“Early last decade, a procedure became available to aging women that allowed doctors to extract and freeze their eggs in the hopes of preserving their fertility. At that point, there were plenty of reasons to be cautious. Egg survival rates were low and inconsistent. The long-term health of babies born from frozen eggs was unknown. Many doctors offering the procedure had never thawed eggs, let alone injected them with sperm, grown them into embryos, and transferred them back to their patients. So it wasn’t surprising when, in 2004, the fertility field’s professional organization, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), declared egg freezing “experimental.”

Excerpt from article written by Sarah Elizabeth Richards for Slate.com

Read Sarah Richards’ full article “Is Egg Freezing Unfairly Marginalized? Why the experimental label should be removed from the procedure.”

Egg Freezing Q & A with David Diaz, MD, FACOG (Founder & Medical Director of West Coast Fertility Centers in Fountain Valley and Fullerton, California)

Q: As the article by Sarah Richards questions—is egg freeing unfairly marginalized?
A: The vast majority of clinics offering egg freezing have never even attempted to thaw a single one of their patients’ eggs. This is a glaring example of why egg freezing is still considered “experimental.” In the hands of experienced practitioners who practice the art of egg freezing, the success rate in the favorable patient age group approximates those of a fresh IVF cycle. Egg Freezing and thawing should be left to experienced experts who practice it often and practice it well!

Q: What is the Survival Rate when frozen eggs are thawed?
A: A very successful 91% at West Coast Fertility.

Q: How many Live Births have been reported at your center?
A: 62 Live Births with 8 on-going pregnancies as of May 2011 at West Coast Fertility Centers. This accounts for about 10% of all babies born around the globe from frozen eggs.