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Quick freezing technique of the human egg

by Medindia Content Team on Jun 20 2006 11:16 AM

Prague - Fertility specialists in Japan have conceived a new way of freezing human eggs which will be a blessing to many women, for instance the cancer patients , to be able to have children.

Women’s eggs are very delicate and can get easily damaged when they are thawed, in contrast to sperms which can be easily frozen and thawed.

A quick freezing method has been devised by the Japanese researchers which hold promise over the present technique being used.

Dr Masashige Kuwayama, of the Kato Ladies clinic in Tokyo said” This technology opens up new horizons for medically assisted reproduction in women, enabling them to have the option of having children at a later date by freezing eggs rather than embryos."

This method called as the Cryotop method, was used by the Kuwayama and his team, which successfully froze 111 eggs and thawed almost 94.5 percent of them. This method allowed them to achieve a pregnancy rate of 41.9 percent with IVF. With fresh eggs the rate was 42.5 %.

The cryotop method, essentially involves freezing the egg very quickly in a special solution which is stored in liquid nitrogen. This prevents the formation of ice crystals, which is the main reason fort damage of the egg.

The technique will be beneficial to cancer patients who can freeze their eggs before undergoing the cancer treatment that can harm their fertility. Women who are career minded can also freeze their eggs for later use, when they decide to have children, though it is best not to delay pregnancy.

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Professor Arne Sunde, a former chairman of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), said "This is a major improvement, and for the first time, cryopreservation of oocytes (eggs) represent a realistic option for the preservation of fertility in women who are in need of aggressive treatment for malignant diseases."


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