A new record answers the question, “How long can you store frozen embryos?”
Our Las Vegas fertility doctors often tell patients that they can store frozen embryos indefinitely. Anyone who has doubts about this should consider the newsworthy story of an Ohio couple. They recently had a baby from a 31-year-old frozen embryo.
Setting new records by having a baby with frozen embryos
When a couple from Ohio decided on embryo adoption, they didn’t plan to set a record. However, that’s exactly what they did when they gave birth to their son.
The little boy came from a 31-year-old embryo that was frozen back in 1994. This record-breaking birth dethrones the previous record set by a baby born from a 30-year-old frozen embryo.
These incredible births help answer the question, “How long can you store frozen embryos?” They also give peace of mind to parents who want to pursue embryo freezing.
How does embryo freezing work, and how long can you store frozen embryos?
Embryo freezing can occur as part of an IVF cycle. This process involves several important steps.
- The patient providing the eggs will take medications to stimulate egg production.
- This same patient will have an egg retrieval with one of our Las Vegas fertility doctors.
- After the sperm has fertilized the eggs, the lab team will let them develop for five days.
- The team will flash-freeze the Day-5 embryos using a technique called vitrification.
These embryos will remain secure in frozen storage for as long as the parents need. As you can see from the story of the Ohio couple, this can be decades. When you consider how far embryo freezing technology has come since 1994, parents today can store embryos indefinitely.
When the family wants to use the frozen embryos, the lab team will thaw the embryos. One of our doctors will then transfer an embryo to the uterus of the patient or a gestational surrogate.
Our Las Vegas fertility doctors are always happy to answer questions like, “How long can you store frozen embryos?” We are also proud to provide world-class fertility treatments that make parenthood possible. Contact us to learn how we can help you welcome a baby.
