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1. What is vitrification? What is vitrification?

   Vitrification is a flash freezing technique that has a 98 percent survival rate for eggs (oocytes) and embryos, compared the 55 percent survival rate found with the traditional slow-dunk method. At New Hope Fertility Center, we prefer single embryo transfers to avoid the complications of multiples (twins, etc.). That means you may produce more embryos than you transfer each IVF cycle, and thanks to vitrification's more than 98% percent egg and embryo survival rate, you can count on your extra preserved embryos for future use. Whether you are a single woman preserving your fertility, a couple delaying or timing child bearing, or a woman undergoing cancer treatment, you will find vitrification an invaluable option for egg freezing and embryo banking.

2. I'm 38. My husband and I are trying to get pregnant at another clinic using conventional IVF and conventional egg freezing techniques. We have tried three times over eight months since there was wait time between cycles, but so far have been unsuccessful. I want two additional children. Is this possible? I'm worried I may be running out of time. I'm 38. My husband and I are trying to get pregnant at another clinic using conventional IVF and conventional egg freezing techniques. We have tried three times over eight months since there was wait time between cycles, but so far have been unsuccessful. I want two additional children. Is this possible? I'm worried I may be running out of time.

   At 38 the live birth rate is 23.1% if 2.6 embryos are transferred with conventional IVF. If you want two children in the future and you continue with conventional IVF and a conventional freezing method, you would typically plan 3 IVF attempts for each child (so 6 attempts total), meaning that you will need roughly 18 embryos. With the traditional slow-dunk freezing method only half of your embryos will survive, meaning you'll need to have produced double the embryos (36). We recommend you bank these embryos during your next few cycles before getting pregnant (meaning, don't do any transfers until you have 36 embryos in your bank). Why? Because if you get pregnant at 38 the earliest you can start retrieving embryos again is 39, assuming you will start right away. The older you get the lower the quality of your eggs is, and the lower your liklihood of getting pregnant is. The big question is whether or not you should continue to use conventional IVF. If you decide to use your next few cycles to bank embryos, then Mini-IVF™ would be a better option for you since there is no wait time between cycles, dimishing the risk involved in having to wait and losing quality eggs as you get older. Additionally, if you chose a clinic that used our vitrification method for flash freezing (as opposed to conventional slow-dunk freezing), you would need to freeze only half the embryos, only needing to produce 18. If you are thinking of switching to Mini-IVF and vitrification, please consider contacting us for a consultation.