Tick tock – fertility clock

Oocyte cryopreservation
A woman goes through an IVF cycle up to the point where the eggs are harvested. They are assessed for maturity, and then frozen in a special solution that ensures that ice-crystals don’t form. These could damage the eggs.

When the woman wants to have a baby, some of the eggs are thawed out and the ICSI (intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection) technique is used to achieve fertilisation. ICSI involves the micro-injection of a single sperm into each egg using a glass needle about a tenth the thickness of a human hair. The embryo is transferred 2-3 days later and the pregnancy test can be taken after 14 days.

Oocyte cryopreservation is still at a relatively early stage of development and the success rates are not yet as high as they are with conventional IVF. If you’re considering storing your eggs, don’t delay beyond your mid-thirties as every passing year means both the number and quality of the eggs available for storage is reduced. If you go private, Oocyte cryopreservation is available for women who are concerned that they may not be in a position to become a mother until they’re older, when their chances of success are low. However, it’s an expensive technique (typically £1500-2,000) and success can’t be guaranteed.

Men are different – lucky things
A man doesn’t usually need to store his sperm unless he’s going to have medication which will affect his fertility (treatment for an enlarged prostate gland for instance or chemotherapy) or some kind of serious surgery. Despite some decline in quality and quantity, healthy men go on producing viable sperm into their seventies.