Egg Freezing in the 21st Century: A Global Perspective

This edited volume covers the development of egg freezing over the last few decades since the pioneering work of Chen in 1986, addressing both the scientific breakthroughs that have occurred and the social and demographic changes that are currently driving an increased demand for 'social' egg freezing and a recognition of the important role of 'medical' egg freezing for women facing potentially sterilizing oncology therapy. It presents the latest research in egg vitrification, methodologies for optimizing laboratory performance and contemporary clinical management of patients seeking oocyte cryopreservation. Audited international data on access, take-up, use and birth outcomes for women undertaking egg freezing are included. The book also discusses the ethical issues related to access and funding and considers how different legal jurisdictions have approached matters such as storage duration, ownership, donation, anonymity and identification. Such wide-ranging contents will bridge the gap between the highly technical laboratory handbooks and the 'popular' tabloid accounts directed at young women considering egg freezing. Drawing on the different approaches to fertility preservation prevailing around the world, with chapters written by leading international experts and edited by Gillian Lockwood, a pioneer of the field whose clinic produced the UK's first 'frozen egg' baby in 2002, Egg Freezing in the 21st Century will have an authoritative and global appeal, and may hopefully encourage a change of attitude in some jurisdictions.
Contents:

• Where Have All the Babies Gone? (Gillian Lockwood)
• History and Development of Oocyte Cryopreservation (Georgios Petsas)
• Human Oocyte Freezing Technologies: Current State-of-Art and Future Perspectives (Evrim Ünsal)
• Alternatives to Oocyte Cryopreservation: Ovarian Cortex Freezing and In-Vitro Maturation (Claus Yding Andersen)
• Worldwide Trends in Oocyte Cryopreservation; Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes Following Oocyte Cryopreservation (Abey Eapen)
• Social Egg Freezing from a UK Perspective: Can it Help Keep Us Warm in the Coming 'Demographic Winter'? (Gillian Lockwood)
• The Assessment of Ovarian Reserve Prior to Oocyte Freezing(Karolina Palinska-Rudzka)
• Clinical Management of Oocyte Vitrification Patients: Stimulation Protocols and Frozen/Thawed Blastocyst Transfer Protocols (Anabel Salazar Vera and Juan A Garcia-Velasco)
• The Application of Artificial Intelligence to Oocyte Evaluation: Methods, Scope and Limitations (Rachel Smith and Dan Nayot)
• Public Perceptions and Societal Attitudes versus Egg Freezing Realities (Marcia C Inhorn and Pasquale Patrizio)
• Funding the Future Family: An Unsettled Moral Issue (Molly Johnston and Michiel De Proost)
• Egg Donation: The Future is Frozen (Nick Macklon, V Pataia and K Ahuja)
• Male Attitudes to Oocyte Cryopreservation(Allan Pacey)

Readership: Fertility practitioners (reproductive endocrinologists, embryologists, obstetricians&gynaecologists), fertility counselors and therapists, IVF commissioners, companies considering offering egg freezing, scientifically literate women considering having egg freezing. Researchers, faculty, educators, graduate and advanced undergraduate students in medical fields of Fertility, Embryology, Obstetrics&Gynaecology, and Biomedical Sciences. Oncology specialists and nurses working with cancer patients who might benefit from egg freezing and are currently not being offered it.
'Egg freezing has increased significantly over the past few years and is prominently discussed at conference meetings. A recent study showed websites of clinics gave poor information regarding the success of this technique and information provided was misleading. This book would provide up-to-date data for staff in clinics to inform patients accurately and give a useful review over best practices related to lab protocols. It is useful for the fertility sector.' - Rachel Cutting MBEDirector of Compliance and Information, Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, UK
'Dr Lockwood is the ideal editor for this book. She has been a pioneer in the use of egg freezing, and achieved the first successful pregnancy and birth from frozen eggs in the UK. She has extensive experience in all fields of assisted reproduction and, having studied philosophy at Oxford University before turning to medicine, she has always addressed the ethical aspects of IVF and raised our awareness of these complex issues.' - Melanie Davies FRCOGConsultant Gynaecologist, University College London Hospitals, UK
Key Features:

• Presents the latest science and technology of egg freezing at a level which would carry significance for embryologists and scientists working in the lab, and yet still be accessible for clinicians and counsellors practicing in the field
• Covers social and ethical issues of egg freezing, which would be of interest to policymakers and general female readers
• Written by leading experts from around the world and edited by Gillian Lockwood, a pioneer of the field whose clinic produced the UK's first 'frozen egg' baby in 2002, thus giving the book an authoritative and global appeal