OOCYTE CRYOPRESERVATION
Egg freezing is a relatively new and developing technology. The first baby born using a frozen egg was in 1986. However, high failure rates and concerns that freezing would damage the egg chromosomes and cause birth defects, has kept egg freezing on the sidelines for over a decade.

Who would benefit from egg freezing?
Several groups may potentially benefit from egg freezing:

• Preservation of fertility before a young single cancer patient receives radiotherapy or chemotherapy.
• Women who need to have their ovaries removed such as women who are carriers of BRC1 and II mutation genes in order to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer.
• As a way to salvage an IVF cycle when the partner is unable to produce a semen sample on the day of egg collection.
• Alternative to embryo freezing especially in countries where embryo freezing is outlawed.
• For couples for whom embryo freezing presents a moral or ethical dilemma.
• Women in their early 30s and career oriented women thinking of delaying motherhood. Although there are no guarantees, a woman is more likely to get pregnant at 40 with one of her eggs frozen in her early 30s than with her 40-year-old fresh eggs.
• Women with a family history of premature ovarian failure wishing to preserve their fertility. Some women wish to freeze eggs for their daughters who have recently been diagnosed as having Turner’s syndrome.