Assisted reproduction treatments are based, for the most part, on a process of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Thanks to IVF and treatments derived from it (intracytoplasmic sperm injection or ICSI and preimplantation genetic diagnosis, among others) more than 7 million children have been born in the world.
What does IVF treatment consist of?
An IVF treatment basically consists of a process of controlled ovarian stimulation, a puncture of the ovaries for the extraction of oocytes, fertilization and embryo culture in the laboratory and, finally, the transfer of an embryo into the woman’s uterus. The chances of success depend on many factors, the most important of which is embryo quality.
Why is it applied?
On several occasions the embryo quality is low and, therefore, the chances of pregnancy are low. This is mainly due to the age of the women undergoing treatment. Social changes in recent years have made women decide (when they do) to postpone childbearing. And sometimes even assisted reproduction cannot compensate for the reduced fertile capacity that accompanies aging. In these cases, it is possible to resort to oocyte donation: the use of oocytes donated by young women.
What is oocyte preservation?
Fortunately, it is now possible for a young woman to preserve her oocytes. In this way, if in the future she decides to become pregnant and has difficulties in achieving a gestation through natural reproduction, she could resort to the oocytes she preserved years before. It will consist of being her own oocyte donor.
Basically, the process consists of an ovarian stimulation treatment of between 10 and 12 days, and a puncture of the ovaries by the expert in Assisted Reproduction, for the extraction of oocytes. The puncture can be performed under local anesthesia or sedation and the patient is discharged in one or two hours. It is, in short, the first two steps of IVF.
Oocyte preservation is not synonymous with fertility preservation, nor does it replace natural reproduction. Couples and women should be advised that, in case of gestational desire, it is best to try to achieve pregnancy through natural reproduction as soon as possible. In the event that pregnancy is not achieved by natural means, oocyte preservation is a resource that can help these women. This is an alternative that was not available years ago, when classic oocyte freezing presented many technical difficulties and poor results. Thanks to vitrification, these problems have been overcome. Once vitrified, the oocytes can be kept for years and the effectiveness (in terms of chances of pregnancy) depends on the age of the woman at the time of preservation: the younger the woman, the greater the effectiveness.