Health Canada dithers while “fertility preservations” proceed

A private Toronto-area fertility clinic that is offering women the chance to freeze their eggs for a decade or more is opening up a new thread in the contentious debate over fertility treatments and technology.

ESRM Biotech is the first private clinic in Canada offering to freeze either sperm or eggs for a fee. The firm has been aggressive in publicizing “fertility preservations,” which it began offering 12 months ago. The Mississauga-based clinic hosts a Web site (freezeyourclock.com), which suggests the freezing of sperm and eggs is nothing less than a new lease on life. “Consider a life where age really is nothing but a number; where today's goals at work don't derail tomorrow's priorities at home; where a biological clock isn't a ticking time bomb.”

Toronto-area clinic has now approved the freezing of gametes from 2 women. Photo by: Photos.com

Dr. Essam Michael, clinical director of ESRM Biotech, said the service is ideally suited for younger women who cannot have children right away or who believe their fertility could be compromised by other medical conditions.

The freezing of eggs or sperm when the donors are younger provides the best chance of conception later in life, he added. However, Michael agrees the service is not for everyone, and patients interested in freezing their gametes must go through a rigorous screening process. To date, Michael has only approved 2 women for the procedure, which can cost as much as $5000 for long-term cryogenic storage.

“We want to tell women clearly that having children at a younger age is really better than any fertility treatment,” Michael says. “But if somebody thinks she will not be able to have a child by age 37, this is an option.”

The freezing of eggs has been hotly debated among researchers and medical ethicists. Proponents argue the procedure puts men and women on a more level playing field when it comes to balancing career and family, by allowing women the chance to become mothers later in life.

The McGill University Reproductive Centre recently announced it had elected to freeze a woman's eggs to be used later in life by her 7-year-old daughter, who has a serious medical condition that will make her infertile.

Dr. Abby Lippman, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at McGill, expressed concern that the long-term health effects and efficacy of freezing eggs have not yet been adequately studied. Lippman, who also chairs the Canadian Woman's Health Network, says more attention should be paid to the reasons why women cannot have children when they are younger — such as high student debt and a lack of affordable day care — instead of turning to largely untested fertility technology.

Concerns have been raised that hormone treatments needed to make women eligible for egg harvesting could have long-term health impacts that may compromise a women's fertility, Lippman added, arguing that Health Canada should move quickly and aggressively to control fertility preservation.

“If we're concerned about women becoming infertile, why are we not looking at the essential reasons that women can't have babies and men are not producing good sperm. Let's deal with the social problems first before turning to fertility treatments.”

Health Canada is currently reviewing the freezing of eggs and is developing regulations to control the technology under the Assisted Human Reproduction Act.

Michael welcomes federal regulation but would oppose any effort to dictate eligibility criteria. “If we can offer it to cancer patients, why can't we offer it to healthy women as well?” he asks.