Egg freezing (oocyte cryopreservation) is a powerful tool. It allows you to
preserve your fertility for the future, so you can get pregnant on your
timeline. Whether you're focused on your career, waiting to meet the right
person or simply concerned about getting older, we can help. Our fertility
clinic in Lancaster offers egg freezing and storage in our state-of-the-art
lab.
Egg Freezing in Pennsylvania: Why Choose Penn Medicine Lancaster General
Health?
At Penn Fertility Care - Lancaster General Health, you'll find:
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Lancaster County's only embryology lab: We freeze and store your eggs
in our on-site embryology lab, the only one of its kind in Lancaster County.
While other fertility centers may transfer eggs to a third-party storage
facility, you can rest assured that your eggs are just steps from our
clinic, safe and secure.
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Personalized attention: Our small, close-knit care team takes the
time to get to know your unique situation and reproductive goals. You'll see
the same providers and staff at every visit, so you can rely on a
consistent, familiar team throughout your fertility journey.
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Advanced techniques: We preserve your eggs using a method called
vitrification. This advanced flash-freezing technique greatly reduces the
risk of damage during the freezing and thawing process, which increases egg
survival rates.
Is Egg Freezing Right for Me?
There are a variety of reasons that fertility preservation with
egg freezing may be right for you:
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Age: Egg quality and quantity decline rapidly after age 35. Freezing
your eggs in your 20s or early 30s saves the highest quality eggs.
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Cancer: Chemotherapy or hormone therapy can disrupt ovulation.
Surgery or radiation therapy for cancer in the reproductive organs can also
affect fertility.
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Early menopause: Some women with certain diseases or genetic
conditions are at a higher risk of primary ovarian insufficiency, which
means your ovaries stop working earlier than they should.
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Gender transition: People transitioning from female to male
(transgender men) may want to consider egg freezing before starting hormone
therapy.
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Personal goals: You may choose to focus on your career,
relationships, travel or other priorities before starting a family.
What Are the Benefits of Egg Freezing?
Egg freezing is a good choice for several reasons. Reproductive aging affects
both the quantity and quality of your eggs. So egg freezing not only preserves
your ability to have a child in the future, but it also reduces the risk of
having a child with genetic disorders. The older you get, the more likely it
is that your eggs will contain chromosomal abnormalities. By freezing eggs
earlier, you reduce this risk. Egg freezing also means you won't have to go
through the process of ovulation induction and egg retrieval again when you're
ready for in vitro fertilization (IVF).
When Should You Freeze Your Eggs?
The ideal time to freeze your eggs is during your prime reproductive years -
your 20s and early 30s. At 35, the quantity and quality of your eggs starts to
decrease rapidly, and it becomes more difficult to retrieve healthy eggs.
What Can I Expect During the Egg Freezing Process?
The egg freezing process is very similar to the first half of the IVF process:
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Controlled ovarian hyperstimulation: During controlled ovarian
hyperstimulation induction, you take fertility drugs to stimulate your
ovaries. The medications (usually injections you give yourself) stimulate
your body to produce multiple egg-containing follicles during your cycle,
instead of just one.
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Monitoring: We do regular transvaginal ultrasounds and blood tests at
our clinic to monitor your hormone levels and follicular development. These
tests tell us when you have mature eggs ready for retrieval.
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Egg retrieval: We perform your egg retrieval on-site. We use a
vaginal ultrasound probe and a needle to remove mature eggs from your
follicles, so there aren't any cuts in your skin.
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Egg freezing: We take your eggs to our embryology lab and freeze them
right away using vitrification (advanced flash-freezing technique).
Vitrification dehydrates and freezes eggs before ice crystals can form,
which can damage eggs. The eggs are stored in our secure lab until you're
ready to use them for IVF, even if that's decades down the line.
How Much Does Egg Freezing Cost?
The total cost of egg freezing varies, depending on the cost of the
medications and monitoring and how long you store your eggs. At Penn Fertility
Care - Lancaster General Health, we offer a variety of ways to make paying for
fertility treatments such as egg freezing more manageable.
What Should I Know About Egg Freezing Success Rates?
While egg freezing was once considered experimental, advances in freezing
techniques have now made it a safe, effective and popular choice for fertility
preservation. IVF success rates using frozen eggs are comparable to those
using fresh eggs. Success rates also depend upon the number of eggs that are
available, as well as your age when the eggs are retrieved.
Make an Appointment
Call 717-544-0107 or request an appointment to schedule your fertility
consultation.