Many patients wish to become pregnant – just not right now. To provide the opportunity to become pregnant in the future, eggs, sperm, and embryos can be frozen and safely stored for when the time is right.
The most common reason for fertility preservation, or “saving eggs,” as it’s also known, is when a woman is planning to undergo chemotherapy or another medical procedure which may be harmful to the ovaries (or testis in the case of saving sperm for men). The fast-freezing method of cryopreservation prepares the eggs, embryos or sperm for storage, so they’re at the patient’s disposal when they’re ready to become pregnant.
Just a few years ago, fertility preservation was considered an experimental procedure by the Food & Drug Administration. Now, as the FDA recognizes fertility preservation as a standard of care, we’re pleased to be the only comprehensive care fertility clinic in Wichita and southern Kansas providing these services:
Saving eggs, or egg freezing, involves stimulating the ovaries to mature the eggs before removal by transvaginal ultrasound guidance (the same procedure utilized for in vitro fertilization).The eggs are then vitrified (frozen) and stored to be used at a later date.
Saving embryos, or embryo freezing, is often a couple’s choice when they wish to preserve embryos before the mother enters treatment for chemotherapy, though additional reasons for saving embryos include use of certain prescription drugs for rheumatoid arthritis, or the presence of other immunological diseases.
Saving sperm, or sperm freezing, may be a viable approach for some men who need to undergo treatment for testicular cancer or lymphoma.