Oocyte cryopreservation to anticipate age-related fertility decline

In contrast to men who produce new sperm cells up to old age, women are born with a limited number of oocytes that will decrease with age. No new eggs are added, and oocyte quality is reduced with advancing age. As female reproduction is strongly influenced by a society in change, women may have various reasons to postpone childbearing, mostly because the preconditions for having a child are not yet fulfilled. Awareness rising has led to an increased demand for oocyte cryopreservation although there is controversy among bioethicist whether this technology will emancipate women or whether it may disempower them instead. The technique of vitrification has outgrown the experimental stage for some time now. Although follow-up of the health of the children who conceive after cryopreservation of oocytes has yielded reassuring results, the take-home baby rate of women who embark on social freezing is yet unknown and the danger of false hope is lurking behind optimistic advertisements from commercial oocyte cryopreservation companies. Indeed, the chances of having a child with vitrified oocytes are significantly reduced beyond the age of 36 (age of cryopreservation). Ovarian stimulation protocols for oocyte cryopreservation have been adopted from the ART clinic and are focused on maximised output of mature oocytes, whilst optimising the safety profile and burden for those who seek elective oocyte vitrification.