Embryo Freezing

Deciding when to start a family is a very personal choice, and you might not feel ready for pregnancy just yet. By freezing embryos now, you can preserve more of your current fertility potential and improve your chances of a successful pregnancy later on, when the timing suits you. Embryo freezing at Genus offers greater flexibility and peace of mind, helping you plan your future on your own terms.

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Embryo Freezing

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What is Embryo Freezing and How Does it Work?

Embryo freezing is a method of preserving your fertility as a couple or co-parents, giving you time to focus on what matters right now and more flexibility about when you wish to start or expand your family.

The treatment process follows the same initial stages as IVF, including ovarian stimulation, egg collection and fertilisation within the embryology laboratory. Instead of transferring an embryo immediately, suitable embryos are frozen and stored using advanced cryopreservation techniques.

For those who have embryos remaining after an IVF or ICSI cycle, it offers the chance to make the most of every embryo created, without the need to go through a full stimulation cycle again.

Frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles are generally simpler and less physically demanding than a full stimulation cycle, and success rates with vitrified embryos are now comparable to those achieved with fresh transfers.

Am I Suitable for Embryo Freezing?

People choose embryo freezing for many different personal or medical reasons. Embryo freezing may be appropriate if:

You are not currently ready to start or expand your family
You wish to preserve reproductive options as fertility naturally declines with age
You have not yet found the right time or circumstances for parenthood
You are about to undergo cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, or medical treatment that may affect natural fertility
You have a gynaecological condition, such as endometriosis, that may impact future fertility
You may require ovarian surgery that could affect ovarian reserve
You are non-binary or transgender and planning gender-affirming treatment that could affect fertility
You are undergoing IVF treatment and wish to preserve additional embryos for future pregnancy attempts

The Embryo Freezing Process Step by Step

Ovarian stimulation:
The aim of the stimulation phase is to encourage the ovaries to grow multiple follicles containing mature eggs. During this stage, medications are also used to temporarily suppress the body’s natural hormone signals and prevent premature ovulation before egg collection. You will take hormone injections at home for around 9 to 14 days. Throughout treatment, your response is carefully monitored using an internal ultrasound scan every few days as clinically indicated. This allows us to personalise medication doses and accurately time the next stages of treatment.
Trigger injection:
Once the follicles have reached the appropriate stage of development, you will be advised to take a carefully timed “trigger injection”. This injection helps the eggs complete their final stage of maturation prior to collection. The timing of the trigger injection is extremely important, as egg collection is usually performed approximately 34 to 36 hours later. Our team will provide clear instructions regarding the exact timing and administration of the medication.
Egg collection:
Once the follicles have reached an appropriate stage of development, the eggs are collected via a straightforward, minor surgical procedure performed under deep sedation. Using ultrasound guidance, a fine needle is passed through the vaginal wall into the ovaries to collect the fluid from the developed follicles. The procedure takes around 20 to 30 minutes. After collection, the eggs are transferred to our team of embryologists in our state-of-the-art lab, where they are identified, assessed and prepared for fertilisation.
Embryo development:
The eggs are fertilised in the laboratory with sperm from your partner or a donor. In conventional IVF, eggs and prepared sperm are combined within a specialised culture dish. In some cases, we may recommend Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), where a single sperm is carefully injected into the egg. The embryos are kept within carefully controlled time-lapse incubators, allowing continuous assessment of the development while maintaining a stable laboratory environment. Our embryology team monitors embryo development over the next five to six days to help identify embryos with the highest developmental potential.
Embryo freezing:
Our embryologists will identify the highest-quality embryos, which will be frozen using vitrification, an ultra-rapid freezing technique designed to minimise ice crystal formation and maximise survival after thawing. Frozen embryos are securely stored within a specialised cryostorage chamber until you are ready to use them in the future.

FAQs

How can I maximise my chances of a successful embryo freezing cycle?

Before treatment, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help optimise fertility and respond to treatment. We generally recommend maintaining a balanced diet, taking recommended supplements, such as folic acid and vitamin D, aiming for a healthy weight, and avoiding smoking, alcohol and excess caffeine.

What are the success rates with frozen embryos?

Research suggests that frozen embryos have a similar success rate in pregnancy to fresh embryos that are transferred to your womb immediately after they have reached the appropriate development stage. Success rates depend on several factors, including age at the time the embryos were created, embryo quality, underlying fertility factors, and overall reproductive health.

Current evidence also suggests that frozen embryos do not increase the risk of most pregnancy complications compared with fresh embryo transfer.

How long can you freeze embryos for?

Under current UK legislation, embryos can be stored for up to 55 years, provided consent is renewed at the required regular intervals. We will contact you when consent renewal is due you can decide whether to continue storage.

Current evidence suggests that the duration of storage does not affect pregnancy success rates following thawing.

Embryo Freezing

Embryo Freezing

What is Embryo Freezing and How Does it Work?

Am I Suitable for Embryo Freezing?

The Embryo Freezing Process Step by Step

Ovarian stimulation:

Trigger injection:

Egg collection:

Embryo development:

Embryo freezing:

FAQs

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