‘I married at the age of 27 for love and my partner. This election was on its own terms. At the age of 29, I decided to get my eggs frozen due to personal and health reasons.
On November 19, South superstar Ram Charan’s wife Upasana Konidela tweeted this on X, after which a social media debate started. Actually, many women have to leave their profession to become mothers. She puts her career at stake and gives priority to her family. In such a situation, egg freezing is the biggest choice. In ABP Explainer, let us understand what egg freezing is, why women get their eggs removed and how this trend is becoming…
Question 1- What is egg freezing and when did it start?
answer- This technique was used for the first time in 1986, when a woman became pregnant with her frozen egg. The credit for this goes to Singapore’s Dr. Christopher Chen.
Diana Hayden, who became Miss World in 1997, also became a mother twice through the egg freezing process. She had a daughter in 2016 and in 2018 she gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl.
Egg freezing, which in medical language is called ‘oocyte cryopreservation’.
- Actually, there are small undeveloped eggs inside the ovary. They are developed by giving injections. For egg freezing, 12-13 injections are given.
- When the eggs are fully developed, the eggs are removed through surgery and kept frozen.
- Later, whenever a woman wants to get pregnant, those eggs are fertilized with sperm in the lab, an embryo is formed and implanted in the woman’s uterus.
- Every woman’s ovaries produce eggs only to a limited extent. A normal woman produces 400 to 500 eggs in her entire lifetime.
This process is also called in vitro fertilization (IVF). In its process-
- For egg freezing, the woman is initially given injections for about 6 to 7 days. After this, her healthy egg is kept safe in the lab until it is implanted.
- If the woman is healthy then she keeps the child in her womb. Or you can also take the help of surrogacy. Many women resort to surrogacy or test tube baby. In this the surrogate mother gives birth to the child.
- In 2014, the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society described egg freezing as an effective way to achieve the dream of becoming a mother at an older age.
The process of egg freezing takes 14 days…
- First day: Initial consultation takes place.
- Second day: Blood test and complete health screening is done.
- Day 3: Second consultation is called.
- 4-10 days: Ovarian stimulation and monitoring is done.
- 11-13 days: Several injections are given to release the egg.
- 14 days: There is a process of egg retrieval.
After this the selected eggs are frozen and the frozen eggs are monitored.
Anesthesia is used in this process. This is not painful, but it can definitely be uncomfortable. However, it is common to feel some cramping, soreness or pain immediately after the procedure.
Question 2- What is the right age to freeze eggs?
answer- According to gynecologist consultant expert, generally the upper limit for egg freezing in women is 36-37 years of age. Women should get their eggs frozen between 32-36. If you are not able to do this, you can freeze your eggs even till the age of 40. These eggs can remain safe for at least 5 years in an IVF lab. Some reports claim that eggs can remain safe for thousands of years.
Question 3- In which situations can women freeze eggs?
answer- According to experts,
- Cancer Patient: If women have cancer in any organ and are undergoing chemotherapy, it also affects their reproductive organs. Therefore, doctors advise such women to freeze eggs.
- Low sperm count in men: If men have low sperm count, there is a possibility of further decline, increasing age or sperm quality is deteriorating, then egg freezing is done. So that healthy eggs remain available to men after treatment.
- Single Woman: It is also called elective egg freezing or social egg freezing. When a woman does not want to marry and wants to become a single mother, she can get her eggs frozen.
- Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD): This can also be a better option for women who have PCOD problem.
- Endometriosis: For women who have endometriosis and their ovaries do not produce eggs, egg freezing is the best way to save their remaining healthy eggs.
- Ovarian Surgery: After this the number and quality of eggs decreases rapidly. That’s why doctors always recommend egg freezing before surgery.
- Late Family Planning: Egg freezing has become the best and safest insurance for married couples who do not want to have children immediately after marriage. This is also the biggest reason for the increasing popularity of egg freezing among celebrities.
Question 4- Can there be risks and disadvantages of egg freezing?
answer- According to experts-
- Some women may complain of mild pain or discomfort in the stomach during this process.
- The size of the ovary may increase.
- There may be a problem of ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome.
- Stomach infection, nausea, stomach cramps or hormonal imbalance may also occur.
Question 5- How much does it cost to get the egg freezing process done?
answer- Egg freezing process can cost up to Rs 1.5 lakh or even more. It depends on the clinic and location. Many MNC companies in India also include it in medical cover. There are about 11 percent companies across the country, which are including egg freezing in medical cover.
Question 6- Can a child born through IVF face any problems in future?
answer- According to experts, a child born through IVF does not face any such problem. However, once you have fertilized the eggs and sperm to create an embryo, you can undergo preimplantation genetic testing, or PGT, of your embryo to check for possible chromosomal problems.
