More young people freeze eggs and sperm before marriage

A hospital that stores human eggs and sperm said a noticeable number of single young people are freezing their eggs and sperm.

Many were putting off starting a family because of medical treatment or were delaying married life for financial reasons.

HealthPlus Fertility Centre in Abu Dhabi said 15 single men and women had sought fertility preservation in the past three months.

The patients, mostly Emiratis, were at risk of infertility.

Fertility physicians said that they preserved eggs and sperm using the latest technology, “which gave patients hope to have children after marriage in the future”.

One patient was a 26-year-old Arab woman with breast cancer who required chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which would affect her ability to conceive.

Another was a young unmarried Emirati woman in her mid-30s who was pursuing postgraduate studies abroad. “Her medical examination showed that her egg production had started to decline,” said Dr Elsamawal El Hakim, a consultant in reproductive medicine. “Therefore, she decided to preserve a number of eggs in the hope of future childbearing,” he said.

“Sixteen fertilised eggs have been preserved for her.”

He said in every case it was “a preventive measure due to the [patient’s] need to undergo treatments that may lead to the destruction of cells producing eggs and sperm, as well as cases of delayed marriage, which is accompanied by a decrease in egg production”.

“Because of the availability of such advanced techniques, pregnancy is not impossible for young people who suffer from intractable diseases before marriage, or those who are late in marriage, for any reason.

“The preservation of their samples represents a new hope for these people to have children in the future,” Dr El Hakim said.