no one likes to be told what to do and
when to have children, biology is ruth-
less on this for women"
While embryo freezing has been
available since 1985, reliable egg freez-
ing has only emerged in recent years.
Because human eggs are extremely
fragile, its taken a long time to develop
a technique that works. The first baby
born from a frozen egg in Michigan (a
boy) came into the world in July 2010
through Mersol-Barg's program. Only
about 3,000 babies have been born
from frozen eggs worldwide.
"Transfer of any one embryo leads
to a 45 percent chance of pregnancy;
transfer of two embryos leads to a 62
percent chance of pregnancy. This is the
same as we observe with fresh donor
eggs:' Mersol-Barg says. "The cost of
frozen donor egg IVF (invitro fertiliza-
tion) is half that of a fresh donor egg.
It's about $5,500 plus the purchase of
the eggs, and its a much easier and
shorter process:'
Since the Michigan Egg Bank
opened, he says 32 of the first 50 frozen
egg patients have become pregnant.
Twenty-four babies have been delivered,
and there are seven ongoing pregnan-
cies. One patient suffered a miscarriage.
"The Michigan Egg Bank is the only
place in our state from which women
have delivered babies from fertilized
frozen eggs',' Mersol-Barg says. "I truly
believe egg freezing is the future."
Women can also use the technology
to preserve their own fertility by freez-
ing eggs before cancer treatment or
having their "young" eggs frozen to be
used later in life when they're ready to
start a family. Egg freezing for fertility
preservation costs about $3,500; egg
freezing for cancer patients is about
$2,900. Mersol-Barg says these choices
offer women hope of having children
when it might otherwise not have been
possible.'
"I want to make a positive differ-
ence in people's lives:' he says. "With
egg freezing, women can preserve their
fertility, and with the egg bank, infertile
women can have a child. As a reproduc-
tive endocrinologist, I'm very excited
about the future with egg freezing. The
technology is working"
Jewish Egg Donors Wanted
As Suzanne and Sam found out sev-
eral years ago, finding a Jewish egg
donor can be difficult; the same is true
today. Many local couples looking for
Jewish donors travel out of state. One
Manhattan-based agency, New York Life
Spring, founded by an Israeli woman,
uses Israeli women exclusively. But, the
demand for donors often exceeds the
supply.
"Ifs hard to find a Jewish donor
locally, and sometimes its ridiculous
in big cities because the agencies are
charging an arm and a lee Suzanne
says."I'm hoping that spreading the
word about this might help someone
make the decision to donate."
At the Michigan Egg Bank, donors
must be 18-30 years old, in good health
and have no family history of genetic
disorders through three generations.
They're also required to provide a
personal health history, undergo tests
to show their eggs are of good quality,
participate in unannounced drug test-
ing and pass a psychological assess-
ment. Donors are paid $3,000-$5,000
regardless of how many eggs are
donated.
"Humanitarian motivation is the
`why' for women who choose to help
other women by donating their eggs:'
Mersol-Barg says. "Women who choose
to donate have a deep wish to help
other women struggling to have chil-
dren. Many of our egg donors know a
family member or friend struggling
with infertility due to poor egg quality.
Their lives have been touched by this
tragedy and they feel a calling to help."
Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg, rabbi of
the Sara Taugman Bais Chabad Torah
Center of West Bloomfield, says while
this modern issue is not addressed in
the Talmud, most religious authorities
will give their blessing to women using
a donated egg to conceive.
"If the host mother is Jewish, the
child is Jewish and no conversion would
be needed:' he said. "Its very painful for
people who want to have children not
to be able to have children. Its not an
obligation, but its a human need:'
Mersol-Barg says while there are
risks involved with any medical proce-
dure, donating eggs does not hurt the
donor's future fertility.
"There's a lack of awareness for
needing Jewish egg donors:' he says. "I
am always available to talk to groups
at the Jewish Community Center, syna-
gogues, luncheons, whatever it takes.
There needs to be sustained energy for
this cause and leaders championing
this need:'
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For more information about the
Michigan Egg Bank or donating
eggs, call Dr. Mersol-Barg at
(248) 593-6990, go to
www.reproductive-medicine.com .
(888) 324 4100
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June 14 - 2012
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