Egg Freezing & Fertility Preservation

What is Egg Freezing?

The process in which a woman’s eggs are extracted, frozen and store as a way to preserve reproductive potential for women is called egg freezing. Egg freezing was created as a means of fertility preservation. It was extremely beneficial for preserving a woman’s eggs who is being treated for a serious illness. Also, women may consider egg freezing because of work and wanting to delay having children. Your career or educational goals may be a priority to you before having children, and you may feel that freezing your eggs remove the pressure of a biological clock. Freezing your eggs allows you to do what you want without worrying about your egg quality declining.

How Does Egg Freezing Work?

Egg freezing consists of you undergoing the same cycle of hormone medications that are used for the process of IVF treatment. The appointments, tests, and procedures will take place in order to produce as many healthy eggs as you can at the time of egg retrieval. The egg retrieval is a surgical procedure that takes about 15 minutes to retrieve the eggs from the ovaries. The eggs are then flash-frozen through a process called “vitrification” to prevent the formation of ice crystals inside the egg. Ultimately, the eggs will be kept in a special storage facility until you’re ready for them.

Is Egg Freezing Safe?

The first successful pregnancy that came from a frozen egg occurred in 1986. Throughout the years since egg freezing was first developed, however, there have been numerous clinical studies to further advance egg freezing as well as research to evaluate the outcomes vitrification has in IVF patients. In 2012, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) removed the egg freezing’s experimental label after reviewing more than 1,000 studies. The explanation to removing the egg freezing experimental label was frozen/thawed eggs are just as effective as fresh eggs that are commonly used in IVF. Also, frozen eggs do not increase the risk of birth defects or chromosomal abnormalities.

How Much Does Egg Freezing Cost?

Egg freezing is usually going to be an “out-of-pocket expense” if your employer does not cover it. Patients are more than likely going to go through more than half of a standard IVF cycle – this includes multiple office visits, lab work, the egg retrieval procedure, and ultrasound and embryology services. Some fertility clinics do have financing options for those that do consider egg freezing. Also, there are storage fees to store the frozen eggs until the time is appropriate to thaw the eggs.

The common attachment every woman entails is the desire to have children one day. Egg freezing is beneficial for preserving a woman’s eggs for various reasons, whether it’s medical or personal. If you are looking to preserve your most fertile years or would like to increase your likelihoods for pregnancy later, egg freezing may considerably be a good fit.