Egg Freezing or Oocyte cryopreservation is a process wherein a women s eggs are removed, frozen and stored for later use. The process is like the IVF Treatment, but just short of fertilisation and embryo transfer. As in IVF Treatment, women undergo ovarian stimulation and follicular monitoring. Once the follicles are ready, oocyte retrieval is planned as in routine IVF cycle. These oocytes are then frozen using Vitrification technique. The oocytes can be stored for months or years and can be used anytime in future. Whenever the women want to plan pregnancy, the oocytes are thawed and fertilised with partners sperms by Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) to form embryos. The embryos are then transferred to the uterus in order to achieve pregnancy.
Egg Freezing or Oocyte cryopreservationallows the women to delay her pregnancy and preserve her fertility worrying about the biological clock.
All women are born with a fixed ovarian reserve which is decided at the time of birth. The reserve continues to deplete with age. Egg freezing depends on the number of eggs present in the women’s ovaries. The lesser the age, more is the reserve and more is the number and better quality oocytes available for freezing.
Egg Freezing or Oocyte cryopreservation is recommended for:

• Women who wish to delay their motherhood either because they are unmarried, or because of education or career priorities. Oocyte cryopreservation buys them time and they can plan family as per their convenience.
• Women diagnosed with cancer and are scheduled for cancer treatment (chemotherapy and radiotherapy). Most cancer treatments are detrimental to ovaries and result in premature ovarian failure. Oocyte cryopreservation prior to cancer treatment allows these women to have their own biological child at a later date with IVF/ICSI treatment.