Every couple who is fortunate enought to have extra embryos to freeze is concerned about how long they can remain in cryopreservation and still be able to create a healthy pregnancy. At Reproductive Partners our experience has convinced us that the time in the freezer does not significantly impact their chance of creating a successful, healthy pregnancy. Most of us feel that the embryos can survive throughout the reproductive life of the female partner. As I recall we have had at least one successful pregnancy after embryos were frozen for 14 years. Now a study in the March 2010 edition of Fertility & Sterility confirms our suspicions.
They found that the length of storage time did not have a significant effect on postthaw survival for IVF or egg donation cycles. There was no significant impact of the duration of storage on clinical pregnancy, miscarriage, implantation, or live birth rate, whether from IVF or oocyte donation cycles. The length of storage time or developmental stage at freezing were not predictive of embryo survival or pregnancy outcome. Only age of the patient at time of the freezing, survival proportion, and number of transferred embryos were positive predictors of pregnancy outcome.
They concluded that cryostorage duration did not adversely affect postthaw survival or pregnancy outcome in IVF or oocyte donation patients.