Creation of an oocyte reserve ( social freezing)

The probability of becoming pregnant decreases with increasing age of the woman – from the mid-thirties onwards even significantly. This is because both the number and the quality of the eggs decrease with age. For women over thirty who are currently unable to fulfil their desire to have a child, e.g. because they do not have a suitable partner or are very busy at work, it can therefore make sense to have oocytes removed and frozen as a precaution. This is called social freezing and has been a customary treatment for many women in the USA for years. This option can provide a safeguard for affected women and relieve their burden.

Before retrieval, the ovaries are stimulated with hormones, as in IVF treatment, so that several follicles mature. The eggs are retrieved with a short procedure, either with a strong painkiller or under a short anaesthetic. In Switzerland, the eggs may be stored for a maximum of 10 years.

Normally, you will first try to get pregnant in the normal way. If this does not work, you can resort to the frozen oocytes. These are fertilised with your partner’s sperm using the ICSI method, which means that the embryologist will fertilise each egg with a normal-shaped, motile sperm. One or two embryos can then be placed in the uterus five days later. The chances of success depend mainly on the quality of the oocytes. The decisive factor is the age of the woman when the oocytes are retrieved. The younger the woman, the less genetic damage the oocytes have. In Switzerland, the oocytes may be stored for a maximum of 10 years. We will be happy to advise you on this.