Egg freezing: An effective means of fertility preservation in women by Goral Gandhi

Goral Gandhi talks about enhancing a woman’s reproductive ability and timeline through the process of egg freezing 

Egg freezing, a significant development in reproductive technology has proved to be a viable option for thousands of women worldwide. The process of vitrification of oocytes (egg freezing) has helped womenpreserve their fertility, and reduce the chances of any birth defects associated with their “egg age.”

That said, the first question that occurs in the minds of women is ‘whether egg freezing is an ideal option for all women?’Goral Gandhi, a senior embryologist, and a director at Indo Nippon IVF, Bandra, Mumbai says, “If you are between the ages of 25 and 35, not in a stable relationship and you wish to increase your chances of conception with your own eggs in the future, Egg Freezing is a suitable option for you. This is also a good option for young women diagnosed with cancer, women with a family history of early menopause and those with chronic diseases where the medication may have a detrimental effect on oocyte function.”

Goral Gandhi has worked in establishing many successful assisted conception laboratories, and has also helped women make the empowering decision of freezing their eggs and become mothers to healthy babies when they were ready to start a family. Goral Gandhi is a pioneer in the Egg Freezing technique in the country. She has conducted over 100 workshops and trained over 300 embryologists in this technique. She is invited in all parts of the country to deliver lectures on ways to optimize the egg freezing process.

Talking on Egg Freezing Goral Gandhi says, “I take great pride in helping to empower women to feel more in control of their bodies and lives with top line information on egg freezing and female fertility.” Goral Gandhi is  confident that Egg Banking will improve  chances of conception with a woman’s own eggs at a more advanced reproductive age

However, knowing that the choice of freezing your eggs may come with a series of concerns and questions, Dr Goral Gandhi answers a few of them for us:

When is the right age to get your eggs frozen? 

“Women of different age brackets, such as the late 30s and early 40s are choosing to get their eggs frozen. Young women in their 20’s opting for egg freezing are also on a rise as they wish to reserve healthy eggs for a successful and planned pregnancy later. However, while thinking of egg freezing, you must bear in mind that fertility declines with age and the optimum time for egg freezing is before you turn 35. Chances of future pregnancy decrease drastically once you are over 40“says Dr Goral Gandhi.

The vitrification of oocytes consists of freezing them in order to preserve  a woman’s reproductive potential for as long as she wishes, thus maintaining the same chances of becoming pregnant as when the eggs were vitrified. So younger you are when you freeze your eggs, higher the chances of pregnancy later.

Why would women opt for the procedure? 

“The reasons for opting egg freezing might vary. Some women opt for it due to the risk of losing their ovarian function. If you have been diagnosed with cancer, then you may need to undergo chemotherapy. This has adverse effects on ovarian function. Certain autoimmune diseases also carry a risk of impact on egg quality and quantity. Egg freezing is also a good option for women with a family history of early menopause. Apart from medical reasons, there are other reasons that may push women towards delaying motherhood.  Many women delay family building while seeking a life partner and many others due to educational, career or economic considerations.You plan everything, so why not plan your pregnancy?” says Dr Goral Gandhi.

What to expect during the egg freezing process?

The first step is to schedule a consultation with your fertility physician to discuss your medical history and family planning goals. The next step will entail a few tests that will help decide if egg banking is right for your needs. Ovarian stimulation will begin on Day1/2 of your period and you may be ready for egg retrieval after 11-13 days. You will have to come to the clinic for follicular monitoring and blood tests every 4-5 days. Egg retrieval is a minimally invasive procedure that takes place under anesthesia while you sleep comfortably. Depending on your response to the medications, more than one egg retrieval may be needed to provide a realistic chance of conception in the future. After the retrieval, your eggs will be cryopreserved and stored until you are ready to use them.

How are the eggs frozen and stored?

Following the egg retrieval procedure, the eggs are immediately transferred to the laboratory for an advanced cryopreservation process called “Vitrification” performed by  highly skilled and experienced embryologists. The eggs are then stored in special holding tanks. Goral Gandhi states that a state-of-the art secure cryopreservation facility includes stringent quality controls, enhanced security, fault-tolerant storage, controlled access and constant monitoring

What can go wrong during this entire process?

Sometimes things don’t go as planned. According to Dr Goral Gandhi, there is a small possibility that during egg retrieval no eggs are collected or the collected eggs are not mature and hence not suitable for freezing. It may also happen that none of the frozen eggs survive the thawing process, or they may not get fertilized in spite of successful thawing.

Are frozen eggs as viable as fresh eggs?   

When eggs are frozen and successively thawed in state-of-the art laboratories, using the latest cutting edge technology, they are equally useful and able to produce healthy children. Freezing eggs, and thawing them later, when you want to get pregnant is proven to have no detrimental effect on the success rates of pregnancies.

Age affects a woman’s reproductive ability more than any other factor. Therefore, with egg freezing, a woman can maintain the same chances of becoming pregnant as when the eggs were vitrified. It has proven to be an excellent method of fertility preservation in women.

Corporate Comm India (CCI Newswire)