Fertility preservation

When we're trying to kind of predict the future, we look at the risk factor modifications, but we really can't use a crystal ball to know who's going to have trouble and who's not.

And so a lot of people with endo would go down the pathway of consideration of fertility preservation and And if you don't have a partner or you're not convinced that this partner is the person who's going to be the father of your children, then freezing eggs or freezing embryos is absolutely a very reasonable course of action.

Now, obviously, there's financial limitations to this.

It is an invasive procedure.

She is also a Professor of Reproductive Biology at Case Western University.

Dr. Coyne is a faculty member in the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Fertility at University Hospital and serves as the Director of Fertility Preservation for UH's Fertility Center.

She is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Reproductive Biology at Case Western University School of Medicine.

Well, it's so great to have both of you here today.

So each of us had a specific project.

And I left that summer with my first ever publication.

And the publication was called Creating Standards of Care for Fertility Preservation.

The biggest thing I walked away with was this very clear vision that this must be what I do with my career.

It kind of like puts this hyperspeed feeling where...

Fertility preservation isn't a decide on Tuesday, do it on Thursday kind of thing.

Like freezing eggs and embryos usually means like a whole process, right? It's ordering the products, waiting for the products to come, a couple of weeks of hormone shots and monitoring, like before they can even do a retrieval.

And that's before you get into scheduling around your surgery and cost and recoveries.

You're also actively making the best decision you can inside of it.

And on top of the emotional weight, I don't want to pretend the practical side is small either.

Fertility preservation costs real money, and it isn't always covered by insurance, even when the reason behind it is a documented hereditary cancer risk.

retrieval cycles, medications, storage fees that keep coming every year, IVF itself, PGTM testing on top of it, like it all adds up.