As an embryologist, the biggest joy which I feel is bringing a new life to the earth and in that way, bringing smiles in the life of many parents across the globe. In my journey, these things are my biggest achievements which I accomplish using various medical techniques and scientific advances. I am a real fortunate one to bring joy in the life of so many parents with the help of In-Vitro Fertilization, Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection, or Egg and Embryo Freezing modalities. These processes helped me to assist the parents and help them experience the amazing feeling of parenthood.
Here I will describe some of the most important and heavily used terms related to Egg Freezing. A lot of people read the blogs but are not aware of the meaning completely as they are not connected with the world of science. Here explanations of a few terms are given for the better understanding of future blogs which will showcase many more topics associated with Egg Freezing.
Infertility: It is usually a dysfunction of the reproductive system as per the physicians where a woman is not able to become pregnant even after having unprotected sex for more than 12 months. If you are diagnosed as infertile, it certainly does not mean that you can’t be pregnant. It only means that there is something in your body which is blocking the pregnancy symptoms. Normally, 1 in every 8 women experiences this issue. For a woman over 35 that ratio jumps to 1 in every 3.
Ovarian Reserve: This is a term which states the capacity of female ovaries to produce healthy eggs which can be fertilized. With age, the quality and quantity of eggs decrease in every woman and they affect the ovarian reserve. ‘Diminished ovarian reserve’ means that the woman has lost her capacity. This may be due to injury, disease, or age.
Stimulation: Stimulation is referred for hormonal medications, which are used to promote the ovaries so that they can produce many mature eggs in every single cycle other than producing a single mature egg, which is usual in women.
Follicle: Follicles are fluid-filled pockets inside the ovaries. Every Follicle holds a single egg. They also are the producers of estrogen, which leads to ovulation and also progesterone, which prepares the body for the possible pregnancy. Follicles are typically found sleeping. They are activated only at the beginning of the menstrual cycle. Many follicles are activated in the cycles but only a single egg is matured and released during the period of ovulation. Here the activated follicles at the beginning of a cycle indicate the ovarian reserve of a woman.
Thawing: The whole process is a controlled warming process of an already frozen egg so that it can be fertilized. It is considered to be the absolute opposite of the Vitrification process. The suspended metabolic activities of an egg are restarted while thawing. After the freeze-thaw process, the survival rate of an egg is 100% at the Indo Nippon IVF.
Vitrification: It is a “flash freezing” technique. Here the cells are cooled at -196º Celsius or -320º Fahrenheit. The cells become “glass-like,” or “vitrified,” because the freezing is very fast. It minimizes the chance of damage which the water inside the cells do to the ice crystals. As the eggs are mostly water, this process is very important. Many studies claimed that Vitrification is much more superior than other egg-freezing processes. Here at the Indo Nippon IVF Clinic, the most efficient method of egg-freezing, Cryotech Vitrification is used.
Oocyte Cryopreservation: Cryopreservation is a term which usually means the freezing of biological materials like organism, tissue, or cell, to protect aging or damaging of it. The biological materials are frozen in a very low temperature that it’s all activities stops including the aging which leads to death. Hence, the material is preserved quite easily. Oocytes are the egg cells which are preserved using Cryopreservation.
These highly used terms related to Egg Freezing is explained to the best of my knowledge. There are still many terms other than these which you don’t know the meaning of. Feel free to share those with us and we will help you out with the best possible explanation of those.
For nearly 25 years of experience in IVF & infertility, Indo Nippon IVF Mumbai is the best place for all your fertility related problems. Latest health news & update on Indo Nippon IVF clinic on Turner Road, Bandra, Mumbai.