Table of Contents
- What is egg freezing?
- When should you freeze your eggs?
- The best age to freeze eggs
- Egg freezing process
- Egg freezing timeline
- How many eggs can be frozen?
- Embryo freezing vs egg freezing
- Risks and complications
- How much does egg freezing cost?
Having a baby requires a lot of different factors to come into place all at the right time. One of the most important factors is the age of the woman, and more specifically, the age of her eggs. As women get older, their chances of falling pregnant reduce. Thankfully, there is a way to prolong reproductive ability and preserve your fertile years: egg freezing. Let’s take a closer look at how to freeze eggs and whether it is the right choice for you.
What is egg freezing?
Women are born with their lifetime supply of eggs, known as their ovarian reserve. As they get older and begin menstruating, their supply gradually reduces and unfortunately cannot be replenished. This is why it’s harder to fall pregnant as you get older, and where egg freezing becomes a beneficial treatment.
Egg cryopreservation is an effective technique where we retrieve a woman’s eggs surgically and then freeze them for future use. By freezing eggs, women can ensure they have healthy eggs frozen and ready as their natural number decreases.
When should you freeze your eggs?
Women opt for elective egg freezing for a variety of different reasons. Many women want to delay parenthood to focus on other personal priorities first. These may include establishing or developing in their careers, travelling abroad, creating more financial security or finding a long-term partner. Others may feel unsure about whether they want kids at all, but would like to keep the option open.
Women may also choose to freeze their eggs for different medical reasons. We recommend medical egg freezing to women who are preparing to undergo treatments that could harm their fertility, including cancer treatment. Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis, or those with family history of early menopause, may benefit from preservation.
What is the best age to freeze eggs?
Age is the best predictor of egg quality — the younger you are, the more likely your eggs are good quality. Unfortunately, there are no tests that directly assess the quality of your remaining eggs. Other tests, like the AMH (egg timer) test, can only make an inference about the number of eggs remaining in your ovaries, but not their health or reproductive potential.
When you use frozen eggs, their health and the likelihood of pregnancy is based on the age you were when they were frozen, not the age you are when using them. Women in their 20s and 30s should have a discussion with their fertility specialist before considering egg freezing. They can help identify the most appropriate age for freezing.
Most women begin considering fertility preservation in their late 20s and early 30s. Specialists can help you understand factors affecting your decision, including the likelihood of conceiving naturally and the cost of preservation. Ideally patients will freeze when they still have good quality eggs, but freezing can be effective into the early 40s.
Egg freezing process
The process of egg freezing slightly alters the natural menstrual cycle to make collection more effective. In a natural cycle, only one egg releases, with other competing eggs dying off. Egg freezing uses hormone stimulation to release multiple eggs for collection.
A standard egg freezing procedure follows these steps:
- Assessment. Each patient goes through a personal fertility appointment to check their medical history and assess their ovarian reserve. This is a good opportunity to get detailed answers to any questions you might have, and for the specialist to evaluate whether egg freezing would be beneficial. If it is, the process begins the day you let us know that your next period has started.
- Hormone Stimulation. Each patient is provided hormone stimulation medication that prompts multiple eggs to mature and release instead of just one. This often lasts for around two weeks. Medication is an injectable known as follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) which patients administer at home. Our nurses provide instructions on administering the injections, and monitor you throughout this phase to ensure healthy development.
- Trigger Shot. Once your follicles have reached an appropriate size, you will receive a trigger shot. These shots induce ovulation and occur 36 hours prior to your egg retrieval. A nurse will deliver the shot, or you may administer one at home.
- Collection. Once the eggs are sufficiently mature, you will have a hospital appointment for retrieval. We collect them under general anaesthesia or sedation, using an ultrasound-guided probe and a fine needle. The collection often takes 10 to 15 minutes, with some time spent in recovery afterwards.
- Freezing. After collection, we transfer the eggs immediately to a fertility lab where our scientists assess them for maturity. All of the eggs that are suitably mature are then snap frozen using liquid nitrogen in a very safe process known as vitrification.
Your eggs are then available for use whenever you need them for fertility treatments, including IVF and ICSI. Storing more eggs means our scientists are more likely to achieve fertilisation and have multiple viable embryos for implantation. When you want to freeze your eggs, the number of collected eggs will depend on your age, general health, and your body’s response to the stimulation treatment.
Egg freezing timeline
How many eggs can be frozen?
The more eggs you are able to freeze, the higher your likelihood of having a baby. Unfortunately, not all of the eggs you produce after stimulation will be suitable for freezing. Some of these eggs may be immature while others may not freeze or thaw correctly. We expect each egg freezing cycle to produce around 10 to 12 eggs, with around 8 suitable for vitrification.
Egg freezing success rates
The majority of your frozen eggs will safely survive the freezing and thawing process. However, there is unfortunately no way to guarantee a successful pregnancy following freezing or any type of fertility treatment. When trying to use your eggs, some may not fertilise at all, while others may fertilise but fail to reach the blastocyst stage as an embryo, which is when embryos become suitable for implantation in the uterus.
According to research, around 75% of eggs that are suitable for freezing survive the freeze and thaw process. Most of those are likely to fertilise and become embryos, and we expect at least a couple to reach the blastocyst stage.
Embryo freezing vs egg freezing
For an egg to develop into an embryo, it needs to fertilise with a sperm sample prior to preservation. This is difficult for women without a partner and those who would prefer not to use donor sperm. In these situations, egg freezing is likely preferable as it can preserve fertility potential without needing to make decisions regarding fertilisation.
If embryo freezing is something you would like to pursue, the process begins the same as egg freezing, with hormone stimulation producing multiple eggs for collection. Instead of the eggs being immediately frozen, however, they are separately exposed to sperm so fertilisation can occur. Each successfully fertilised egg develops into an embryo, and each embryo incubates while developing before being frozen using vitrification.
Frozen embryos have a slightly higher rate of survival following thawing compared to frozen eggs, but the difference is minimal. Embryo freezing can also reduce the need for multiple cycles of egg freezing. Overall, the procedure that is best for you depends on your goals and personal situation, with freezing your eggs offering a greater degree of autonomy into the future.
Risks and complications
While we wish we could guarantee every egg would mature fully and survive freezing and thawing, the procedure does unfortunately carry the risk that some or all of the eggs may not be suitable. We make every effort to treat your eggs safely and give them every chance to make it healthily through the entire process.
Some women may have an excessive response to the hormone stimulation medication, which can lead to bloating, discomfort and some mood instability. In some cases this can develop into Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS), a serious condition where the ovaries can swell and potentially leak fluid. This will lead to nausea, difficulty urinating and trouble breathing. It is important to go for an immediate checkup with your fertility specialist. However, OHSS is a rare occurrence and most women will be able to go through treatment without any significant issues.
How much does egg freezing cost?
The overall cost of freezing eggs will depend on a number of factors, including the costs of the hormone stimulation medication, the regular cycle fee and ongoing storage fees. Additionally, different fertility clinics will usually charge different fees, and often there is a different price depending on whether it is your first cycle of egg freezing or if it is a subsequent cycle. You can find out more about estimated out-of-pocket egg freezing cost at Create Fertility on our Fees page.
Is egg freezing covered by Medicare or private health?
If your egg freezing is for a medical purpose, Medicare may cover some of the costs of your cycle, but unfortunately elective egg freezing is not covered. At your initial consultation, our specialists can help you understand whether you are eligible for medical egg freezing.
Egg freezing is also not covered by private health insurance. However, some policies may cover different costs associated with reproductive or fertility services, including anaesthetists, hospital fees or consultations.
Safely preserving your fertility
Our team at Create Fertility is dedicated to helping you have a baby, however that happens. We prioritise your health and wellbeing and work in partnership with you to design tailored treatment plans that suit your lifestyle and needs. If you want to learn more about our egg preservation or any other fertility treatment, book a chat with one of our specialists today — we can’t wait to meet you.
