Tag: should I freeze my eggs

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 of the natural attrition that occurs at every stage. 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. Research from […]