The Center for Advanced Reproductive Services (CARS) at the Health Center has just completed a clinical study to evaluate the efficacy of egg freezing in patients undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Egg freezing is a new technology that will allow patients the option of storing frozen eggs instead of embryos, eliminating some of the ethical and religious concerns that accompany embryo freezing, storage and disposal.<\/p>\n
The research was conducted at CARS by Dr. Claudio Benadiva, director of the IVF Laboratory, and Linda Siano, chief embryologist, and they evaluated a method of rapid freezing of eggs called vitrification. According to Benadiva, \u201cThis new technology has the potential to revolutionize the field of reproductive medicine, offering a clinically viable alternative to women seeking to preserve fertility for medical reasons, or who are of reproductive age but simply not ready to start a family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patients who volunteered to participate in the study had a portion of their eggs frozen during a process in which eggs are retrieved from a woman\u2019s ovaries, frozen in a cryoprotective solution and then thawed. The thawed eggs were then warmed and fertilized with their male partner\u2019s sperm through a process called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and used to obtain a pregnancy.<\/p>\n
In this study, CARS found positive results. Preliminary data demonstrates a clinical pregnancy rate of 53.8 percent and a live birth\/ongoing pregnancy rate of 46.1 percent. So far, six babies (one set of twins) have been born from frozen eggs to patients who participated in the study.<\/p>\n
The CARS operational laboratory director Joni Stehlik says, \u201cThe results from this study show promise and are very encouraging. We will continue to analyze the data and refine our technique to provide patients with the absolute best chance for success.\u201d In her previous position, Stehlik was responsible for the first birth in the U.S. from a frozen egg utilizing the vitrifcation technique in 2002.<\/p>\n