Egg freezing can help you prepare for possible future pregnancies. Here’s what you need to consider when deciding whether to freeze your eggs.
As assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) grow more advanced and pregnancy outcomes improve, more and more people are turning to fertility treatments to take control of their path to parenthood.
Egg freezing is one fertility choice that’s surging in popularity. Plus, this path has some added benefits, like greater flexibility and reproductive autonomy.
What is egg freezing, and is it the right fertility choice for you? Read on to find out what makes this fertility treatment different from others, and how it can support your future.
What is egg freezing? Egg freezing, also called oocyte cryopreservation, is an assisted reproductive technology (ART) that enables you to harvest mature eggs from your ovaries, then freeze them for future use.
Egg freezing can be used for any number of reasons—maybe you want to preserve your fertility for a potential pregnancy later in life, or you’re giving yourself a backup plan to support other ART procedures like IVF.
How common is egg freezing? Egg freezing is steadily becoming a more widespread fertility choice.
In fact, the CDC reports that egg freezing accounted for over 42% of all ART cycles in the United States in 2022 (along with embryo freezing , more on that similar procedure below).
And data from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) shows that over 39,000 people in the US froze their eggs in 2023—that represents an impressive 39% increase compared to just one year prior!
Suffice it to say, more and more people are embracing reproductive autonomy and taking control of their fertility with egg freezing.
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How does egg freezing work? Egg freezing is a multi-step process involving:
Ovarian stimulation Egg retrieval Cryopreservation The process starts with ovarian stimulation . For this first step, you take medication to help your ovaries produce as many eggs as possible.
Once your doctor determines that the eggs are mature, it’s time for egg retrieval (also called egg harvesting ). While you’re under local or general anesthesia, your doctor will extract the mature eggs by guiding a thin needle through the vagina and inserting it into the ovaries.
Next comes cryopreservation , or the freezing process. There are two methods: slow freezing and vitrification. Vitrification, a flash freeze technique completed within minutes, is the more common of the two, as current research indicates it’s more successful.
Before cryopreservation, you can also choose to fertilize your harvested eggs with sperm and freeze the resulting embryo instead. This fertility route is called embryo freezing, and is less common than egg freezing.
How do I use my frozen eggs? Research shows that pregnancies from frozen eggs are safe, and pregnancy outcomes are favorable.
If and when you decide to use your frozen eggs, the eggs will be thawed, the viable eggs will be fertilized to make embryos (using fresh or frozen sperm), and an embryo will be inserted into your uterus in a procedure called an embryo transfer.
As of 2016, ART cycles use embryos made from frozen eggs more often than embryos made from fresh eggs—yet another indication of the growing popularity of egg freezing.
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Is egg freezing right for me? Deciding whether egg freezing is the right fertility choice is a deeply personal decision, and depends on factors unique to you (and your partner, the case may be).
Some key considerations to take into account are:
Cost : The cost of egg freezing includes the process itself, which can be upwards of $10,000 , plus yearly egg storage fees. Are you able to take on the one-time and yearly costs?Insurance coverage : Whether insurance contributes to fees depends on your plan, and potentially on the reason behind your treatment. What will your insurance cover, and what out-of-pocket costs does that leave you? Access to care : Ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval require multiple doctor’s visits. Do you have access to this type of fertility care, and are you able to commit to a few cycles’ worth of time and travel?Age : Getting older impacts the availability, health, and viability of your eggs. If you’re in your late 30s or 40s, talk with your doctor about the feasibility of cryopreservation for you. Freezing donor eggs is another option. Mental and physical health : Egg freezing involves taking hormone medications that can cause side effects, like hot flashes and mood swings. Are you mentally and physically ready for treatment?It’s equally important to consider your unique fertility needs and goals, and whether freezing your eggs will help you meet them.
Let’s take a look at some scenarios where egg freezing could be the right fertility choice for you.
Fertility preservation One common reason for egg freezing is fertility preservation.
Maybe you’re focused on other parts of your life right now, like personal goals or career goals, and you’re not ready for a baby. Pregnancy later in life can be harder, though, partly because egg quality declines with age. That’s where egg freezing comes in.
Freezing healthy and viable eggs for a potential future pregnancy is one way to take control of your “biological clock,” preserve your fertility, and increase your chances of a successful pregnancy later.
This gives you the flexibility and reproductive autonomy to live your life the way you want to, while keeping your childbearing options open.
Medical needs Fertility preservation can also be medically motivated.
If you’re facing a diagnosis requiring treatment that can impact fertility, like chemotherapy, or you have a condition that can jeopardize fertility, egg freezing may be one way to maintain the possibility of having a baby.
In such circumstances, whether egg freezing is a viable option partly depends on when you need to start treatment, and how much time you have to undergo ovarian stimulation cycles.
Egg banking for fertility treatment ART procedures can sometimes take time or require multiple rounds. Egg freezing can be a good option to support your treatment.
Maybe you need a couple IVF cycles before an embryo implants and you get pregnant. Maybe your male partner is also dealing with fertility issues, or you need donor sperm, and you’re facing a delay between ovarian stimulation and embryo transfer.
Freezing additional eggs during ART procedures—or “egg banking”—offers you a backup plan for your fertility treatment. Plus, having frozen eggs gives you a head start for later on, whether that means for subsequent ART cycles or for other kids you may want to have in the future.
Is egg freezing the right fertility choice for me? The bottom line Egg freezing is a fertility treatment in which eggs are retrieved from your uterus and frozen for potential future pregnancies.
Whether egg freezing is the right fertility choice for you depends on factors like cost, access to care, your age, and your fertility goals.
Whatever your choice, modern fertility treatments like egg freezing can offer you reproductive autonomy as you explore different paths to parenthood—whether that path leads to an immediate future, or winds toward some unknown moment years down the road.
