Speaking of Fertility Preservation: Frozen Eggs Do Well

In Malta, there's a legislative proposal that might decrease the ability of some citizens to resolve their infertility with IVF. While political and social pundits wrestle with the questions of which patients can access which treatment and even specifics on which treatment protocols can be used, one expert shed some positive light on one option in particular.

Dr. Eleonora Porcu is possibly the most experienced reproductive specialist in the world when it comes to the use of frozen eggs with IVF. Because of Italy's highly restrictive assisted reproductive technology laws, Dr. Porcu has been very active in the pursuit of technique advancements that make oocyte cryopreservation a viable option when frozen embryos are not available. She was called on by the Maltese government recently to testify about the success she has seen over the past 15 years.

The Times of Malta published this interview with Dr. Porcu, who reports she and her medical team have produced "some 500 births of children conceived using frozen eggs."

In the United States, we are so fortunate to be free of extreme governmental restrictions mandating which individuals may access ART and which forms of ART they can use to resolve their fertility issues. My Houston Fertility Center staff and I have offered egg freezing to patients for several years now, believing it to be an optimal fertility preservation technique for unmarried women who are about to undergo cancer treatment, as well as others who are without partners and do not want to use donor sperm.

~ Dr. Sonja Kristiansen MD