Planned oocyte cryopreservation: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Medicine
• Gynecology
• Obstetrics

Background:

• Growing awareness of age-related fertility decline fuels interest in planned oocyte cryopreservation (POC).
• Limited data exists on POC outcomes, including thaw rates, pregnancy, and live birth rates, often from small case series.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and meta-analyze outcomes of planned oocyte cryopreservation.
• To assess live birth rates, return-to-thaw rates, and laboratory outcomes.
• To examine the association between live birth rates and maternal age at cryopreservation.

Main Methods:

• Systematic database search of PubMed (MEDLINE) and EMBASE from inception to August 2022.
• Included 10 studies (1999-2020) involving 8750 women undergoing POC.
• Meta-regression analysis conducted following PRISMA 2020 guidelines.

Main Results:

• Overall live birth rate per patient was 28% (95% CI 0.24-0.33).
• Return-to-thaw rate was 11.1% (± 4.7%) with a mean cryopreservation age of 38.1 years.
• Live birth rate was 19% for women ≥40 years versus 52% for women ≤35 years at cryopreservation.

Conclusions:

• Planned oocyte cryopreservation is a viable option for preserving fertility.
• Success rates, particularly live birth rates, are influenced by age at cryopreservation, declining with increasing age.
• High-quality data is crucial for understanding POC outcomes across different age groups.