Embryo, ovarian tissue, and egg (oocyte) storage

“The Family Fertility Cryobank (FFCB) offers long-term storage for embryos and eggs at our San Diego facility. An embryo is defined as an egg that has been fertilized with sperm, becoming a multicellular organism. Once the embryo has matured to a certain level it can be cryopreserved (frozen) and stored at subzero temperatures for future use. Oocyte Cryopreservation – Oocyte (egg) freezing is the cryopreservation (freezing) of female eggs that have been retrieved directly from a woman’s ovaries. Frozen embryos and eggs can be thawed years later and used in fertility treatments such as IVF.”

Reasons to cryopreserve

“Many couples have embryos and/or eggs remaining after IVF treatment. Most couples prefer not to discard this precious reproductive tissue. Often times, when IVF is successful and a pregnancy is achieved, the couple may be ready for a second child just a few years later. The cryopreserved embryos or eggs can be thawed out at a later date and used for in vitro fertilization. The results are slightly lower than with fresh specimens, but embryo and egg freezing offers couples the chance of getting pregnant more than once from one cycle of ovarian stimulation. Thousands of children have been conceived from frozen embryos in Southern California alone

Egg (oocyte) storage is also a useful tool for women that are approaching advanced reproductive age or have medical conditions such as cancer that may affect fertility. Storing frozen eggs gives women the opportunity to preserve their fertility until they are ready to grow their family. New advancements in egg freezing technology has made more pregnancies by frozen eggs possible than ever before. If a female is diagnosed with cancer before reaching puberty, it is possible to freeze and store ovarian tissues for use in the future. 

At the Family Fertility CryoBank, we urge you to consider us for frozen embryo and egg storage. As one of the first cryopreservation centers on the West Coast, we have extensive experience with fertility preservation, having provided safe and secure long-term storage for over 25 years, earning the trust and respect of those in the Southern California region and beyond. Reasons for storing your embryos or eggs at the Family Fertility CryoBank include:

• Limited storage space for embryos at your IVF clinic
• Limited allowed time for egg and embryo storage at your IVF clinic
• Our extremely competitive long-term storage fees
• Ability of our center to provide storage of infectious-disease-quarantined specimens
• Our experience
• Your IVF clinic is closing
• Our laboratory is closely monitored with top-notch security

Patients who choose FFCB must complete an embryo and/or egg storage contract, which specifically defines the terms of storage and costs involved. This way, everyone is on the same page. Please note that FFCB does not engage in the egg freezing processing at this time. However, we do offer long-term egg storage services once the eggs are frozen.”