Egg freezing
What it is
Egg freezing collects eggs now and freezes them, so they can be thawed, fertilized and used to try for a pregnancy later. Because egg quality falls with age, freezing earlier saves eggs from a younger age.1
How it works
- Stimulation. About 10 to 12 days of hormone injections help several eggs mature in one cycle, instead of the usual one. Ultrasounds and blood tests track how the ovaries respond.1
- Retrieval. A short outpatient procedure, usually 15 to 30 minutes under light anesthesia, collects the eggs.1
- Freezing and storage. The eggs are frozen and stored, usually for an annual fee.1
- Later. When someone is ready, the eggs are thawed, fertilized in a lab, and an embryo is placed in the uterus, as in IVF.
Ovarian reserve tests such as AMH help predict how many eggs a cycle might collect.2
How well it works
Each frozen egg has about a 2 to 12% chance of leading to a baby, and that chance drops with age at freezing.1 So two things matter most:1
- Age when the eggs are frozen. Most experts agree it's most likely to work if eggs are frozen before 38, and it typically works best in the 20s to early 30s.
- How many eggs are frozen. More eggs mean more chances later. Some people do more than one cycle.
Myth: Freezing your eggs guarantees you can have a baby later.
It's easy to see it as an insurance policy. ASRM says plainly that frozen eggs don't guarantee a future pregnancy.1 Many patients have a false sense of security about what fertility treatments can do.3 improves the odds; it doesn't promise a result.
Cost
Costs come in three parts: the consultation, tests, medicines and retrieval; yearly storage; and later, thawing, fertilization and transfer. Some insurance plans cover planned and many don't, so ask for the full cost up front.1
Questions to ask
- How many eggs might I expect from one cycle, based on my age and tests?
- What are this clinic's results with frozen eggs for people my age?
- What will it cost in total, including storage and later use?
Recap
- Egg freezing takes about 10 to 12 days of hormone injections, then a 15 to 30 minute retrieval under light anesthesia.
- Each frozen egg has about a 2 to 12% chance of becoming a baby, lower at older ages.
- Age at freezing and number of eggs frozen matter most. Experts say it works best before 38.
- It doesn't guarantee a future pregnancy.
Words to know 3
| egg freezing | Collecting eggs after hormone injections and freezing them to use later. Doctors call it oocyte cryopreservation. |
|---|---|
| egg retrieval | A short procedure, under light anesthesia, that collects eggs from the ovaries with a thin needle guided by ultrasound. |
| ovarian stimulation | Daily hormone injections that help several eggs mature in one cycle instead of one. |
Educational information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor about your health.