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Egg or oocyte freezing has been around for years, but up to a few years ago was only available as an experimental technique of fertility preservation, and with limited success. While embryo cryopreservation (freezing) has been successful for the last two decades, freezing unfertilized eggs or oocytes is trickier. Eggs are more susceptible to damage from ice crystallization than embryos during the freezing process. Up to a few years ago, a young and/or single cancer patient who wanted to preserve her future fertility, only had the option of fertilizing her own eggs with donor sperm. Also, some couples were faced with the moral and/or religious beliefs in having to decide what to do with multiple unused embryos. A third concern, were from young women, either single or married, that wanted to delay childbearing but were concerned about “getting too old and/or having problems” with resulting increased difficulty with achieving pregnancy; or at being at increased risks of chromosome abnormalities and miscarriages if they delayed childbearing for too long.

With these newer techniques of rapid egg freezing, or vitrification, it is now possible to cryopreserve the female egg (oocyte), as successfully as it has been to cryopreserve sperm. Egg freezing is still a new and mostly experimentally technology that has been shown to be highly effective in preliminary research. There are now a number of babies born with the use of egg vitrification technology; and ACFS now offers egg freezing for patients needing or choosing to preserve their future childbearing potential. We have had good results with vitrification of eggs. To date, there have been no increase in birth defects related to this process. Survival rates for eggs (oocytes) can reach as high as 85% and pregnancy rates as high as 65%, depending on the woman’s age. Pregnancy rates with egg vitrification, with subsequent thawing and fertilization, should be similar to success rates with that of frozen-thawed embryos. Once thawed, the egg can be fertilized using ICSI, an assisted reproductive technology, that injects one sperm directly into an egg.

At ACFS, we have found one additional option that has proven successful in patients attempting IVF- that is the addition of human growth hormone or hGH to the treatment protocol. It is a known fact that hGH is a cogonadotrophin and, like FSH and LH, is absolutely needed for the full and final maturation of an egg. Although, if measured, a patient will have a normal level of hGH in the blood, some patients do not have enough hGH for all the extra eggs that they make. These patients are impossible to identify “up front” but young patients that make a lot of eggs and have poor fertilization rates or do not get pregnant as expected; or women over the age of 38-39, in ACFS experience, and backed up by the scientific literature, seem to have better success rates when adding hGH to their treatment protocol. At ACFS, it is now our policy that all women 38 or older are offered the option of using hGH, as part of their starting protocol for IVF.

A new test was recently released that can accurately determine the sex of your baby at 10 weeks gestation. Studies have shown that in 85% of pregnancies, the baby’s sex was known prior to giving birth. Almost all were determined by ultrasound examinations prior to or around 20 weeks. These ultrasounds, although accurate, are not 100%. Studies indicated the following statistics that influenced the decisions to know the sex of the baby:

• 90% of woman wanted to know the sex of their baby
• 79% of partners wanted to know
• 64% wanted to be able to choose the baby’s name
• 46% wanted to plan the nursery
• 43% of older children and/or relatives wanted to know to baby’s sex
• 9% for genetic and/or health concerns like Fragile X and other X-linked disorders

The test is performed using the pregnant woman’s blood, drawn at about 10 weeks gestation to optimize accuracy. Earlier testing will be less accurate. Currently, Sequenom CMM (Center for Molecular Medicine) shows 100% accuracy at 10 weeks gestation. The test is based on detecting the presence of fetal DNA in the maternal plasma. Using PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technology, the test can detect and identify the SRY gene and multicopy DYS14 marker sequences consistent with Y- bearing or male chromosomes. In the absence of this detection, the fetus is assumed to be female. In order to decrease the risk of a false positive, an ultrasound should be done to rule out the possibility of a missed and/or vanishing twin pregnancy, which could introduce fetal DNA from a non -viable pregnancy. Pregnancy outcome and fetal sex, as determined by chromosome testing, ultrasonography, or after birth were ascertained. SYR and DYS14 PCR were positive in 105 of 105 plasma samples of women bearing a male fetus; and in all 81 plasma samples of women bearing a female fetus, PCR for SRY and DYS14 was negative. However, with any test result, there is always the risk of false positives and/or false negatives.

ACFS now offers this test to all couples who want to know the sex of their baby early in their pregnancy for personal reasons, to eliminate the potential inaccuracy of ultrasound, for genetic and/or health concerns and to avoid the risks associated with amniocentesis and/or CVS.

The cost is $395

Please call the office with any questions at 480-860-4792.

We wanted to write and try to put into words the most amazing experience of our lives, which you and your staff have afforded us.  As we started trying to put this into words, we found ourselves searching and searching to find words to describe our gratitude.  Sure we can say thank you over and over, but it does not even come close to describe our feelings.  We came to you with a dream, and you made that dream come true.  Through all the trials and tribulations we experienced you gave us hope.  In our times of doubt and frustration, you gave us answers.  And through your passion, education, and experience you gave us our son.  This has been the most amazing experience of our lives.  Getting to feel Asher move around in me and knowing that it is Stacy’s genes, and my body keeping him alive was truly AMAZING.  This has brought us both so much closer and we thank God for you guys everyday for being such miracle workers.  We cannot stop looking at Asher, he is truly a blessing and a true miracle.  And, because of you and your staff, he is in this world.  Thank you does not seem to capture the magnitude of gratefulness, but, from the bottom of, our now three, hearts, we thank-you.  You gave us our miracle and truly made us feel apart of your family not just patients.  We look forward to starting this journey all over again, and having three more miracles.  Yes, I said three more.   With all our love, Susan, Stacy and Asher

Welcome to the ACFS Blog page.  Please feel free to use this blog site to share your experiences; and for that matter, to express anything that you would like to communicate to Dr. Nemiro, ACFS and everyone that will be using this site.  Also, please upload photos of your beautiful family.  You can also become a fan of Arizona Center for Fertility Studies on FaceBook and follow the practice and staff, as well as reproductive medicine articles and information.  Look forward in hearing from you.

JSN and the staff at ACFS