Egg freezing Melbourne

Treatment is partially covered by Medicare in cases of medical egg freezing. These are situations where patients have been diagnosed with a medical condition or are undergoing a treatment that may impact their current or future fertility, and preservation is important. In these situations, patients may be eligible for an egg freezing Medicare rebate. Medicare does not offer any cover for elective egg freezing.

The choice between egg and embryo freezing depends on your individual circumstances and goals. Both allow women to preserve their options for the future, but they each have distinct advantages and considerations. Embryos are created when an egg and sperm are fertilised and frozen, while egg freezing allows you to create embryos later in life when you are ready (with either a partner or donor sperm). Egg freezing may be considered a more accessible option, as it can be pursued without immediate plans for growing a family and offers more flexibility in planning a pregnancy than embryo freezing. Both are useful options for family planning. It is important to look over all your options and talk through them with our egg freezing Melbourne clinic experts to determine which is most suitable for you.

When it comes to success rates, there are several factors to take into consideration, including the age of the patient when eggs were retrieved; the quality of eggs and sperm used within treatment; the number of eggs that were retrieved and frozen; and any underlying health or fertility issues. Generally, the younger you are when eggs are retrieved, the higher the chances of success. There are typically 10 eggs preserved in a standard cycle of freezing and, in most cases, the majority of these will survive the thawing process and have an attempt at fertilisation. In short, the chances of achieving a successful pregnancy through IVF treatment with frozen eggs are comparable to using ‘fresh’ eggs as the likelihood varies depending on the age of the egg.

Freezing your eggs involves several steps — ovarian stimulation, retrieval, and preservation. During stimulation, the hormone injections may cause some minor pain but it is likely to be minimal. The egg retrieval procedure should be painless, as it is conducted under anaesthesia, but there may be some discomfort after waking up including cramping, soreness, and spotting. Pain relief and heat pads should be able to reduce any discomfort.

To ensure that the eggs we retrieve are as healthy as possible, it is important to be well-rested, avoid smoking or drinking alcohol, and continue exercising. Keeping yourself in good health will improve your chances of having success through egg freezing. Additionally, it is useful to consider whether you will need help from a partner or support person through the process, particularly for administering the hormone stimulation injections.

The overall cost of freezing eggs will depend on several factors, including the costs of medications and ongoing storage fees as well as the regular cycle fee. You can find out more about our estimated out-of-pocket Melbourne egg freezing costs here.

The anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) test can be used to estimate how many eggs you have remaining in your ovaries, using a sample of your blood. This provides a relative gauge of your fertility but, unfortunately, cannot predict how healthy your remaining eggs are or whether you will be able to fall pregnant. Find out more about the Egg Reserve Test.