After a woman’s eggs are retrieved during IVF, and upon fertilization, multiple healthy embryos may be created in our lab. A woman may choose to freeze extra embryos for family building at a later date.
Before an embryo can be frozen, it must go through cryopreservation which entails removing the water from the cell and replacing it with a cryoprotectant agent (CPA). This agent will protect the cells from forming ice crystals.
After the initial freezing process, embryos are stored in liquid nitrogen and will be successfully preserved for as long as required. Once the treatment date has been decided, the embryos are thawed using specific agents that remove the CPAs.