches. It seemed like a great place for us to start!

We contacted SGF and learned more about their Donor Embryo Program. Next, my husband and I had a phone consultation with an amazing doctor who explained that being a Donor Embryo Recipient was a great option for us even though I was in premature menopause. We didn’t feel called to use my husband’s sperm with a donor egg. The doctor went on to explain that after a few months of shots, the placenta would take over producing the hormones needed to sustain the pregnancy. How amazing!

My husband and I prayed and talked a lot. We sought counsel from friends and our pastors. They thought this was a perfect fit for us! We were both excited and nervous. We traveled to Shady Grove Fertility to go through the mandatory counseling. This was very helpful. The therapist asked important questions, brought up valid points and really walked along side of us. She had asked if we thought about ethnicity. It felt weird thinking of those things because any ethnicity would be a gift. My husband’s preference was our ethnic mix. I must admit, I didn’t think that would be an option.

Then, we were able to look at the donor embryo profiles. It was a little uncomfortable looking through the profiles, but at the same time, very heartwarming to see these patients who had struggled for so long, spent so much financially and LOVED so amazingly! And then there it was–our perfect match! God had answered my husband’s desire! We both knew these were meant for us and we agreed right away.

Even though I was deathly afraid of shots, it really wasn’t an issue. Icing for 10 minutes prior made it bearable and since there was no other way for me to become pregnant, I accepted it. The shots became our little “date.” My husband and I would put on the same song, pray for our baby, give thanks for the donor and he’d administer the shot.

Transfer Day and the Two-Week Wait

We took off of work and traveled to SGF for the transfer. The doctor and nurses were amazing! The procedure was fast and painless. Then came the two-week wait. It was horrible! I am the most impatient person, and this felt like torture. My worry was at an all-time high. Every tinge, cramp or “symptom” led me to a Google search. That only increased my anxiety. So, we started taking walks daily and found other things to keep our minds occupied.

Our Little Miracle

Then came the day we had been waiting for. It was a rainy day when the nurse called to tell me we were pregnant. My husband was out in the shed. When I got off the phone, I began jumping up and down, crying and screaming. I waved for him to come over. As he looked at me, I gave him a thumbs up and he came running over to hug me. We were so thankful!

My pregnancy went smoothly. My husband and I cried every time we got to see our little one on the ultrasounds. What a comfort and a joy to see that little beating heart! It was such a treat to get to feel her kick and squirm inside of me. Labor and delivery went smoothly. My husband and I cried so hard when she was born. She was and is perfect in every way! We feel incredibly blessed. Every day is such a joy and everything she does is just the sweetest thing. We just marvel over our SGF miracle. Our love for her is unmeasurable! There is no difference in our love and affection between our children! We treasure them equally and they are the best of friends!

Our Thank You to the Donor Embryo Program

The journey the Lord took us on was not the route we thought it would be. It was even better! We are now very thankful that my cycles stopped and that I hit premature menopause. We are thankful He closed every door just to open this one!

To us, our donor and all the embryo donors in this program are heroes! Our daughter has a unique story of incredible, amazing, selfless love!

We feel that SGF’s Donor Embryo Program is a “win-win” situation. The donors who fought so hard and long, are happy that the remaining embryos can be donated, thawed and have a chance at being born. My husband and I, who tried for so long to get pregnant, received that amazing gift! We are forever grateful to SGF and God!

A Note from My Husband

At first, I did not want to go this route of being an Embryo Donor Recipient. I was angry that after undergoing a painful, yet successful surgery and trying for years, we still couldn’t have our “own” child. Then God changed my heart. My wife and I were on the same page going into this. I can’t begin to tell you the love I have for my daughter! I too am so thankful the Lord chose this way! I can honestly say I wouldn’t want it any other way.

For more inspiration, read through more of our heartwarming patient success stories: here.
To learn more or to schedule an appointment with an SGF physician, please contact our New Patient Call Center at 1-877-971-7755 or complete this brief online form.