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Technology has created new hope for the thousands of women in Delaware struggling with infertility.
Reproductive Associates of Delaware has become the first fertility clinic in First State to generate a successful pregnancy using In Vitro Fertilization with frozen eggs.
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) involves removing eggs from a woman’s body, fertilizing them and implanting them back into her uterus or another woman’s.
Frozen sperm have been used during IVF for 20 years, but the technology to freeze eggs has taken longer to perfect, said Dr. Ronald Feinberg, IVF director at Reproductive Associates of Delaware, which has offices in Newark, Brandywine Hundred and Dover.
Human eggs are very fragile cells, he said, and freezing them the traditional way creates ice crystals that often damage the eggs.
New technology allows clinics to flash-freeze them, perfectly preserving the cells so they can be stored indefinitely, he said.
Storing eggs is an attractive option for many of the 7.3 million American women who had difficulty getting pregnant in 2002, Feinberg said, because they can flash-freeze eggs today and use them years later to become pregnant.
“Some women want to take out an insurance policy on their fertility,” he said. “There are women already in their 30s who are running out of steam to reproduce.”
Age is a big factor in fertility, he said, because a woman’s ovaries become less productive as she grows older, reducing her chance for a successful pregnancy. In addition, diseases like cancer can damage ovaries, and organ transplants can wreak havoc on a woman’s reproductive system, he said.
Genetics and environmental issues like pollutants or hormones in food can also play a role, but infertility is almost impossible to predict, said Feinberg.
Many women have no idea they are infertile until they try to become pregnant, he said, and sometimes turn to IVF after years of frustrating attempts to conceive.
But IVF is not possible for some women because of the cost, Feinberg said.
The new technology will make IVF available to more women because it should lower the $3,000 price tag on a donor egg, he said.
In traditional IVF, recipients can buy eggs directly from donors, who are flown to Delaware so they can donate the eggs at the clinic, he said. But frozen eggs can be shipped easily, making the process less aggravating for donors and decreasing the procedure’s cost, he said.
Using frozen eggs already lowers the cost of IVF by 20 percent, Feinberg said, and he expects that cost to continue dropping as the technology becomes more universal.
One thousand babies have been born worldwide using frozen donor eggs. The success rate is between 30 and 50 percent for each fertilization attempt, roughly the same as traditional IVF, he said.
The world of IVF is constantly evolving, Feinberg said, and the new technology will hopefully raise awareness that there are options for couples struggling to have a baby.
“Everybody knows somebody who has suffered with a fertility challenge. It is a major public health issue,” Feinberg said. “But there is a lot of hope.”
Technology has created new hope for the thousands of women in Delaware struggling with infertility.
Reproductive Associates of Delaware has become the first fertility clinic in First State to generate a successful pregnancy using In Vitro Fertilization with frozen eggs.
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) involves removing eggs from a woman’s body, fertilizing them and implanting them back into her uterus or another woman’s.
Frozen sperm have been used during IVF for 20 years, but the technology to freeze eggs has taken longer to perfect, said Dr. Ronald Feinberg, IVF director at Reproductive Associates of Delaware, which has offices in Newark, Brandywine Hundred and Dover.
Human eggs are very fragile cells, he said, and freezing them the traditional way creates ice crystals that often damage the eggs.
New technology allows clinics to flash-freeze them, perfectly preserving the cells so they can be stored indefinitely, he said.
Storing eggs is an attractive option for many of the 7.3 million American women who had difficulty getting pregnant in 2002, Feinberg said, because they can flash-freeze eggs today and use them years later to become pregnant.
“Some women want to take out an insurance policy on their fertility,” he said. “There are women already in their 30s who are running out of steam to reproduce.”
Age is a big factor in fertility, he said, because a woman’s ovaries become less productive as she grows older, reducing her chance for a successful pregnancy. In addition, diseases like cancer can damage ovaries, and organ transplants can wreak havoc on a woman’s reproductive system, he said.
Genetics and environmental issues like pollutants or hormones in food can also play a role, but infertility is almost impossible to predict, said Feinberg.
Many women have no idea they are infertile until they try to become pregnant, he said, and sometimes turn to IVF after years of frustrating attempts to conceive.
But IVF is not possible for some women because of the cost, Feinberg said.
The new technology will make IVF available to more women because it should lower the $3,000 price tag on a donor egg, he said.
In traditional IVF, recipients can buy eggs directly from donors, who are flown to Delaware so they can donate the eggs at the clinic, he said. But frozen eggs can be shipped easily, making the process less aggravating for donors and decreasing the procedure’s cost, he said.
Using frozen eggs already lowers the cost of IVF by 20 percent, Feinberg said, and he expects that cost to continue dropping as the technology becomes more universal.
One thousand babies have been born worldwide using frozen donor eggs. The success rate is between 30 and 50 percent for each fertilization attempt, roughly the same as traditional IVF, he said.
The world of IVF is constantly evolving, Feinberg said, and the new technology will hopefully raise awareness that there are options for couples struggling to have a baby.
“Everybody knows somebody who has suffered with a fertility challenge. It is a major public health issue,” Feinberg said. “But there is a lot of hope.”
