????本月，蘋果（Apple）與Facebook相繼宣布將把卵子冷凍加入到其“福利大禮包”中，這一消息迅速引發(fā)媒體熱議。然而，在一大堆關(guān)于這項(xiàng)福利優(yōu)點(diǎn)的理論性探討中，卻沒(méi)有人考慮到一些更加現(xiàn)實(shí)的因素。

????如果這兩家最大的科技公司最終同意出錢，那說(shuō)明，對(duì)高科技卵子冷凍技術(shù)不負(fù)責(zé)任的營(yíng)銷取得了效果。然而就筆者對(duì)生殖醫(yī)學(xué)的了解，我建議想要接受這項(xiàng)高風(fēng)險(xiǎn)手術(shù)的女同胞，首先應(yīng)該想到，卵子冷凍，用創(chuàng)投界的行話來(lái)說(shuō)，只是高風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的“首輪融資”，離成功退出的圓滿結(jié)局還有很長(zhǎng)的距離。

????卵子冷凍遠(yuǎn)算不上一門成熟的科學(xué)。英國(guó)是少數(shù)幾個(gè)跟蹤和公布生育治療結(jié)果的國(guó)家之一。據(jù)英國(guó)人類受精與胚胎管理局（Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority，HFEA）統(tǒng)計(jì)，迄今為止，靠冷凍卵子出生的嬰兒僅有20個(gè)。而且誰(shuí)也不能確定，冷凍所用化學(xué)物質(zhì)有多少會(huì)被卵子吸收或影響細(xì)胞發(fā)育。

????美國(guó)生殖醫(yī)學(xué)會(huì)（American Society for Reproductive Medicine，ASRM）統(tǒng)計(jì)，對(duì)一位38歲的女性來(lái)說(shuō)，一個(gè)冷凍卵子成功生出嬰兒的概率僅有2-12%。這項(xiàng)調(diào)查結(jié)果非常關(guān)鍵，因?yàn)槊绹?guó)非醫(yī)療卵子冷凍的客戶平均年齡便是37.4歲。

????最近科技公司的福利被大肆吹捧的時(shí)候，人們卻忽視了卵子冷凍的局限性和相關(guān)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)這些值得深思的事實(shí)，媒體更是鮮有報(bào)道。

????首先，大多數(shù)人并未意識(shí)到，美國(guó)婦產(chǎn)科醫(yī)師協(xié)會(huì)（American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists）和ASRM并不贊成通過(guò)卵子冷凍來(lái)推遲生育。ASRM取消該項(xiàng)新興技術(shù)“實(shí)驗(yàn)性質(zhì)”的決定，僅適用于醫(yī)學(xué)需要，例如患有癌癥的女性。

????其次，該技術(shù)沒(méi)有成功或健康懷孕和生產(chǎn)的保證。為了懷孕，卵子冷凍必須配合另外一套實(shí)驗(yàn)室程序——體外受精（IVF），該項(xiàng)技術(shù)被稱為ICSI（卵母細(xì)胞胞漿內(nèi)單精子注射）。以企業(yè)性質(zhì)的生育診所和大批以盈利為目的的服務(wù)商所鼓吹的最新瞬間冷凍技術(shù)為例，最全面的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，30歲女性冷凍卵子活產(chǎn)失敗率為77%，而40歲女性的失敗率高達(dá)91%。

????然而，枯燥的統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)并未考慮到人工生殖及其頻繁的失敗所帶來(lái)的真實(shí)情感壓力與創(chuàng)傷。硅谷贊頌成功。即使經(jīng)營(yíng)失敗也會(huì)被認(rèn)為是學(xué)習(xí)的機(jī)會(huì)。但當(dāng)上父母的期望落空，對(duì)于個(gè)人卻有著更深層的影響。

????我曾見(jiàn)證過(guò)生育醫(yī)學(xué)好的、壞的和丑陋的各個(gè)方面。我第一次去一家生育診所，只有33歲，身體健康。我遇到一位附屬于ASRM的醫(yī)生，他在斯坦福大學(xué)（Stanford University）接受過(guò)培訓(xùn)。當(dāng)時(shí)我的費(fèi)用全部是自掏腰包（我的雇主沒(méi)有提供不孕不育福利）。我經(jīng)歷了越來(lái)越復(fù)雜的程序，例如取卵，ICSI IVF，包括新鮮胚胎與冷凍胚胎植入。

????Last week, Apple and Facebook created a media firestorm after announcing that their lush benefit packages will now include egg freezing coverage. But lost in the theoretical discussions about the merits of this perk are more realistic considerations.

????The cavalier marketing of whizzy egg freezing is clearly working if two of the largest tech companies are signing up to pay for it. Yet knowing what I know now about reproductive medicine, I would advise any woman considering this risky surgical procedure to consider that egg freezing–using startup lingo–is the very high-risk “A round.” It is a long, long way from a successful exit.

????Egg freezing is far from settled science. In the UK, which is one of the few countries to track and account for fertility treatment outcomes, only 20 babies have been born from frozen eggs, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). And no one knows for sure how egg freezing chemicals are absorbed by eggs, or how they affect cell development.

????For a 38-year-old woman, the chance of one frozen egg leading to a live birth is only 2% to 12%, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). This is a key finding given that the average age of non-medical egg freezing customers in the U.S. is 37.4.

????Amid the latest tech perk bragging rights, sobering facts about the procedure’s limitations and the associated risks have been overlooked and underreported.

????First, most people don’t realize the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the ASRM do not endorse the use of egg freezing to defer childbearing. The ASRM’s decision to lift the “experimental” label from this still young procedure in 2012 only applied to medically indicated need, such as women with cancer.

????Second, there are no guarantees for a successful or healthy pregnancy and delivery. In order to attempt pregnancy, egg freezing must be followed by in vitro fertilization (IVF) with another laboratory procedure, a technique known as ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection). For the latest flash freezing process trumpeted by enterprising fertility clinics and a host of profit-driven service providers, the most comprehensive data available reveals a 77% failure rate of frozen eggs resulting in a live birth in women aged 30, and a 91% failure rate in women aged 40.

????But the dry statistics don’t take into account the very real emotional strain and trauma that often accompanies artificial reproduction and their frequent failures. Silicon Valley celebrates success. Even business failure can be accepted as an opportunity to learn. But failure takes on a much deeper personal meaning when it involves parenthood expectations.

????I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly where fertility medicine is concerned. The first time I visited a fertility clinic I was 33 and in great health. I met with an ASRM affiliated doctor who received his training at Stanford University. My attempts were paid out of pocket (none of my employers offered infertility benefits). I pursued increasingly complex procedures including egg retrievals and ICSI IVF with both fresh and frozen embryo transfers.