Tag: egg freezing success rates

Whether you’re trying to conceive, living with PMOS ( formerly known as PCOS), considering egg freezing, navigating perimenopause, or simply trying to understand what your hormones are doing, you are not alone. Reproductive health can feel confusing, especially when symptoms are dismissed, cycles become unpredictable, or you’re told to “just wait and see” without clear answers. But your questions deserve more than vague reassurance. They deserve clinical context, personalised support and practical next steps. Welcome to Your Questions Answered with Hertility,  our expert-led series answering the reproductive health, hormone and fertility questions you really want answered. I’m Zoya Ali, Hertility’s Senior Scientific Research Associate, and in this series I’ll be helping to break down complex fertility and hormone topics in a way that feels clear, clinically grounded and easy to understand. From irregular periods and PMOS to egg freezing, perimenopause and trying to conceive, my goal is to give you evidence-based information without shame, confusion or medical jargon. In this edition, we’re answering some of the most common questions we hear from the Hertility community, including what to do if you feel dismissed by your GP, whether egg freezing in your early thirties is worth it, why a PMOS diagnosis matters, and whether pregnancy is still possible during perimenopause. Have a question you’d like answered in a future edition of Your Questions Answered with Hertility? Submit your question here. Q: We’ve been trying to conceive for over a year. My GP told me to lose weight and said ovulation can happen at any time. I only get a period once every three months. I feel pushed aside. What can I do? First, I’m really sorry you’ve been made to feel like this, your concerns are completely valid. After 12 months of trying to conceive, you are entitled to a comprehensive fertility assessment. Being told to lose weight and come back later, with no investigations or plan is not adequate care and you deserve more than that. Now, let’s talk about what’s actually going on with your body, because irregular periods every three months are telling us something important. That pattern is known as oligomenorrhoea and it is a sign that your body may not be ovulating regularly. Ovulation is the event that makes conception possible, and if it’s only happening sporadically, or not at all, trying to conceive can become significantly harder. Weight can be one piece of this picture, and it’s worth being honest about that. Weight can affect how the body manages insulin and inflammation, both of which influence reproductive hormones and ovulation. But weight is one factor in a much larger story, and it should never be used as a reason to withhold investigations. The most common cause of irregular, infrequent periods is PMOS ( previously known as PCOS ) which is a hormonal and metabolic condition affecting how the ovaries function. But thyroid imbalance, raised prolactin, insulin resistance and stress can all produce a very similar picture. You cannot know which of these is driving your symptoms without testing. If you feel your GP is still not listening, you are entitled to ask for a referral to a gynaecologist or fertility specialist, or to seek a second opinion. At Hertility, our Advanced At-home Hormone and Fertility Test can give you clinical-grade results, insight into your egg count and screening for up to 18 reproductive health conditions, alongside a doctor-written report, personalised Care Plan and a Clinical Result Review Call. We also offer Fertility Nutrition Consultations that can support ovulation, hormone and metabolic health without shame, blame or crash dieting. You don’t have to wait to be taken seriously. Q: What is the success rate for egg freezing if you freeze your eggs in your early thirties? This is one of the most common questions I hear from people considering egg freezing, and I understand why, you want a number, something reassuring and concrete. The honest answer is that there isn’t one single success rate, let me explain why, and what the picture actually looks like. Age is genuinely one of the most important factors in egg freezing. Freezing in your late twenties to early thirties is the most recommended, because egg quality and quantity are typically the best. But age alone doesn’t determine your outcome, two women who are both 31 can have very different responses to fertility treatment depending on factors like their AMH levels and antral follicle count. When we talk about success rates, we’re really talking about a chain of events, and at each link in that chain, some eggs are naturally lost. First, your frozen eggs need to survive the thawing process, thaw survival rates are typically around 80 to 90%. Then, not every thawed egg will fertilise successfully. Not every fertilised egg will develop into a good-quality embryo. And not every embryo will implant and lead to a pregnancy. Sperm quality and uterine health both play a role at that final stage too. Most clinics recommend aiming for around 15 mature eggs to give yourself a reasonable chance of a future live birth, with some recommending closer to 20 if you’re hoping for more than one child. Depending on how your ovaries respond to stimulation, some people collect enough eggs in one cycle; others need two or more. This is why egg freezing planning really is personal, it’s not a one-size approach. An AMH blood test and pelvic ultrasound to check our Antral Follicle Count (AFC) are the best starting points for understanding your ovarian reserve. They can’t tell us about egg quality directly, that remains something we can only assess once eggs are fertilised, but they give us a meaningful picture of quantity and potential response to fertility medications. At Hertility, our Advanced At-home Hormone and Fertility Test includes insight into your egg count alongside a full hormone profile. We can also arrange a Pelvic Ultrasound Scan to assess your antral follicle count and pelvic structures, and we work with HFEA-accredited partner clinics to support a smooth referral process […]

Thinking about egg freezing? Learn how it works, success rates, costs, and when to start preserving your fertility. Thinking about freezing your eggs? Whether you’re planning for the future or not ready to start a family just yet, egg freezing  is a powerful fertility preservation option. In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about how to freeze your eggs, how to freeze your eggs, and what factors to consider, including age, success rates, and costs. What Is Egg Freezing and Why Do People Do It? Egg freezing, also known as oocyte cryopreservation, is a fertility preservation technique that allows you to save your eggs for future use. It’s becoming an increasingly popular option for those who want to keep their options open when it comes to having children later in life – but does it guarantee you’ll have a baby? Let’s explore the facts. People choose egg freezing for a variety of reasons, including: Planning to have children later in life Undergoing medical treatment that could affect fertility (e.g. chemotherapy) Personal or career goals Not having found the right partner yet We explore this further in Who should consider fertility preservation?  How Does Egg Freezing Work? Step 1: Hormone Stimulation You’ll take fertility medications to stimulate your ovaries to produce multiple mature eggs in one cycle. During this time, you’ll attend regular scans and blood tests to monitor your response. Step 2: Egg Collection (Egg Retrieval) After ~10-14 days of stimulation, your eggs are collected in a short medical procedure under sedation. Once your eggs are ready, they’ll be collected via a minor surgical procedure under sedation. Most people recover within a day or two. Step 3: Freezing and Storage (Cryopreservation) Your eggs are frozen using a fast-freezing technique called vitrification, then stored safely in liquid nitrogen for potential use in the future. Can Freezing Your Eggs Guarantee a Baby? The short answer is no – freezing your eggs does not guarantee you’ll have a baby. It can increase your chances, especially if you freeze your eggs at a younger age, but several factors affect whether you’ll conceive and carry a baby successfully later in life. One major factor is your age at the time of freezing. Younger eggs tend to be healthier and more likely to result in a successful pregnancy. Freezing eggs in your twenties or early thirties typically leads to better outcomes than doing so in your late thirties or forties. Another key factor is the number of eggs you freeze. Not all eggs will survive the freezing and thawing process. Even if they do, not every egg will fertilise or become a healthy embryo. Your overall reproductive health at the time you want to use the eggs also matters. This includes the health of your uterus, your hormone levels, and any underlying fertility issues that may have developed over time. Success also depends on the quality of sperm used and the effectiveness of IVF when you’re ready to conceive. A partner’s or donor’s sperm must be healthy enough to fertilise the eggs, and the embryo must implant successfully in the uterus. When Is the Best Age to Freeze Eggs? If you’re asking, “When should I freeze my eggs?” the general recommendation from fertility experts is between you late 20s to mid 30s. During this window, egg quality and ovarian reserve are still relatively high, giving you the best chance of success later. But this isn’t a one-size-fits-all decision. Everyone’s fertility journey is different. Some people may choose to free their eggs earlier or later depending on their health, family history, a medical condition that could affect fertility, or plans to undergo treatments like chemotherapy. Others may freeze their eggs later due to career, relationship, or financial considerations.. While it’s still possible to freeze your eggs after 35, it’s important to know that success rates may decline as egg quality and reserve begin to drop with age. If you’re wondering when to start the process, the best first step is to book a fertility assessment. This typically includes hormone testing and an ultrasound to check your ovarian reserve. With this information, you can get a clearer picture of your fertility status and make an empowered decision about whether and when to freeze your eggs. You may also want to understand how ageing can affect fertility rates in women. How Many Eggs Do I Need To Freeze to Have a Baby? There’s no magic number, but we can estimate based on age and clinical data. Based on research from studies like Goldman et al. (2017) and Doyle et al. (2016), we can estimate the number of mature eggs typically needed to have about a 70% chance of achieving one full-term pregnancy. These numbers are estimates based on aiming for one baby, so if you’re hoping to grow a bigger family, freezing more eggs may be necessary to maximise your chances.   Note: These numbers aim for one full-term pregnancy. This estimation may vary depending on other factors. If the goal is more than one child, more eggs should be frozen. What Are the Egg Freezing Success Rates? If you’re thinking about freezing your eggs, one of the most important things to understand is your chance of having a baby later on. While there’s no guaranteed number of eggs that will result in a full-term pregnancy, we can give a reliable estimate based on several factors especially your age at the time of freezing. Success with frozen eggs depends on four key steps: egg survival after thawing, fertilisation, embryo development, and successful implantation. Let’s break it down. Age at the Time of Freezing Matters Most Age is the single biggest factor influencing the quality and quantity of eggs. Younger eggs tend to be healthier and have a much higher chance of leading to a successful pregnancy. How Well Do Eggs Survive Freezing and Thawing? Thanks to modern vitrification techniques, between 90–95% of mature eggs survive the thawing process. That’s a big leap from […]

Egg freezing is a fertility preservation treatment that allows your eggs to be collected, frozen and stored for potential use in the future. You might be considering it because you’d like children one day but aren’t ready yet, you haven’t met the person you want to parent with, or because a medical condition or treatment could affect your fertility. So, what does egg freezing actually do, how successful is it, and how can you decide whether it’s right for you? Quick facts: What is egg freezing? Egg freezing, or oocyte cryopreservation, is a fertility preservation treatment in which eggs are collected from your ovaries, frozen and stored so they can potentially be used in the future. The treatment starts similarly to IVF. Fertility medication encourages several eggs to mature during one cycle. Those eggs are collected during a short procedure and suitable mature eggs are rapidly frozen using a technique called vitrification. If you decide to use them later, the eggs are thawed and fertilised with sperm in a laboratory. Any embryos that develop can then potentially be transferred into the uterus. Modern vitrification has made egg freezing much more effective than older slow-freezing techniques. But there are still several steps between freezing an egg and having a baby. Not every egg survives thawing, fertilises, develops into an embryo or results in a live birth. That’s why egg freezing is best thought of as preserving an option, rather than guaranteeing an outcome.  Why do people freeze their eggs? There is no single reason to freeze your eggs. Egg freezing may be worth considering if having a biological child in the future is important to you, but there is a reasonable chance you won’t be ready to try until later, or your future fertility could be affected by a medical condition or treatment. You may know that you’d like children but don’t feel ready to start a family yet because of your relationship, finances, career, health or other circumstances. You may be considering becoming a solo parent in the future, or simply want more time to decide whether parenthood is right for you. This is often referred to as social egg freezing. Egg freezing can also be used for medical fertility preservation, for example before chemotherapy, radiotherapy or some types of ovarian surgery that could affect future fertility. It may also be considered by people at increased risk of reduced ovarian reserve or earlier menopause, or before starting hormone therapy or other gender-affirming treatment that could affect fertility. Egg freezing has become increasingly common in the UK. HFEA data show that the number of patients freezing eggs rose from around 700 in 2014 to 5,580 in 2024, although the number of cycles remained relatively stable between 2023 and 2024. However, having access to egg freezing doesn’t mean everyone needs to do it. The decision should take into account your age, health, reproductive goals, likelihood of delaying parenthood, treatment burden, cost and personal circumstances, rather than being driven by fear or pressure. Egg freezing cannot guarantee a future baby, but for some people it can preserve additional reproductive options for later. What are the benefits of freezing your eggs? The main biological benefit is that egg freezing allows you to preserve eggs at the age you are when they’re collected. Both the number of available eggs and their average reproductive potential decline with age. As eggs age, chromosomal abnormalities become more common, contributing to lower chances of conception and higher miscarriage rates. Once eggs are frozen, the success associated with using them later is strongly influenced by your age when they were collected. That means freezing eggs younger can potentially give you an additional option if you find it difficult to conceive naturally later. For some people, egg freezing can also ease some of the time pressure around family-building decisions. But there is an important trade-off: the earlier you freeze, the greater the chance that you’ll never need those eggs at all because HFEA data shows that while the number of people freezing eggs has risen considerably, the proportion returning to use them remains much lower. However, it is also important to know the limitations. Egg freezing cannot guarantee future fertility. Some frozen eggs won’t survive thawing. Some won’t fertilise. Some fertilised eggs won’t develop into embryos, and not every embryo will result in a pregnancy or live birth. It also doesn’t stop the rest of your body ageing. For example, if you freeze eggs at 30 and use them at 40, those eggs were collected when you were 30. But if they result in a pregnancy, you’ll still be pregnant at 40, so pregnancy-related risks associated with older age can still apply. Egg freezing therefore isn’t a way of “stopping your biological clock”. It’s a way of preserving some of the reproductive potential of younger eggs. How successful is egg freezing? There isn’t one egg-freezing success rate that can accurately tell you your individual chance of having a baby. Success depends on several factors, but two of the most important are your age when your eggs are frozen and the number of mature eggs available when you eventually use them. Age matters because younger eggs are generally more likely to be chromosomally normal. Outcomes are generally better when egg freezing is performed at a younger age, with many fertility specialists considering the late 20s to early 30s an optimal window, although the decision should still be individualised based on your reproductive plans, ovarian reserve and likelihood of using the eggs. Egg number matters because not every egg will progress through each stage of the process. Some eggs won’t survive thawing. Some won’t fertilise. Some fertilised eggs won’t develop into viable embryos. And some embryos won’t implant or result in a live birth. That’s also why there isn’t one magic number of eggs that guarantees a future baby. ASRM states that there isn’t enough evidence to prescribe a universal number of mature eggs that everyone should freeze to achieve a live birth. […]