June 14, 2011

DENVER — Jennifer Hayes owns two restaurants called The Sweet Life. She enjoys it, but says the hard work has taken a toll on her personal life.

“I’m still single, and 36,” she said. Jennifer knows she wants to have children, but was concerned that by the time she found the right person, it would be too late. So she decided to buy a bit of an insurance policy and freeze her eggs.

She went to the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine and paid about $13,000 to have her eggs retrieved and frozen. Doctor William Schoolcraft, the medical director, says egg quality starts to decline at age 30.

The decline gets steeper at 35, and takes a dive at age 40. Egg freezing is a good way to try and preserve a woman’s fertility because the egg stops aging the second it is frozen.

“When they want to have a baby, we thaw the egg, fertilize it with whoever is their husband’s sperm, and then transfer the embryo back into the uterus,” Dr. Schoolcraft said. Egg freezing has been done for decades, but in the last few years the process has dramatically changed.

Doctors now flash freeze the eggs, and say the results are much better. The process is also appealing to women who have been diagnosed with cancer and are about to start chemo or radiation.

Anyone interested in freezing their eggs can attend an informational event on Wednesday, June 15, at 6:30 p.m. at Canvas and Cocktails, 249 Clayton Street in Denver.

The event is free But a RESERVATION IS REQUIRED. RSVP: www.colocrm.com

Source: FOX 31 News
Author: Kim Posey

Kim Posey

Fox 31 News