October has seen the arrival of the first wave of babies conceived using City Fertility Centre’s new rapid-freezing embryo program.
City Fertility Centre Scientific Director Adnan Catakovic said the new vitrification or “rapid freezing’’ process worked 7000 times faster than slow freezing and had resulted in a dramatic increase in pregnancy rates.
“Since introducing rapid freezing, City Fertility Centre has increased embryo survival rates from 60-70% (slow freezing) to 80-90% (rapid freezing) and pregnancy rates have improved from 30% (slow freezing) to 40-50% (rapid freezing),” Mr Catakovic said*.
“Rapid freezing greatly reduces the risk of rupturing or damage to the embryo as there is no chance for ice to form within the cell.”
City Fertility co-founder Dr Ashish Das said the new technology had the potential to reduce the impact of IVF on patients.
“Freezing embryos helps reduce the discomfort of IVF and offers multiple chances to become pregnant,” Dr Das said.
“These results show that rapid-frozen blastocyst embryos have better survival rates post thawing and, most importantly, are delivering higher pregnancy rates than traditional methods.
“This is particularly good news given the pending changes to Medicare rebates for IVF from 1st January, 2010.”
Quick Facts
1. There are now 23 confirmed pregnancies with patients using rapid-frozen embryos, with the first of these babies due in October.
2. Rapid freezing is producing better outcomes – bringing patients closer to their dream of taking home a baby.
3. Vitrification is new technology in IVF treatment that City Fertility Centre has successfully adapted into a rapid-freezing program. It is now available for embryos and eggs stored at City Fertility clinics in Brisbane, on the Gold Coast and in Melbourne.
*NB: The results at City Fertility Centre are exceptional when compared with internationally published data on rapid-frozen blastocyst embryos.
For more information, please contact City Fertility Centre on 1800 123 483.
