Harvesting Eggs

It is said that the best age for a woman to become a mother is between the age of 24-30 because she is the most fertile during this period. However, today, women are becoming very serious about their careers and starting a family is not their priority while they are trying to build their career. Rather, women want to have children only when they are ready mentally as well as financially. However, most women know that once they enter their 30s, their biological clock starts ticking, taking them close to menopause. Due to this the chances of getting pregnant after 35 becomes a little difficult. Moreover, the risk of pregnancy complications like miscarriage, birth defects, etc. also increases with the age of the woman. Nevertheless, with the introduction of the concept, women are able to delay motherhood without worrying about the issues of infertility that come as they grow older. This article will give you some important information on the process of harvesting ovum.

Harvesting Female Eggs
The concept has become popular among women because it gives them the opportunity to have healthy pregnancies as well as babies even after the age of thirty five. The idea of preserving a woman's eggs was taken from the concept of egg donation where young women donated their eggs to older women in order to bear a child. With this, scientists realized that the age of the egg is more important than the age of the woman to carry a child. It has been observed that once the woman reaches her 30s, the quality of her eggs or ovum starts decreasing, making the chance of fertilization very less. So, if the woman preserves her eggs when she is in her 20s, it is possible to have a child at a later age. Harvesting is also a good option for women who are suffering from some kind of diseases that can cause fertility issues. In such cases, harvesting one's eggs can ensure that the woman can become a mother, once she is completely cured from her illness. Another advantage is that the ovum taken from one woman can be donated to other women who are not able to conceive.

Procedure
The whole process is not very complicated, however, it may take a lot of time for the entire process to be completed. Every month, the ovaries produce one egg which enters the fallopian tube for fertilization. However, a woman who has decided to harvest her eggs, is given hormone injections which helps in increasing the production of eggs. These injections are given for 10-12 days continuously. As the eggs become mature, the doctor determines the best time to remove them by checking the estrogen levels produced by the ovaries and the size of the follicles. The eggs are extracted with the help of a needle through the vagina. To make this process painless for the woman, she is given mild sedation.

After the eggs are extracted, they are placed in a liquid nitrogen substance which is called cryoprotectant. This liquid helps in freezing the eggs, thus preserving them. When the woman wants to become pregnant, the doctor first has to thaw the egg and a single sperm from the husband or the donor is inserted into the egg. When the egg is fertilized, the embryo is implanted into the uterus where it starts developing like a natural pregnancy. Though this process is a great way of delaying pregnancy, it may not be affordable to everyone as it is quite expensive. The harvesting procedure cost can be as high as $10,000 and the cost of storing the eggs can come around $400 for every year.

Before the eggs are taken out of the ovaries, several tests are done on the woman to rule out any health problems. Though it has become a popular option in recent years, there are some drawbacks of this method which one has to be aware of. One among this is that not all eggs taken out of the uterus will outlive the freezing and thawing process. Also, the chances of becoming pregnant through this method is not 100%, especially when applied on women who are more than 35 or 40. Nevertheless, medical experts are trying their best to improve the process, so that it can help women to become pregnant, in spite of infertility problems caused by age or some other health problems.