Dr Hrishikesh Pai (left) and Dr Nandita Palshetkar with the liquid nitrogen containers used to freeze the ova .
The country’s first egg or ova bank was set up in Lilavati Hospital last month, bringing a huge ray of hope to countless women struggling with reproductive problems. Santosh Andhale finds out just how it works
For scores of women with reproductive difficulties, a bank at Lilavati Hospital comes as a bright ray of hope. The country’s first-ever human egg bank was set up at the hospital last month.
Doctors say women with busy lives and successful careers may not have time to catch up with their ticking biological clock, and fertility may be the price they pay. “The biological clock keeps ticking irrespective of external factors and stress and stops by the late 30s or early 40s,” said Dr Nandita Palashetkar, IVF Center, Lilavati Hospital. The bank will be a boon for these women if they decide to conceive at a later date, she said. Also, women suffering from severe endometriosis, premature ovarian failure or early menopause will benefit greatly from the bank.
How it works
“Fresh eggs or ova are retrieved from the donor and then frozen and stored in the egg bank. Four months later the donor is tested for HIV. If the test is negative then these quarantined eggs are thawed and used after ensuring that the eggs are totally free from the possibility of transmitting HIV,” said Dr Hrishikesh Pai.
What is egg donation?
There are many women who are unable to get pregnant with their own eggs due to various reasons. In these cases, eggs are borrowed from younger recipients who are less than 33 years of age. These eggs are fertilised with the recipient’s husband’s sperm and the resultant embryo is places back into the woman’s womb. This procedure is called egg donation.
Who will this benefit
• Women with premature ovarian failure, which can happen due to genetic reasons.
• After ovarian surgery, where the ovaries are ineffective
• Post chemotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer
• For women who have premature menopause, before they reach 40.
• Women with repeated failures with IVF.
• Menopausal women between the age group of 40 to 55 years, who find it hard to adopt.
• Menopausal patients who have lost a child and want to have another one.
Who can donate
Voluntary Donors: Donors need to be in the age group 21 to 33 years, preferably married and having finished their childbearing functions. The woman will have to be prepared to undergo 11 days of injections, ultrasound monitoring, anaesthesia, surgical transvaginal ultrasound egg retrieval and a short four hours in the hospital.
Shared donors: These are young patients who are also trying to get pregnant through IVF (in vitro fertilisation) /ICSI (Intra Cytoplasmic sperm injection), but cannot afford the cycle. These patients are known to produce many eggs, while undergoing ovarian stimulation. Half these eggs are kept for the patient herself and the other half is donated to a recipient. The recipient in return spends for half the cost of the donor.
How it is done
• The patient is given hormone injections to produce eggs.
• The eggs are then retrieved with the help of an ultrasound machine. This procedure takes around 20 minutes and is performed under general anaesthesia. The patient is discharged after 3 hours.
• These eggs are then dissected by the embryologist in the IVF laboratory. The mature eggs are identified and prepared for freezing.
How does the ova bank function
The dissected eggs are frozen in a straw after a special procedure; the temperatures are gradually dropped down to -80 degrees centigrade with the help of an automated freezer. Following this, rapid freezing is done to -196 degrees centigrade in liquid nitrogen containers.
These eggs can be stored in the containers for 10-15 years.
Doctors say women with busy lives and successful careers may not have time to catch up with their ticking biological clock, and fertility may be the price they pay. “The biological clock keeps ticking irrespective of external factors and stress and stops by the late 30s or early 40s,” said Dr Nandita Palashetkar, IVF Center, Lilavati Hospital. The bank will be a boon for these women if they decide to conceive at a later date, she said. Also, women suffering from severe endometriosis, premature ovarian failure or early menopause will benefit greatly from the bank.
How it works
“Fresh eggs or ova are retrieved from the donor and then frozen and stored in the egg bank. Four months later the donor is tested for HIV. If the test is negative then these quarantined eggs are thawed and used after ensuring that the eggs are totally free from the possibility of transmitting HIV,” said Dr Hrishikesh Pai.
What is egg donation?
There are many women who are unable to get pregnant with their own eggs due to various reasons. In these cases, eggs are borrowed from younger recipients who are less than 33 years of age. These eggs are fertilised with the recipient’s husband’s sperm and the resultant embryo is places back into the woman’s womb. This procedure is called egg donation.
Who will this benefit
• Women with premature ovarian failure, which can happen due to genetic reasons.
• After ovarian surgery, where the ovaries are ineffective
• Post chemotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer
• For women who have premature menopause, before they reach 40.
• Women with repeated failures with IVF.
• Menopausal women between the age group of 40 to 55 years, who find it hard to adopt.
• Menopausal patients who have lost a child and want to have another one.
Who can donate
Voluntary Donors: Donors need to be in the age group 21 to 33 years, preferably married and having finished their childbearing functions. The woman will have to be prepared to undergo 11 days of injections, ultrasound monitoring, anaesthesia, surgical transvaginal ultrasound egg retrieval and a short four hours in the hospital.
Shared donors: These are young patients who are also trying to get pregnant through IVF (in vitro fertilisation) /ICSI (Intra Cytoplasmic sperm injection), but cannot afford the cycle. These patients are known to produce many eggs, while undergoing ovarian stimulation. Half these eggs are kept for the patient herself and the other half is donated to a recipient. The recipient in return spends for half the cost of the donor.
How it is done
• The patient is given hormone injections to produce eggs.
• The eggs are then retrieved with the help of an ultrasound machine. This procedure takes around 20 minutes and is performed under general anaesthesia. The patient is discharged after 3 hours.
• These eggs are then dissected by the embryologist in the IVF laboratory. The mature eggs are identified and prepared for freezing.
How does the ova bank function
The dissected eggs are frozen in a straw after a special procedure; the temperatures are gradually dropped down to -80 degrees centigrade with the help of an automated freezer. Following this, rapid freezing is done to -196 degrees centigrade in liquid nitrogen containers.
These eggs can be stored in the containers for 10-15 years.
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