NBC4 Highlights Shady Grove Fertility’s Egg Freezing Program in Two-Part Special Report
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) January 28, 2015 -- Shady Grove Fertility’s Egg Freezing Program was featured in NBC4’s two-part special report that ran from January 22-23, 2015. This holistic overview of egg freezing covered the scientific advancements that have led to increased success rates; interviews with Michele Purcell, RN, the Shady Grove Fertility Egg Freezing Program Director; an interview with Arthur W. Sagoskin, M.D. of Shady Grove Fertility’s Rockville, MD office and Radell Peischler, a patient who blogs about her egg freezing experience.
The science of egg freezing–known as cryopreservation–has been in use for over 30 years, but the success rates were often low due to laboratory technologies. As mentioned by NBC4’s Doreen Gentzler, though, the introduction of vitrification, or flash-freeze, technology in 2009 helped to mainstream egg freezing by increasing the medical viability of the process.
“While fertility centers have been trying to freeze eggs for a number of years, older technology was not reliable. In 2009, Shady Grove Fertility began using vitrification, the process of preserving eggs through a flash-freeze method. This technology has been found to yield a 55 percent pregnancy rate for women under 38 at the time of freezing,” said Dr. Sagoskin.
Michele Purcell, RN, the Egg Freezing Program Director at Shady Grove Fertility, explained that those success rates will only continue to grow as women become more educated about egg freezing. “Success rates are based on the age of the woman at the time she freezes her eggs. Currently, the average age for egg freezing patients is 37.5. Since a woman’s egg quality decreases with age, the success rates are not always as high in older patients. With increased education, women can freeze their eggs younger, yielding higher pregnancy rates,” said Purcell.
Increased education and awareness about egg freezing is the goal for Radell Peischler, a Shady Grove Fertility patient who recently froze her eggs. “It gives me a little bit more peace. It’s not the perfect solution for everyone, but for me, I feel excited that I did it and I took that risk for myself,” said Peischler. Peischler has taken to blogging about her experience to advocate for women to empower themselves and to help other women find their own answers.
The Egg Freezing Program at Shady Grove Fertility has seen interest double each year beginning in 2010, largely due to greater cultural awareness, increasing success rates, and having the only financial program in the country specifically for egg freezing patients. For women who are interested in receiving more information about egg freezing, monthly seminars and webcasts are hosted throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
About Shady Grove Fertility: Shady Grove Fertility is America’s leading fertility practice, offering patients access to state-of-the-art technology, individualized care, and innovative financial programs. We believe in fostering a culture of excellence through investment in the latest technologies to improve clinical outcomes; devoting extensive resources to our progressive research program; and making the commitment to hire and train staff who are highly experienced, passionate, loyal, and deeply committed to patient care. With 22 offices in the Mid-Atlantic region and 32 reproductive endocrinologists, our fertility patients have greater access to treatment than ever before.
Courtney Cohen, Shady Grove Fertility, http://www.shadygrovefertility.com, +1 (202) 997-4515, [email protected]
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