Surrogate Motherhood: Frozen Embryo Transfer

Frozen embryo transfer (FET) involves taking embryos that have been frozen for a time and placing them in your uterus after they have been thawed. You may have had so many embryos fertilized and only used a few at a time. The others are frozen for you to use at another time if needed.

Couples may choose FET if they have had an unsuccessful intrauterine transfer and have extra embryos that had been frozen. Some couples will freeze embryos if they realize they will want more children and this is the only way they can.

In IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) many embryos are created to give the couples the greatest chance of having a child. The embryos that are not used are often frozen.

Embryos are frozen using cryopreservation and can be used for up to ten years. Couples receiving donated frozen embryos need to wait until the embryo is frozen for six months to make sure it is healthy.

The FET procedure is fairly simple. The embryos are allowed to thaw naturally. The cryoprotectant is removed and the embryos are warmed to body temperature. Your doctor will be monitoring your body to decide when the best time during your reproductive cycle is. The embryo transfer should take place about two days after ovulation.

For the actual embryo transfer a catheter in placed in your uterus and the embryos are injected into the uterus through the catheter. Fertility drugs are usually continued during this time.

You return to the doctor a couple weeks later for a pregnancy test. The success rates of FET vary. They depend on the mother's age and the number of embryos successfully transferred. Success rates are about 20% per cycle.

Only 70% of embryos survive the freezing and thawing procedure. The more that survive the more that can be transferred. They usually transfer 3 to 5 embryos at a time in hopes that one or more will attach to the uterine lining and become a viable pregnancy.

The FET procedure can be very expensive. An FET procedure can cost $3000. Freezing embryos costs $600 and storing them costs $100 a year. Fertility drugs are very expensive costing as much as $1000 per menstrual cycle.

Many couples suffer from infertility. IVF and FET give couples the chance to have children that are otherwise unable. There are many variables involved that will impact your success rate.

Infertility treatments can be disheartening at times when they are not successful. For some couples it is a moral decision to try and have a child this way, not naturally.

These procedures have made it possible for many people to become parents who otherwise might not have been able to. They are safe and relatively not too invasive. The scientific methods are available and should be used by those that desperately want children and feel comfortable using these methods.

IVF or FET does not insure a pregnancy but it will give an infertile couple a much greater chance at conception and a viable pregnancy.