Program's 'egg freezing' expands fertility options
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Irene Laffoon, lab supervisor at the Center for Fertility and Reproductive Endorcrinology, demonstrates oocyte cryopreservation -- the freezing of egg cells which have divided into a stage called oocytes -- a new procedure for egg preservation. -
Laura Ziros -- "I definitely feel more secure knowing that if something were to happen to the rest of my ovary, I have six little eggs waiting for me and six potential opportunities to still have children using my own eggs."
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On July 25, Laura Ziros underwent outpatient surgery at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC for retrieval of six of her diminishing supply of egg cells, which had divided into the stage called oocytes. The oocytes were then frozen, a condition in which they should remain viable for at least several years.
Ms. Ziros became the first woman to have the procedure known as egg freezing but properly called oocyte cryopreservation done as part of the Fertility Preservation Program in Pittsburgh and the Center for Fertility and Reproductive Endocrinology at Magee. The preservation program is a joint effort of Magee, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Magee-Womens Research Institute.
Her reason was simple: The 26-year-old nurse from the Cleveland suburb of Rocky River, Ohio, is uncertain she'll be carrying any fertile egg cells by the time she marries or decides she's ready to be a mother.
When she was in the fifth grade, Ms. Ziros sustained an ovarian torsion, or twist, in her right ovary, which was removed. About 10 years later, in 2004, she developed a large cyst on her remaining ovary, and subsequent surgery to remove it left her with about two-thirds of her only egg-producing organ.
After the second surgery, she discussed the possibility of freezing some of her eggs with her reproductive and fertility specialist, Robert Collins. But the research was still in early stages and, he said, he didn't think it was necessary at that time.
But science progresses and conditions change.
This past June, during Ms. Ziros' general checkup, a laboratory test used to try to gauge fertility showed the level of the hormone checked had dropped almost 50 percent in a year.
"That's when we started to discuss my options," she said. "The options I had were to either freeze my eggs because the new process has come about, or to choose an anonymous sperm donor and have frozen embryos, or kind of do a half and half -- half frozen embryos, half frozen eggs -- or to just kind of wait and see what happens."
The success rate of frozen embryos is on a par with the success rate of fresh embryo transfer and directly related to the age of the woman, according to Joseph Sanfilippo, director of the fertility center as well as the division of reproductive endocrinology and fertility at Magee. "Overall, in our hands, ongoing pregnancy rates in women less than 40 years of age is in the 42-45 percent range," said Dr. Sanfilippo, who also is a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences.
First Published October 24, 2011 12:00 am
