Egg-freezing is a process in which a woman who does not want to conceive a child immediately can opt to have her eggs extracted, frozen and preserved in a cold-storage, for future use. At a later time in life, when she is ready to have a child, the eggs can be retrieved, thawed, and fertilized in the woman’s womb, or outside the womb in a lab (in vitro) in order to conceive and deliver the child. It offers several benefits to women who are not ready, or suitable for childbirth, due to various reasons. Governments worldwide are encouraging the trend by formulating friendly policies in this regard.
Many of us reading this article are from a generation where it was normal for girls to get married in their early or mid-20s. Parents and the society at large would often warn her about the perils of marrying late. One such reason, which is technically valid, is that a woman’s fertility starts dropping off with age. Eggs are non-renewable resource and most women are born with a finite number of them. Over time and age, the number and quality of eggs start declining. As a result, women who conceive after 35 years of age are at higher risk of miscarriages and bearing children with genetic defects. Bearing children after 45 years of age becomes almost impossible, even if menopause is years away.
Society has come a long way since then, and especially in the last 3 decades. Today, more and more women who are educated are seeking to have a life-long career and be financially independent at all times. In the process, marriage and childbirth become low priority. And then there are some unfortunate women who are trapped in unhappy marriages, and may not want to start a family with the existing partner. Finally, marriages are no longer seen by women as a ticket to a good life, and many are choosing to stay single.
At the same time, the biological clock for all these women is ticking away. Those desiring to start a family must make quick decisions. Previously, such women had no option but to try their luck at conception at a later day, and if that didn’t work out – to adopt a child. Today, egg-freezing provides them an excellent alternative.
The medical term for egg-freezing is oocyte cryopreservation (oocyte meaning egg and cryo meaning sub-zero temperatures). As the name implies, in this procedure, the woman’s eggs are harvested, frozen quickly, and then preserved in a cold-storage on a long-term basis. Whenever the woman is prepared to bear a child, the frozen eggs are retrieved, fertilized by sperm provided by the partner in a laboratory (called in-vitro fertilization or IVF), one of the fertilized embryos is carefully selected and that is implanted in the woman’s uterus by a gynaecologist. Thereafter, she can go through pregnancy and childbirth, as usual.
Although the first instance of egg-freezing happened in the 1980s, in the West, it’s still a new trend in India. Actresses Priyanka Chopra and Riddhima Pandit, and businesswoman Upasana Kamineni who have chosen this option have brought this trend into the limelight.
There are umpteen reasons why women may want to freeze their eggs, to be used later. These can be classified under medical reasons and social reasons.
At this juncture, it is important to speak about surrogacy. In the process described above, the fertilized egg is inserted into the woman’s uterus after which she goes through the full term of pregnancy before delivering the child either naturally or through C-section. According to gynaecologists, women who cannot go through pregnancy for medical reasons, or do not want to go through the hassle of pregnancy and childbirth can engage a surrogate mother for this. Such mothers are healthy women from low-income families who are willing to rent out their womb for a fee. In this case, the fertilized egg is inserted into the surrogate’s uterus. After childbirth, the baby is handed over to the biological parents and the surrogate has no right over the same.
An example in case is actress Priyanka Chopra. At the age of 32, she chose to have her eggs frozen. At 36, she married, and at 39, she decided it was time to have a child. Considering her age and for other reasons, she decided to use a surrogate.
The combination of egg-freezing and surrogacy makes it an attractive option for disadvantaged or career-oriented women who cannot take the required breaks for pregnancy and childbirth. It also works for women who have medical issues that make a full term of pregnancy risky and childbirth fraught with complications. These two trends are expected to rise in the future. For those seeking gynaecology services, Kauvery Hospital has branches in Tirunelveli, Salem, Hosur, Trichy, and Chennai, providing comprehensive treatments and support.
The costs involved vary from hospital to hospital and includes:
Kauvery Hospital is globally known for its multidisciplinary services at all its Centers of Excellence, and for its comprehensive, Avant-Grade technology, especially in diagnostics and remedial care in heart diseases, transplantation, vascular and neurosciences medicine. Located in the heart of Trichy (Tennur, Royal Road and Alexandria Road (Cantonment), Chennai (Alwarpet & Vadapalani), Hosur, Salem, Tirunelveli and Bengaluru, the hospital also renders adult and pediatric trauma care.
Chennai Alwarpet – 044 4000 6000 • Chennai Vadapalani – 044 4000 6000 • Trichy – Cantonment – 0431 4077777 • Trichy – Heartcity – 0431 4003500 • Trichy – Tennur – 0431 4022555 • Hosur – 04344 272727 • Salem – 0427 2677777 • Tirunelveli – 0462 4006000 • Bengaluru – 080 6801 6801
