•Chinonso Egemba popularly known as Aproko Doctor
Popular health influencer and medical doctor, Chinonso Egemba, known as Aproko Doctor, has debunked widespread misconceptions about egg freezing, warning that the procedure does not guarantee pregnancy “anytime in life” as often claimed online.
In a video shared on his social media page today, Egemba addressed growing misinformation surrounding the procedure, especially claims that women who freeze their eggs can have children at any age without limitation.
He explained that egg freezing, medically known as oocyte cryopreservation, involves extracting a woman’s eggs, preserving them at extremely low temperatures, and storing them for future use, reports The PUNCH.
“So egg freezing is the process of taking a woman’s eggs out of her body first… and then you take it to a very cold temperature, so cold that every biological activity stops until she is ready to use it,” he said.
Egemba likened the process to preserving food, noting that eggs are stored when they are still young and healthy to be used later when needed.
He said the procedure begins with hormone injections administered over 10 to 14 days to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple eggs instead of the usual monthly release.
“First of all, the doctor will give you hormone injections… to stimulate your ovaries to produce more eggs,” he explained.
Once matured, the eggs are retrieved using a small needle guided by ultrasound, a procedure he said is carried out while the patient is asleep.
The eggs are then preserved using a rapid freezing technique known as vitrification and stored at about minus 196 degrees Celsius.
At that temperature, he said biological activity completely stops, allowing long-term storage.
Egemba said women freeze their eggs for various reasons, including career planning, delayed childbearing, or medical conditions such as cancer treatment that may affect fertility.
However, he stressed that egg freezing is not a guarantee of pregnancy.
“Please, I need you to hear this part very well. Freezing your eggs is not the same as having a baby in the bank,” he warned.
He explained that not all eggs survive thawing, fertilisation, or development into a viable pregnancy, even with modern techniques.
“Not all eggs survive it… not all will fertilise… not all will result in a successful pregnancy,” he said.
Also supporting his claim, according to a 2024 report by CCRM Fertility, “the chances of getting pregnant after implantation of frozen eggs are about 30 to 60 per cent.
“These figures can vary, however, depending on a number of factors. Not all eggs will result in viable embryos, and not all embryos will result in live birth. This is why multiple eggs are harvested and preserved during the cryopreservation process.”
Egemba also clarified that egg freezing does not prevent pregnancy or protect against sexually transmitted infections.
“Egg freezing has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with contraception or STIs,” he said.
Egemba further dismissed claims that frozen eggs are inferior to fresh eggs, noting that advances in fertility medicine have improved success rates significantly.
He urged Nigerians to rely on certified fertility specialists rather than social media or hearsay when considering fertility preservation.
“If you are thinking about this for any reason… please go and talk to a certified fertility specialist,” he said.
He added that specialists assess ovarian reserve before advising whether egg freezing is appropriate.
