VIDEOING PROCEDURES, ADDING ‘SHARE AND FREEZE’ PROGRAM PARTS OF MEASURES
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Evolving standards of egg-freezing care
Leading network of donor egg banks, MyEggBank, has introduced specific quality control measures to optimize egg freezing for fertility preservation. “Most of the quality control is based on the timing of the process,” Dr. Daniel Shapiro, Clinical Director of MyEggBank, says. “A lab director times everybody’s moves during the freeze process since it is done by hand and speed is essential,” adds Dr. Shapiro. MyEggBank also videos every procedure so they can monitor the entire process.
MyEggBank requires the inventory-producing centers to adhere to American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) criteria, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance, genetic testing and counseling, and strict criteria for the states that require licensure. In addition, MyEggBank maintains strict policies and procedures when accepting donors for donor inventory.
Donors also have to do extensive screening before they are accepted. “The percentage of people who begin the process of enquiry and get to egg retrieval is very low,” Danielle Sheehan, President of the New England Fertility Society (NEFS), says. This increases potential productivity leaks and extensive time spent on administration. “Some egg banks have a model whereby they do all the recruiting, which is attractive to IVF center programs,” shares Sheehan.
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Maximizing donor recruitment
MyEggBank is raising the standard of freezing eggs to positively impact donor recruitment.
“Network recruitment numbers are high, or referred to as top of the funnel, meaning, many applications are received,” shares Deb Mecerod, Director of Clinical Operations at MyEggBank. “However, during the process of screening and testing donors, the number drastically reduces due to initial disqualification in the screening process, lack of donor commitment, or disqualification later in the process,” Mecerod added.
MyEggBank also strictly adheres to internal and external guidelines, which affects the number of donors accepted. “However, the quality of the donor candidates who pass all the milestones are quality donors who are presented to our intended parents,” Mecerod states.
Share and freeze solutions
As part of its unique egg donor value proposition, MyEggBank has a “share and freeze” program. The egg bank’s network has options at the local donor sites for its share program. For example, most donors recruited produce 24-26 mature egg (MII) oocytes. “Most donors with good outcomes will return for additional donation cycles,” says Mecerod.
Typically, on the third donation cycle, the donor is offered eight eggs for egg preservation and storage at no cost to the donor. The donor is paid full compensation for the donation, and the remainder of the eggs are added to the general inventory for intended parent selection.
The share and freeze program gives donors the benefit of fertility preservation for future use. “Many of our donors are single working towards advanced degrees. Freezing their eggs allows them a unique opportunity to control the timing of their own family building,” says Mecerod. This dually provides a service to the intended parents and donors, Mecerod adds: “The fertility clinics providing the service look at this as a goodwill gesture, or as some would say ‘paying it forward’”.
Technology enabling ‘premium’ standardized care
MyEggBank provides a strategic service in training the egg producing centers, maintaining strict quality control, and updating standard operating procedures (SOPs) and policies and procedures.
“The criteria for accepting donors is rigorous, but results in quality eggs being retrieved,” says Mecerod. Additionally, the intended parent clinics are trained by MyEggBank's embryologists to warm eggs and embryos to achieve the best possible outcomes.
“Recently, scientists proposed a simplified oocyte warming protocol with promising results that could potentially improve clinical pregnancy rates as well as its potential to significantly improve IVF success rates,” says Mecerod.
The research and collected data for the updated process are on the horizon. “Yet, it is currently too early to say if the simplified oocyte warming technique could be used in a clinical or laboratory setting,” Mecerod adds.
What is here, however, is the egg bank’s ability to collect “a profound amount of analytical data related to egg freezing and outcomes”, Mecerod says. This data is then utilized to troubleshoot when needed in their partner fertility clinics and production centers. “Ultimately, the data is used to provide ‘best in class’ outcomes,” Mecerod adds.
This News Digest Story is paid featured content. The advertiser has had editorial input and control over its creation. However, the views and opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Inside Reproductive Health. The sponsorship of this content does not imply an endorsement by Inside Reproductive Health.
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