At their first appointment, the patient will meet with a fertility doctor who will explain the egg freezing process in more detail. Then, there are a few tests including bloodwork and an internal (trans-vaginal) ultrasound that is performed to assess the patient’s ovarian reserve (egg quantity). After reviewing the results, the doctor will have a solid estimate of how well a patient’s ovaries will respond to fertility medications, as in the number of eggs that the patient might produce in a single cycle. Unfortunately, there are no tests that provide insight into the egg’s quality before extraction. It might be surprising, but other than a woman’s age (and general health), there is no strong predictor of egg quality. No blood test or ultrasound can provide that kind of information.

Since the body is used to producing one egg a month (natural cycle), ovarian stimulation is an important step that helps women produce multiple eggs (stimulated cycle). Women are given hormone medications that they inject themselves. The hormones (gonadotropins) consist of some form of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). These shots are administered for approximately 10-14 days. The final step is a “trigger shot” that helps the eggs mature so they are ready for retrieval.

This step usually takes place within 36 hours of the trigger shot. The patient will visit the fertility clinic and the procedure will be done while they are under some form of anesthesia. A cohort of eggs will be retrieved from the ovaries by a transvagi- nal ultrasound with a guided needle. It usually takes about 20-30 minutes. The patient can go home afterwards to rest and recover.

The embryologist will take photos of the eggs. There is no additional risk of exposure for the eggs. It is an A.I. assisted image analysis, and therefore non-invasive and instantaneous. As soon as the images are uploaded, our software generates a report that shows the likelihood of each egg successfully fertilizing and becoming a blastocyst. The doctor will go through the patient’s egg assessment report during their follow up consultation. Patients can use this added insight to make an informed decision about whether they want to do another cycle and if so, how to tailor the next egg freezing atempt to optimize outcomes.

Eggs are immediately frozen. This process is called oocyte cryopreservation or vitrification (flash freezing). The eggs are stored safely until they are later thawed and fertilized with sperm to generate embryos.

Eggs are frozen in liquid nitrogen. They will remain in the IVF lab under close surveillance (or transferred to a permanent stor- age facility) until the patient is ready for the next step.