Discovery Health Channel: Deliver Me: Egg Freezing with Dr.Jain (video)

Cryopreservation, referring to embryo or egg freezing, allows women to freeze and store their eggs until a pregnancy is desired, at which time the eggs are thawed, fertilized and transferred to the uterus as embryos. Besides stopping the biological clock for women who are not yet ready to have children, this technology may help preserve fertility for cancer patients, and it can offer a solution for those with an ethical objection to embryo freezing.

In July of 2008, Discovery Health’s “Deliver Me” shows Dr. Allison Hill freezing her eggs. She goes to see Dr. John Jain, who happens to be not only the father of her two children and ex-partner, but one of the leading experts in egg freezing. Many women are choosing to freeze their eggs, even into their late thirties, in order to keep their options open for the future, and for Dr.Hill, she feels this is a back-up plan.

Dr.Jain, happy to do it, says he believes in the technology, and even though it’s not a guarantee, he thinks it is a good option. Once they agree to a plan, Allison begins her injections to stimulate egg production, and after 2 weeks she is ready for the egg retrieval. Dr.Jain takes one last measurement and they’re ready! Allison is now on the table looking up instead of the other way around. The retrieval goes smoothly, with 23 eggs retrieved – a great number to freeze for later use, when and if she decides to create another family with someone else later on in life.