Embryo Freezing ! Frozen Freezing or Fresh Freezing Transfer

What is Embryo Freezing? In which cases are Embryo Freezes done? And today's very important question is, do Frozen Embryos give better results as compared to Fresh Embryos? And if the couple is given the option, should they opt for Frozen Embryos Transfer? So let's first know what is Embryo Freezing? Embryo Freezing has been in vogue ever since IVF began! The technique of Embryo Freezing in the beginning was Slow Freezing! In Slow Freezing or Programme Freezing, there was a special type of device, Slow Freezer! In which the temperature of the Embryo was reduced step wise and this temperature was taken to -190 degrees. When the Embryos are frozen, they were preserved in Liquid Nitrogen and kept further! In the days of slow freezing, when these embryos were brought back to room temperature, they were thawed! So the craniocervical rate, i.e. the percentage of embryos that survived, was not very high, 60 to 70% embryos survived, and the chances of pregnancy were around 20 to 30%! All this changed when a technique called Vitrification was invented in the late 90's and 2000's! Vitrification means Flash Freezing. In flash freezing, the embryo is very fast taken from room temperature, i.e. 37 degrees, to a very low temperature of -196°! The survival of embryos in Vitrification or Fast Freezing technique has increased substantially and now almost 95 to 100% embryos survive after thawing after cryopreservation and if we talk about pregnancy rates, then almost 70% to 80% pregnancy rates are obtained after these embryo transfers! In the last few years, many such studies have been conducted in which it was observed that when Frozen Embryo Transfer is done, the percentage of pregnancy in it was higher as compared to Fresh Embryo Transfer! This has been our experience too! If we talk about our Clinic, if we talk about Self Cycles, then after Fresh Embryo Transfer, our clinical pregnancy rate is approximately 43% but in Frozen Embryo Transfer, when we have frozen all the embryos, have not done fresh transfer, and have gone for Frozen Transfer, then this pregnancy percentage is approximately 58%! This difference of about 10 to 15% is very significant. And now in our clinic, about 70% of the transfers are Elective Frozen Transfer, which means that instead of transferring fresh embryos during the IVF cycle, we freeze all the embryos and in the next cycle, when the endometrium is at its normal state, the hormone levels have returned, the receptivity of the endometrium has improved, then these frozen embryos are transferred. So, whenever you discuss in your clinic, your IVF procedure is going on, always ask the doctor whether they have the facility of freezing available? And if the pregnancy rates of their frozen embryo transfer are good and you have four or five good quality embryos or more, then after getting all the embryos frozen, if you go for frozen embryo transfer in the next month, then most of the studies show that we can get higher chances of pregnancy in this! Are there any cases in which we do not do Frozen Embryo Transfer? Yes, if the quality of the embryos of the couples is not very good, they are Grade B or Grade C embryos, or the number of embryos is less than 3, in that case we still prefer to do Fresh Embryo Transfer instead of Frozen Embryo Transfer. In some couples who have had a miscarriage after the first Fresh Embryo Transfer, we prefer to do Fresh Embryo Transfer in those cases too! Sometimes due to Logistics Reasons, like if the couple is not able to take IVF in the next month due to some reason or they have come from another country and live in another village, it is difficult for them to come back, in that case Fresh Embryo Transfer is also done, so today we learned about Embryo Freezing and Frozen Embryo Transfer. If you have any doubt or curiosity in this topic, then do write to us, we will be very happy to answer your questions. Thank you. #DRPRIYABHAVECHITTAWAR #EMBRYOFREEZING #FROZENFREEZING #EMBRYOTRANSFER #IVFSPECIALIST #INFERTILITYSPECIALISTBHOPAL Disclaimer : The information shared in this video is meant for public awareness and cannot replace physicians advice. For treatment related advice please consult a physician.