In Vitro Fertilization treatment often makes more eggs than necessary because the ovaries are being stimulated which means that more healthy fertilized eggs are created than required. Most clinics will give you the chance to freeze and store acceptable ‘spare’ embryos for future use. This can be as part of the In Vitro Impregnation agreement, or as an extra service for which you may have to pay. Often, In Vitro Fertilisation treatment is postponed after the eggs have been collected due to unforeseen circumstances, in which case, storing the fertilized eggs would be a worthwhile thing to do.
Having to produce more eggs can be a tough and often expensive procedure so by already having them stored, should you decide to use In Vitro Fertilisation again, your fertilized eggs will be immediately available. So by storing the fertilized eggs, you can make the most of the eggs collected in that treatment and at the same time there won’t b any need to take additional infertility drugs which can cause Ovarian Hyper-Stimulation Syndrome. This storage gives you plenty of time as embryos can be frozen and stored away safely this way for 5 years, sometimes much longer. This means that even if you or you partner are diagnosed at a later stage with a fertility problem for instance, it will still be possible to have In Vitro Impregnation treatment.
In certain situations you may be allowed to store your frozen fertilized eggs for up to ten years. Under very rare and special conditions even this 10 year limit can be exceeded. Remember that if you change your mind about freezing and storing your embryos just let your clinic know. All the same, while your embryos are stored at the clinic, they have a obligation to keep in regular communication to confirm that you wish to continue storing them at their facility. If you move home, divorce or there are any other change of circumstances, it is always worth letting your fertility clinic know about them. Should you split up, this does not automatically mean that either person’s consent is withdrawn.
Embryos are frozen using liquid nitrogen in a process called cryopreservation. As far as storage is concerned, only fertilized eggs which are developing normally and have not fragmented are suitable for freezing. It is worth mentioning that not all fertilized eggs live through the freezing procedure even though great care is taken. Because of this fact, it is worth having more fertilized eggs unfrozen than can be used during the transfer process at the next In Vitro Fertilization treatment.