Common Types of Fertility Preservation

Fertility preservation involves various procedures that protect your embryos, eggs, sperm, and reproductive tissues so you can have kids in the future. The techniques are beneficial to adults and some kids of both sexes. You may need Wayne fertility preservation if you have reproductive system issues, are aging, are transgender, or are about to have cancer treatment. You can also use fertility preservation if you wish to delay having kids for personal reasons. Freezing eggs, sperm, and embryo are the commonly used techniques, and research proves them effective in most patients. There are various types of fertility preservation, including:

Egg freezing

During egg freezing, you will start with ovarian stimulation, where you inject yourself with hormones for ten consecutive days. Your specialist will remove the eggs while you are under sedation. Using an ultrasound, the specialist will guide a needle through your vagina into your ovary and draw up the eggs. The specialist can collect the egg and freeze them directly or fertilize them before preservation. After the procedure, you may experience discomfort or bloating.

Embryo cryopreservation

Embryo cryopreservation involves a similar procedure to egg freezing. Your doctor removes the eggs from your ovaries and fertilizes them with your partner’s or donor’s sperm to create embryos. The provider will then freeze the embryos and store them for future use.

Sperm freezing

Sperm freezing is a non-invasive method where you masturbate and ejaculate semen into a cup. The provider then freezes the semen for storage. If you cannot produce semen due to anxiety, pain, a medical condition, or cultural reasons, your doctor can use medications, vibratory stimulation, or electro-ejaculation.

In-vitro maturation

Embryo and egg freezing require hormone injections for egg production stimulation. In-vitro maturation is an experimental fertility preservation technique where you do not use medications before egg retrieval. The procedure involves your specialist extracting immature eggs from your ovaries, maturing them in the laboratory, and then cryopreserving.

Ovarian tissue freezing

If you are receiving cancer treatment, you might be unable to wait the two or six weeks required to receive hormone treatment. In such a case, your ovarian tissue can be removed and frozen. After cancer treatment, when you are medically fit and ready to conceive, your specialist can reimplant the thawed tissue. When the tissue regains function, you can become pregnant spontaneously or through in vitro fertilization.

Ovarian transposition

Ovarian transposition, also called oophoropexy, can help protect your ovaries from radiation treatments. This procedure involves your surgeon moving your ovaries out of your pelvis into your abdomen.

Radiation shielding

A lead shield helps protect your ovaries from radiation treatment. Your specialist can also use precise radiation techniques to limit your ovaries’ radiation dose.

Testicular tissue freezing

Sometimes semen does not have enough sperm. In some cases, before puberty, individuals designated male at birth may be unable to produce sperm in semen. If you have such situations, your specialist removes a sample of testicular tissue containing sperm. The sperm found are extracted and frozen.

Fertility preservation involves various procedures that protect your embryos, eggs, sperm, and reproductive tissues so you can have kids in the future. These techniques include egg freezing, in vitro fertilization, testicular freezing, embryo cryopreservation, and sperm freezing. Schedule an appointment at University Reproductive Associates for fertility preservation to have kids in the future.