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thephantom1492 t1_ixl5yx1 wrote

Reply to comment by iayork in If freezing tissue generally damages the cells, how are we able to freeze human eggs and embryos for birthing later? by badblackguy

There is also the fact that on the lot some will survive. For tissues, even if a small portion die, it still render the tissue useless. If a few eggs die, well, you have others.

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RNnoturwaitress t1_ixme2xc wrote

Eggs don't freeze as well as embryos for some reason. Also, some women have very few eggs, so they might not have many more. To the majority of those undergoing fertility treatments, every egg and sperm are precious.

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Lady_Nimbus t1_ixn9cpe wrote

Eggs don't freeze as well because it's one cell vs. an embryo that is multiple cells. An embryo may survive the death of a couple of its' cells. An egg won't because it's just one cell and that's all there is.

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Aleuna t1_ixnt1cl wrote

This is actually not entirely true for eggs/embryos. If some cells from an embryo die at thaw, the remaining ones can often fill in for the dead ones and reform a complete embryo. Eggs on the other hand are single cells so if one dies it’s gone. Yes, you may have other eggs, but they are more fragile and less resistant to cryodamage due to their unicellular nature.

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