Egg Freezing
If you’re not quite ready for parenthood, or still haven’t met that special someone, have you thought about putting your eggs on ice?
When it comes to female fertility, timing is the most important factor, and being proactive can make a big difference in your chance of conceiving later in life.
What is Egg Freezing?
Egg freezing is a method of storing a woman’s unfertilised eggs to allow her to try to conceive at a later date, when natural conception would be unlikely.
It may be seen as a way of preserving the possibility of fertility for women who are not in a position to become pregnant straight away, or whose fertility is at risk for medical reasons such as cancer treatment.
Frozen eggs may be stored for many years without significant deterioration. When the woman is ready to use her eggs, they are warmed, and then fertilised with sperm.
The aim is for the fertilised egg to develop into an embryo, which can then be transferred to the woman’s uterus giving a chance of pregnancy.
Egg Freezing Success Rates
The chance of a live birth from frozen ‘vitrified’ eggs is similar to the chance from ‘fresh’ eggs which are usually used in IVF treatment.
The two most important factors that determine the chance of having a baby from frozen eggs are your age when your eggs are frozen and the number of eggs that are stored. Currently, we expect the following success rates for egg freezing:
- for a woman aged 35 or under, one stimulated cycle would result in the collection of 10 – 13 eggs of which 7 – 10 would be suitable for vitrification and storage
- Approximately 80-90% of eggs would survive warming in the future
- Approximately 50-80% of surviving eggs would fertilise
- Approximately 20-40% of fertilised eggs would develop into embryos
Success rates are lower for women over 35, which is why we recommend preserving your fertility sooner rather than later.
If you’re over the age of 38, egg freezing may not be a suitable avenue. However, there are more immediate options that can be explored such as the use of donor sperm.
We always recommending speaking to a fertility specialist to better understand if egg freezing is an option for your particular circumstances.
