Spring is nearly here, but Texans know to keep coats within reach.
The average date of a late freeze in Austin is March 4th. At Ovation Fertility Austin, that has us thinking about the emerging lab technique called freeze all IVF. Rather than transferring embryos within days of egg retrieval and fertilization, evidence supports waiting a month or more with embryos safely stored in liquid nitrogen at temperatures -196˚C below zero.
Since 1984, fertility specialists have successfully accessed frozen and thawed embryos after cryopreservation. In the past, the standard protocol called for transferring fresh embryos during IVF because they were more likely to develop into a viable pregnancy. Recent improvements to the freezing process give prospective parents more options than ever before.
Vitrification “fast freezes” cells
Vitrification in the IVF lab replaces cryopreservation using slower methods. At Ovation Fertility Austin, we employ this ultra-rapid cooling process that has revolutionized how we store and thaw human cells. Using a cryoprotectant to replace the cell’s water content, we move the embryo or oocytes through the vitrification process in just minutes, with the final step occurring in seconds.
Thanks to vitrification, egg freezing has become a reality for fertility programs and IVF labs are now exploring the newfound freedom to successfully store embryos at a later stage of development.
In fact, at Ovation Fertility Austin embryo survival rates have increased from 70-75% with the slow-freeze process to 95-97% with the vitrification process.
Warming up to the idea of freeze all IVF
Waiting to get pregnant may seem difficult after months or years of infertility. Your fertility specialist will tell you that freeze all IVF offers these advantages:
- The uterus has time to normalize after ovulation induction. Women susceptible to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome benefit from freeze all IVF.
- Preimplantation genetic diagnosis at the mature blastocyst stage provides information about the chromosomal and genetic makeup of each embryo.
Frozen embryo transfers may increase your implantation and pregnancy success rate.
We have successfully implemented freeze all IVF since 2010, and welcome your inquiries about this promising new fertility treatment. Contact Ovation Fertility Austin or read more about a frozen embryo
