IVF for Fertility Preservation
Gone are the days when men and women were expected to be married and start a family by the time they were in their early 20s. It is increasingly common for people to delay family building while focusing on career goals, travel, and other personal interests. While many choose not to start a family when young, most want the option to do so later. Fertility preservation allows men and women to plan for a family when they feel ready.
At Dr. Sonja Kristiansen’s fertility center in Houston, TX, patients can consider several fertility preservation techniques, including IVF for fertility preservation. Here, we provide an overview of who can benefit from fertility preservation, and how IVF can be a vital part of family planning.
When to Consider Fertility Preservation
Fertility preservation can benefit a wide range of individuals. Fertility preservation may be right for anyone who wants the ability to start a family at some point in the future and is looking to preserve their fertility before it is impacted by aging, medical conditions, or other factors. Some of the most common reasons to consider fertility preservation include:
- Personal desire to delay starting a family
- Desire to preserve fertility prior to cancer treatment
- Presence of certain illnesses or medical conditions that could negatively impact fertility
- Known exposure to toxins, chemicals, or heavy metals that could negatively impact fertility
Fertility Preservation with IVF
In vitro fertilization, or IVF, is one fertility preservation technique that is commonly offered at our Houston clinic. IVF assists with many aspects of conception to increase a patient’s chances of becoming pregnant. During a typical IVF treatment cycle, patients undergo ovarian stimulation to encourage the production of multiple mature eggs. Eggs are collected through an egg retrieval procedure and mixed with a collected sperm sample in a laboratory setting. The fertilization process is evaluated by embryologists and viable embryos are selected for embryo transfer.
IVF for fertility preservation follows all the same steps as a routine IVF procedure. The one difference is that, when the patient is undergoing IVF for fertility preservation, viable embryos are frozen for later use, rather than being transferred to the intended mother’s uterus immediately.
IVF is beneficial to patients interested in fertility preservation because it allows them to create embryos while the quality and quantity of their eggs and sperm are still good. When the patient has decided that they are ready to start a family, embryos are ready for transfer.
Frozen Embryo Viability
Frozen embryos can stay viable for 10 years or longer, which enables patients to delay starting a family knowing that the option will be available to them in the future. When the time comes to complete IVF treatment with frozen embryos, patients can feel confident knowing that the success rate of IVF treatment with frozen embryos is virtually the same as that with fresh embryos.
Contact Us
IVF for fertility preservation gives you control over when you would like to start a family. If you would like to find out more about this procedure and whether it may be right for you, we invite you to schedule a consultation at our Houston fertility clinic. To get started, send us a message online or call (713) 225-5375 at your earliest convenience.
