[Leidenschaftlich für Wahr]

I'm wondering... How old is too old to freeze an embryo and it still have the ability to someday be implanted? It's difficult to phrase right... Like, from fertilization of an egg, grown in a test tube, then frozen.
The reason I'm wondering is because I'm studying about ectopic pregnancy, and I was curious if a 5 or 6 week pregnancy could be removed and frozen until we possibly discovered a way to implant the baby, or grow it in a test tube outside of the mother.

Thanks!

[DoulaLC]

Unfortunately it would not be possible at 5 or 6 weeks as the embryo would already be implanted. In the case of an ectopic pregnancy, implanted in a location other than the uterus.

When embryos are frozen, they may be anywhere from fertilization to several days old.

[Leidenschaftlich für Wahr]

What prevents an enbryo/fetus from being capable of regenerating itself after freezing? Could an embryo from an ectopic pregnancy be frozen, hoping for the possibility that science would someday find a way to resuscitate it?

[DrBill100]

Define life and we can progress from there.

[DoulaLC]

What prevents an enbryo/fetus from being capable of regenerating itself after freezing? Could an embryo from an ectopic pregnancy be frozen, hoping for the possibility that science would someday find a way to resuscitate it?

You wouldn't be able to successfully remove the embryo at this stage as there is an extremely complex process that has already taken place in order for it to become embedded into the mother and receive life sustaining nourishment from the mother. If an embryo does not successfully implant, cells will die off and miscarriage will soon result.

By the time an ectopic pregnancy, or any pregnancy for that matter, is determined, implantation has already occurred.

This is also why other forms of assisted pregnancy occur in the very early days, before implantation has occurred.

At some point in time, who knows... a way may be discovered. Miraculous things in medicine and science take place. We see things today that we wouldn't have even conceived of years ago.