📖 Oocyte

In Detail

Women are born with all their oocytes — about 1-2 million at birth, declining to ~300,000 by puberty, with only about 400-500 ever being ovulated during a lifetime. Oocyte quality declines with age, which is the primary reason fertility decreases after 35. In IVF, multiple oocytes are retrieved from the ovaries — the number retrieved is a key predictor of success. Oocyte cryopreservation (egg freezing) allows women to preserve younger, higher-quality eggs for future use.