Carolina Conceptions, an infertility practice in Raleigh, NC, announces IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval to commence a study on egg freezing - a newer technology that is growing in demand. While embryo and sperm freezing have been the standard of care for decades, egg freezing has been slower to achieve the same level of success.
Unlike fertilized eggs (embryos) and sperm, which thaw well, the larger egg contains a considerable amount of cytoplasm, and is more delicate and sensitive to ice crystal formation. However, a newer method of freezing called vitrification (rapid freezing) is believed to help avoid these formations and increase viability of the egg. Carolina Conceptions hopes their research will affirm the success of this technique and allow them the ability to offer certain women the option of freezing their eggs for future use.
"Egg freezing technology will greatly benefit several groups of women; cancer patients who want to preserve their fertility prior to chemotherapy, women who do not want to create excessive numbers of embryos that they may not use, and finally women who are hearing their biological clock ticking and want to preserve their fertility until they are ready to have children," says Dr. Grace Couchman, board certified reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist at Carolina Conceptions.
Patients who are interested in participating in the study must be 31 years of age or younger, have good egg reserve, a normal uterus, normal body weight and seeking IVF treatment to conceive. Participants will receive a significant discount on their IVF cycle as well as most medications supplied at no cost.
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