During IVF cycles, the number of embryos developed always exceeds the number that will be transferred. There are some options on what to do with additional embryos. One solution is to freeze the excess embryos for further use by the couple. In this case, if a couple fails to achieve conception during an IVF attempt, they will try again using the frozen embryos. It is less expensive and less invasive than starting a new IVF loop. Alternatively, if a couple does achieve pregnancy and gives birth to a healthy live-born infant, they will use their frozen embryos to have more children later on. Are you searching for the best IVF treatment in Wakad? Then so, Orion Hospital is one of the best IVF clinics in Wakad you can check out. The most qualified IVF specialists and gynecologists in Wakad work together to provide care in a professional and supportive atmosphere at the best fertility center in Wakad.

Embryo freezing is a complicated operation, despite how simple it may sound. Today, there are several procedures for freezing embryos. There are slow and quick approaches to freezing. Embryos can be frozen shortly after fertilization (pronuclear stage freezing), in the early stages of development (cleavage stage freezing), or the later stages of development (late-stage freezing) (blastocyst stage freezing). It is uncertain if one form is superior to another.

Most IVF cycles aim to develop a large number of embryos. The idea is that the more embryos you end up with, the more opportunities you’ll have to implant and the better your chances of becoming pregnant and having a live birth. Additional embryos which were not processed instantly are cryopreserved and retained for later use via a frozen embryo transfer, or FET. People who want to start a family later in life often resort to embryo freezing, which has a higher live birth rate than egg freezing. There are many causes to freeze the embryos, but the majority of the time it is performed by couples who want to postpone childbirth or those who are receiving medical care that may affect their fertility. The Orion Hospital, the best IVF center in Pimpri Chinchwad, provides infertile couples, individual women, and men seeking fertility treatment with accurate information, assistance, and guidance. The service of a well-recognized test tube baby center in Pune is also available at our center.

What is Embryo Freezing?

Using cryopreservation, or embryo freezing, doctors can freeze and store unused embryos produced during IVF, which may require intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The first phase in embryo cryopreservation is freezing the embryos. The frozen embryos are then preserved and thawed as desired for potential use in IVF. It helps women who are still undertaking IVF to save time and money on upcoming cycles because a woman would not need to perform extra egg retrievals or take too many prescriptions. People usually want to freeze their embryos because they want to protect their chances of becoming parents in the future. People also recommend cryopreservation for various reasons — including cancer treatment, advancing age, or the possibility of injury (due to a medical condition or military deployment, for example).

The Freezing Procedure

To freeze embryos, reproductive endocrinologists use two methods: vitrification (flash freezing) and slow programmable freezing. While the mechanisms vary significantly, they both include the cooling of embryonic cells with different cryoprotectants. Water is the primary component of all cells, including those that shape embryos.

The risk of freezing embryos is that ice will form and damage cells until they are frozen. Cryoprotectants shield biologic tissue from degradation by blocking water crystallization during the freezing period.

Slow-freezing embryos are stored in a specific system that slowly cools them in stages by lab embryologists. After that, cryoprotectants are added, and the embryos are frozen and preserved in liquid nitrogen at -321 degrees Fahrenheit. The entire procedure takes almost two hours.

Vitrification is a more recent and successful procedure that involves immersing embryos in a solution with a significantly higher concentration of cryoprotectants. The embryos are then dissolved in liquid nitrogen, where they immediately freeze into a glass-like substance. Using this method of freezing, the embryo is preserved until ice crystals develop, improving the embryo’s chances of survival and viability after thawing. Orion hospital’s laboratory team uses vitrification specifically on all fresh embryo cryopreservation.

Frozen embryos are essentially preserved in time, regardless of the process used. All biological function within the embryo, including cell development or death, is halted.

Embryos are gently thawed and immersed in fluids whenever necessary to extract cryoprotectants and restore water inside cells.

Frozen embryos could be preserved for unspecified periods. The longest an embryo lasted frozen was successfully used — resulting in a stable birth, was 19 years.

What are the Success Rates of Embryo Freezing?

After cryopreservation, the procedure of thawing an embryo has a reasonably high success rate, and research shows that women who use thawed embryos have a good chance of having healthy babies. According to research, freezing and thawing embryos does not harm future IVF infants. The period the embryo was deposited does not affect IVF success rates. With the advancement in biotechnology, the gap in conception rates between frozen and fresh embryos is now negligible. Furthermore, the stimulation phase of frozen embryo transfer is gentler, with hormone levels in the woman returning to normal, which can improve fertility rates. Any ice crystals produced during the slow freeze process can cause embryo damage during thawing. This is one of the reasons why vitrification is the favored cryopreservation process. As per research, infants born from frozen embryos have no increased risk of birth defects as compared to average births.

Orion IVF maintains anonymity. Because of the various processes involved, embryo freezing can be slightly costly. You can schedule an initial consultation with our specialists to learn more about our cost and success rate. Our experts will assess your fertility and medical records and provide you with comprehensive solutions. You can book an appointment with our physicians to learn more about embryo freezing. Follow this link to learn more about the process of using frozen embryos to attempt pregnancy at the best IVF center in Wakad, Pune.