Unfortunately, a woman’s eggs become more prone to genetic abnormalities as she ages. These abnormalities sometimes lead to increased incidences of infertility, miscarriage and birth defects especially in women over 40 years of age.
Egg freezing is a method that suspends egg aging. Since the genetic status of an egg cannot be determined solely on appearance, methods to evaluate eggs using genetic probes have been developed. The egg discards DNA at two different times during its development, ovulation and fertilization. This occurs in order to reduce the number of chromosomes to 23 in order to match the 23 chromosomes delivered by the sperm. The discarded DNA (in the form of excess chromosomes) is jettisoned outside of the egg as a small, round pocket called the polar body.
Dr. Jain Answers Questions About IVF and The California Octuplets
There has been intense international reaction to the birth of octuplets by a Southern California woman. While the details are not fully available, it appears that several frozen embryos were transferred to the uterus of a 33 year old woman resulting in the birth of 8 infants. Dr. Jain has been interviewed by news agencies from around the globe for his comments and perspective. The following is a summary of the most common questions and excerpts from his interviews: