Fertility Preservation decoded – 5 Myths and Facts

“Freezing your eggs can affect your fertility“

Myth

A healthy woman has a reserve of about 400,000 eggs. From the onset of her period,

the eggs keep maturing at a rate of about one per 28 days. During an egg freezing

treatment, only some eggs are extracted. It is perfectly possible to get pregnant the

normal way after having had some of your eggs frozen.

“It has a lot of side effects like weight gain, early menopause”

Myth

The treatment is for a short time only, which means there are no side effects, nor will it

have any effect on when your menopause begins.

“Only sperms can be frozen and not eggs”

Myth

Both oocytes and sperms can be vitrified. For couples, the gametes can be subjected to

fertilization in lab and embryos can be frozen for future use.

“Freezing is an option for only those who wish to delay their parenthood“

Myth

Freezing is an option not only for those who want to freeze time and delay their

parenthood but also for those who want to preserve their fertility for various medical

reasons. Indications for oocyte vitrification are:

• Prior to cancer treatments like chemo/radiotherapy
• Prior to organ transplant therapy (liver transplant, bone marrow transplant, etc.;)
• In severe Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome cases
• Single women wanting to preserve the fertility

“Vitrification affects the egg or embryo quality“

Myth

Vitrification is a safe process that does not affect egg or embryo quality. It has been

proven that vitrified eggs or embryos are just as likely to generate a pregnancy as fresh

eggs or embryos.