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Preserving your fertility as a couple
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It's good to choose a couple
The decision of when to start a family is a significant one and many people today are choosing to delay having a child until later in life.
Many people are preserving their fertility as a single person by freezing either their eggs or sperm. However, if you’re in a committed relationship, have someone in your life you know you want to co-parent with or are planning on using a donor in the future, then freezing fertilised embryos is an option too.
What is fertility preservation for couples?
Depending on your circumstances (for example, who you’re co-parenting with or whether you’re using donor eggs or sperm in your treatment) the exact process for freezing your embryos will differ slightly.
First, both partners will need to have a fertility assessment. For females this includes an AMH (anti-Mullerian hormone) blood test and AFC (antral follicle count) vaginal ultrasound scan. Together, these provide an accurate measure of your fertility health and your likely response to the medication used in fertility treatment.
For males, the main type of fertility test is the semen analysis which assesses your sperm for density (the number of sperm in your semen sample), mobility (how well they swim) and morphology (the size and shape of the sperm).
To create your embryos, the person whose eggs you are using will need to undergo a partial IVF cycle. This involves a two-week course of hormone medication to stimulate egg growth followed by an egg retrieval procedure under mild sedation.
You also have the option of using donor eggs.
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How does embryo freezing work?
What to Expect.
Embryos survive the freeze-thaw process better than eggs or sperm, so we would always recommend freezing embryos if you’re able to.
The embryo freezing process follows these few steps:
1. Suppressing the natural menstrual cycle.
Hormone medication will be administered at home via injection to stop natural hormone production and control when the eggs are released.
2. Stimulating the ovaries.
Further medication will be given to stimulate egg production. This increases the chance of more eggs being collected.
3. Monitoring progress.
A scan will be performed to check the development of the follicles that produce the eggs. This determines when the eggs are collected.
4. Egg retrieval.
Once the follicles have reached the correct size, an injection will be given to mature the eggs for collection. A needle is then gently guided through the vaginal wall to capture the eggs one by one. Don’t worry, you will be sedated for this part of the procedure to ensure no pain or discomfort.
5. Fertilisation.
Healthy eggs will be mixed with the sperm of your partner, co-parent or donor and left to fertilise naturally. If there is a male factor issue, we may recommend a procedure known as ICSI (intracytoplasmic injection) where we inject a single sperm directly into the egg to maximise the chances of fertilisation.
6. Embryo development.
The fertilised eggs will be left to develop over a five-day period until they reach the blastocyst stage.
7. Embryo freezing.
Healthy embryos are then frozen using a method called vitrification and stored safely for use in future fertility treatments.
How much does embryo freezing cost?
You’ll receive a detailed breakdown of your treatment costs during your consultation. However, the breakdown of a typical embryo freezing cycle is as follows:
Step one: Fertility assessment
Comprehensive fertility assessment for couples (including same-sex couples)... £565
Step two: Embryo freezing cycle
Embryo freezing (including egg retrieval and embryo freezing)... £6050
Step three: Storage
Annual storage... £350
The medication you require throughout the embryo freezing process will be a separate cost. If you require donor eggs or sperm to create your embryos this will also be an additional cost.
You can find a detailed price list for all treatments and procedures on your chosen TFP Fertility clinic page.
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