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Celine Dion has a frozen embryo waiting


Celine Dion, 40, said on CBS’ Early Show that she’d like to have more children and even has a frozen embryo waiting. Dion has son, René-Charles Dion Angélil, 7, who was conceived by in vitro fertilization. It may sound strange to people who are not familiar with the process, but from what I could learn online it is common for any extra embryos created during IVF procedures to be frozen for future use.

“We’d love to extend the family,” the singer – who herself is the youngest of 14 children – told CBS Early Show host Julie Chen.

Asked if she has a frozen embryo, Dion, whose son was conceived by in vitro fertilization after six years of trying, replied, “Yes, we do have a frozen embryo.”

Only, one may not be enough. “I started to talk to René-Charles about it. He said ‘Can we have four and five?’ ” said Dion.

“So if we’re blessed again, I will be very happy to come back and do another interview with you and talk about it. I will be the first one to be extremely happy.”

[From People]

The possibilities people have to conceive with the latest technology are truly amazing. Called frozen embryo transfer, an embryo can be implanted into a woman that is menstruating naturally or through chemical means. The embryo is frozen in a process called “cryopreservation” from one to six days after conception, so it’s not anything close to a baby at that point and doesn’t even look like the peanut seen on early sonograms. The success rates for IVF vary and seem to be around 20% or less depending on maternal age and how many embryos are implanted. It can be lower for embryos that are initially frozen as they don’t all survive the thawing process.

Dion was brave to be so open about her desire to have another child and the fact that she’s going to try again. It may seem odd to us that she has a frozen embryo or embryos sitting there ready but it’s just part of the process and she’s honest about it.

Celine Dion is shown out in Monaco with her son on 7/10/08. Credit: Bauergriffin

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