University Reproductive Associates (URA)

Egg Freezing

Book An Appointment

By age 40, a woman’s chance of becoming pregnant is less than 5% per cycle. Egg freezing during your peak fertility years preserves your ability to have a child in the future. The fertility experts at University Reproductive Associates, with offices in Hasbrouck Heights, Hoboken, Wayne, Millburn, & Denville, NJ and Goshen, NY, offer egg freezing to preserve your future fertility and can consult with you about the process, the benefits, and how to get started. To learn more, call the office or request an appointment online today.

Egg Freezing Q & A

What is egg freezing?

Egg freezing, medically known as oocyte cryopreservation, is an elective procedure that allows you to harvest and freeze your eggs to secure your future ability to have children. Your eggs are taken from your ovaries and frozen unfertilized. When you’re ready, the eggs are thawed, fertilized with sperm in the lab, and implanted in your uterus. The fertility specialists at University Reproductive Associates recommend you consider egg freezing while you’re in your twenties and at your peak fertility. When you’re at this age, the team can harvest a large number of high quality eggs.

Why should I consider egg freezing?

Women choose egg freezing for many reasons. You may want to consider the procedure if you:

Wish to delay childbearing to pursue your career
Have a medical condition that affects fertility
Need medical treatment that affects fertility
Have a family history of early menopause

Women also choose egg freezing when undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) for religious or ethical reasons.

Am I a good candidate for egg freezing?

The experienced team at University Reproductive Associates determines if you’re a good candidate for egg freezing during a consultation. Even if you’re considered a good candidate and your eggs are frozen, there’s no guarantee that it will result in a baby. Eggs are fragile and rates of pregnancy after egg freezing are similar to women undergoing IVF. The team recommends freezing 15-20 eggs to increase your chance of a successful pregnancy.

How does egg freezing work?

During your normal cycle, your ovaries release one egg at a time. To increase the number of eggs your ovaries release, the team prescribes daily injections of fertility drugs (gonadotropin or follicle-stimulating hormone) 10 to 14 days prior to the harvesting. Your egg harvesting procedure takes about 20 minutes and is performed under light sedation. During your procedure, the fertility specialist at University Reproductive Associates, using transvaginal ultrasound for guidance, inserts a needle through your vaginal wall to your ovaries and gently suctions out the eggs. Your eggs are then placed in a sterile test tube and taken to a lab and assessed for maturity. Your mature eggs are frozen using an advanced cryopreservation technique that prevents the formation of ice crystals. Your eggs remain frozen until you’re ready to use them.

Have Questions? Contact Us!

The first thing we do as fertility specialists is to listen to you. We can then proceed to educate you based on what you tell us, so that you have a complete picture of your situation, and so we can help you complete your journey to a joyful pregnancy.