Cryopreservation is a process by which cells or whole tissues are preserved by cooling to low sub-zero temperatures, typically -196 °C using liquid Nitrogen. At these low temperatures, biological activity, including the biochemical reactions that lead to cell death, is effectively stopped.
The process was first suitable for freezing human sperm, and embryos and, since the introduction of verification (a process which minimizes damage due to ice crystal formation), eggs can also be cryopreserved successfully.
Nile Fertility Centre provides a comprehensive range of services via our Cryoservices Programme for those who, for medical or social reasons, wish to preserve sperm, eggs or embryos for possible future use.
Embryo freezig enables women to have a further treatment without the need for ovarian stimulation or egg collection. In order to prepare the uterus to receive embryos, a course of drugs is administered to thicken the endometrium (the lining of the uterus). Embryos are then thawed and replaced directly into the uterus. However, some of the frozen Sperm, Eggs or Embryos may deteriorate during the Freezig/Thawing process and would therefore not be suitable for treatment.