“Egg freezing is not a necessity. It’s a choice”

Prompted by International Women’s Day, Institute of Life-IASO had a strong presence on 10 and 11 March 2018 in Golden Hall, launching an information campaign on egg freezing with the motto “Egg freezing is not a necessity. It’s a choice”.

All women who visited Golden Hall had the opportunity to receive information on vitrification and all current egg freezing techniques. The campaign was honored by the presence of Mr. Georgios Patoulis, Chair of the Medical Association of Athens, Mayor of the Municipality of Amaroussion and Chair of KEDE, who commented on the benefit enjoyed by young women who choose to freeze their eggs at a young age, in order to use them and have children when they wish to do so.

The recent offer by Apple and Facebook to their female employees for free of charge egg freezing makes fertility preservation a matter that affects all women who choose to pursue their career and delay starting a family and having children. The progress of technology in the field of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) results in egg survival rates of over 90%, following thawing. So, today, we talk about pregnancy rates of over 50%, following thawed fertilized eggs.

Postponing childbearing is a social fact. Science responds to such challenges and the need of young women to pursue their professional development without sacrificing the dream of motherhood. Until recently, that was not feasible. Today, the advances in the field of IVF enable fertility specialists to provide reliable solutions, so that family planning remains feasible even at older ages. Fertility preservation through egg freezing (oocyte cryopreservation) constitutes one of the greatest achievements in the field of IVF, as it allows thousands of women worldwide to become mothers when they wish to do so.

Institute of Life’s team leads the way by applying pioneering methods with high success rates in Greece. For more information, please visit www.iolife.eu or the Secretariat at Institute of Life-IASO.