Popular Nigerian health influencer and medical doctor, Chinonso Egemba, popularly known as Aproko Doctor, has cautioned women against believing widespread social media claims that egg freezing guarantees pregnancy at any age. The medical expert explained that while egg freezing can help preserve fertility, it does not automatically assure future childbirth success.
Speaking in a video shared on his social media platforms, the doctor addressed what he described as dangerous misconceptions surrounding the increasingly popular fertility preservation procedure. According to him, many people wrongly assume that once eggs are frozen, having children later in life becomes guaranteed regardless of age or health condition.
Egemba explained that egg freezing, medically referred to as oocyte cryopreservation, involves removing a woman’s eggs from her body and storing them at extremely low temperatures where biological activities completely stop until they are needed for fertilisation in the future. He likened the process to preserving food in a freezer, noting that the aim is to preserve eggs while they are still healthy and viable. ..READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE .
The doctor further explained that the procedure usually begins with hormone injections administered over a period of about 10 to 14 days to stimulate the ovaries into producing multiple eggs rather than the single egg typically released during a menstrual cycle. Once matured, the eggs are retrieved through a medical procedure involving ultrasound guidance while the patient is sedated.
After retrieval, the eggs are rapidly frozen using a process called vitrification and stored at temperatures around minus 196 degrees Celsius. At such temperatures, biological activity stops completely, allowing the eggs to remain preserved for extended periods.
Despite advances in fertility medicine, Aproko Doctor stressed that freezing eggs should never be seen as “having a baby in the bank.” He explained that not all frozen eggs survive the thawing process, become fertilised successfully, or develop into healthy pregnancies. According to a 2024 report by CCRM Fertility referenced in the discussion, pregnancy success rates after implantation of frozen eggs range between 30 and 60 per cent depending on several medical and biological factors.
He also clarified that egg freezing has no relationship with contraception or protection against sexually transmitted infections, warning against misinformation online. The doctor added that frozen eggs are not necessarily inferior to fresh eggs, as modern fertility science has significantly improved preservation outcomes over the years.
Egemba advised women considering fertility preservation to seek professional guidance from certified fertility specialists rather than relying on social media opinions or hearsay. He noted that specialists usually assess a woman’s ovarian reserve and overall reproductive health before determining whether egg freezing is medically suitable.
