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Approximately 25% of couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) will produce more embryos than would be appropriate to transfer into the uterus. Embryo cryopreservation (freezing) is a way to preserve higher quality embryos that are not utilized during a “fresh” IVF cycle. Limiting the number of embryos transferred reduces the risk of multiple pregnancies. Higher order multiple pregnancies have been associated with both maternal and fetal complications.

The overall (all ages and diagnoses) fresh IVF cycle pregnancy rate is 40-50%. For women under age 38, it is expected that approximately 60% of frozen embryos will survive the thaw process. For women age 38 and above, approximately 45% of embryos will survive the thaw process. The pregnancy rate associated with frozen embryo transfer is approximately 30% for women under age 38 at the time of their fresh IVF cycle and is 15% for women age 38 and above.

Freezing embryos gives couples the opportunity to have a second IVF attempt in the form of a frozen embryo IVF cycle if pregnancy is not achieved with the fresh embryos. Thawing and transferring these embryos offers another chance at conception without the need to use the expensive fertility enhancing medications, undergo egg retrieval or require anesthesia. As such, a frozen embryo transfer cycle is significantly less expensive than a fresh cycle.

When a fresh IVF cycle is successful, the frozen embryos may be utilized to conceive another child. While most couples transfer their frozen embryos within two to three years, the length of time that embryos remain frozen has not been demonstrated to affect embryo quality.

At your IVF consultation and consent signing appointment, you will determine if you want to freeze any extra embryos. You will also determine the minimum number of embryos you want available to freeze. The ART consent form states: “Preembryo cryopreservation if there are ____ or more embryos available for cryopreservation….” For example, if only one good quality embryo was available after our fresh embryo transfer, and you wanted that embryo frozen, you would place a “1” in the designated blank. In this case, if more than 1 embryo was available to freeze, they all would be frozen. The cost to freeze and store embryos is the same regardless of the number of embryos. However, if you desired a minimum of 2 embryos in order to freeze, and only 1 good quality embryo was available after your uterine transfer of fresh embryos, that “extra” embryo would not be frozen. Embryos must be frozen within six days after fertilization. As such, the decision to freeze must be made before it is possible to determine if pregnancy has occurred.