Fertility Preservation
Fertility preservation allows you to store eggs, sperm, or embryos for future use. Using vitrification (ultra-rapid freezing), we can preserve reproductive cells with survival rates exceeding 95% upon thawing — giving you the freedom to plan parenthood on your own timeline.
Social Egg Freezing
Social egg freezing (also called elective egg freezing) is for women who wish to preserve their fertility for non-medical reasons — perhaps because they haven't found the right partner, are focused on career goals, or simply want to keep their options open.
Ideal candidates:
- Women aged 25-37 (best results when eggs are frozen before 35)
- Women who wish to delay parenthood for personal or professional reasons
- Women who want to preserve their current fertility potential
The process is identical to the first half of an IVF cycle: ovarian stimulation for 10-14 days, followed by egg retrieval. The eggs are then vitrified and stored until you are ready to use them.
Medical Fertility Preservation
Medical fertility preservation is recommended when a medical condition or its treatment may damage fertility:
- Cancer patients — before chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery that may affect the ovaries or testes
- Autoimmune conditions — before treatments with gonadotoxic medications
- Endometriosis — when progressive disease threatens ovarian reserve
- Genetic conditions — conditions associated with early menopause (e.g., Turner syndrome carriers, BRCA mutations)
- Gender-affirming treatment — before hormone therapy that may affect fertility
We prioritise medical preservation cases and can often begin the process within days of referral, understanding that cancer treatment timelines are often urgent.
Embryo Freezing
For couples or individuals who have a partner or wish to use donor sperm, embryo freezing offers the advantage of storing already-fertilised embryos. Frozen embryos have excellent survival rates and comparable pregnancy rates to fresh embryo transfers.
Embryo freezing is also routine during IVF cycles when surplus good-quality embryos are available after the fresh transfer.
Sperm Freezing
Sperm cryopreservation is a simple, non-invasive process. A semen sample is collected and frozen in our laboratory. Sperm freezing is recommended for:
- Men facing cancer treatment
- Before vasectomy (as a backup)
- Men with declining sperm parameters
- Men who travel frequently and may not be available on the day of IUI or IVF
- Surgical sperm retrieval samples
The Vitrification Process
Vitrification is an ultra-rapid freezing technique that transforms cells into a glass-like state without forming ice crystals — the primary cause of damage in older slow-freezing methods. This technology has revolutionised fertility preservation:
- Egg survival rate: >90% upon thawing
- Embryo survival rate: >95% upon thawing
- No time limit: vitrified cells can be stored indefinitely
- No quality deterioration: cells remain unchanged regardless of storage duration