Freezing Ovaries for Later Use

I have one obsession, watching The Young and the Restless. I blame my obsession on my baby sitter who took care of me when I was 4 years old. I don't remember the baby sitter's name, but vividly remember her daily routine. At 10:30 a.m. she would start cooking the bacon, slicing the tomatoes and washing the lettuce. She made BLTs on white bread, one for me and one for her. Then at 11 a.m. she would place our lunches on trays in front of the TV and we would sit for an hour to watch The Young and the Restless. It was a ritual that I have continued to this day with one exception: I watch the recorded episode.

I know so much about Victor and Nikki Newman that I feel they are my surrogate parents. I have watched their children, Victoria and Nicholas, grow up. In my imagination, we are one big happy family even with our flaws and dysfunctions.

The show writers are very creative in keeping the content fresh and relevant. I have been surprised to see the show touching on tough topics like miscarriages, infertility, surrogacy and adoption.

Recently, one of the characters named Lily was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She's in her early 20s and recently married to a really cute guy named Cane. They want children so badly and are desperate to build their family. Because of her condition, Lily went online to do some research and found out that she could harvest the eggs from her ovaries and freeze them to be used at a later time. I was impressed that the writers for Y&R would touch on such an obscure subject. They have crafted the story line to be educational and dramatic. It has definitely raised viewer's awareness level of infertility issues.

How are eggs retrieved from the ovaries?

Here's the short answer I found on American Pregnancy Association's website: Your eggs are retrieved through a minor surgical procedure which uses ultrasound imaging to guide a hollow needle through the pelvic cavity. Sedation and local anesthesia are provided to remove any discomfort that you might experience. The eggs are removed from the ovaries using the hollow needle, which is called follicular aspiration. Some women may experience cramping on the day of retrieval, which usually subsides the following day; however, a feeling of fullness or pressure may last for several weeks following the procedure.

When I experienced the egg retrieval process during my IVF cycle, I did not have any bad side effects. Plus, I was given anesthesia during the out-patient procedure.