All about Egg Freezing: Types, Cost, Process, Risk, And Who Need It.

Females who wish to delay family building must opt for Egg Freezing to make a smart decision on time. 

Egg preservation is also known as mature oocyte cryopreservation.  This is an Assisted Reproductive technique where a woman’s eggs are retrieved and frozen for future purposes.  Egg freezing for women gives hope and keeps doors of motherhood open for ladies who wish to start their family later or have a medical condition that might destroy their fertility capacity- like cancer.

This process consists of eggs or oocytes extraction from the intended mothers, ovaries, freezing unfertilized, and then storing for future use. This is known as fertility preservation in the female.  The frozen eggs can be kept for years before thawing and using them for IVF.

Types of egg freezing process

These two methods of egg freezing are commonly followed. These are Vitrification or flash freezing and slow freezing.

Method #1. Vitrification or Flash freeze method

Before the development of the Vitrification or flash freeze method, slow freezing was performed to preserve the eggs. The only problem with slow freezing was that more the time that egg freezing takes, ice crystals will form in the egg cell.

The egg freezing vitrification method tackles this key problem. Egg vitrification is a form of “flash freezing” in which cells are immersed immediately in liquid nitrogen, calling them up to -196 degrees Celsius so rapidly that they become “vitrified” or “glass-like”. Due to this feature of vitrification, it is less likely that the ice crystals will form in the egg cell.

Also, vitrification is completed instantly while slow freezing takes time. Also, according to a study, vitrified eggs have an around 83% survival rate as compared to 66% after slow freezing.

Method #2. Slow Freeze

The slow-freeze method has been employed for freezing embryos for over three decades. The slow-freeze method, however, was found to be unreliable and troubling in favorably replicating the results for unfertilized eggs until recently.

So, what happens in this procedure? In this procedure, the cells are cooled in steps below -196 degrees Celsius. Cryoprotective agents are also used to protect the egg.

This results in prolonged survival of cells as they shut down the biological processes in the cell. In addition to the cryoprotective agents, osmotic damage within the cell is avoided as far as possible.

In fact, they do not prevent ice from forming which can damage the cell organelles.

Who should go for Egg Freezing?

So, the freezing of eggs is done by two methods. But why do we need to freeze eggs?

There are many reasons why we need to freeze eggs-

1. Advancing age diminishes the quality of eggs – The advanced age of women diminishes the quality and quantity of eggs. As the conception of an egg reduces every month, the chances of an egg with chromosomal disabilities increase further. Hence, the chances of miscarriage increase. Therefore, egg preservation will help these women to save the quality of the egg and then can use them for future IVF purposes.
2. Focus on career- Some women want to focus on their career in the beginning and then go the family way. So, egg preservation allows women to be in the same field as men. Also, they can wait for longer to go the family way as they have found a solution to their ticking biological clock.
3. Conditions not suitable for pregnancy – In cases where a woman is suffering from sickle cell anemia or lupus etc. In these cases, a woman may consider preserving her eggs for future purposes.
4. Undergoing IVF – A woman may be required to freeze her egg in the process of In Vitro Fertilisation. Further, a woman can do this owing to religious and ethical purposes.
5. Treatment of a disease that may affect your ability to get pregnant – Certain diseases like cancer requires certain therapies to be performed to treat the disease like chemotherapy. Treatments like radiation therapy and chemotherapy may decrease your chances of having a child in the future. Hence, the doctor may advise you to preserve your eggs for future pregnancy.

Also, it is found that women in the age of 20s have a 25 % chance of pregnancies while once women enter the age of 30s this may get reduced to 15% and only 5% when women are in their 40s.

More topics on female infertility;

Cause of female infertility

Cause of male infertility and how to manage it?

Risks of egg freezing

Egg preservations don’t come only with benefits. It has some risks and complications as well.

• Retrieval Procedure Complications – Egg retrievals complications include the use of the needle. That needle sometimes results in infection, bleeding, and damage to the bowel, bladder, and blood vessels.
• Use of fertility drugs – The use of injectable fertility medicines such as luteinizing hormones or synthetic follicle-stimulating hormones to induce ovulation can cause your ovaries to swell and become painful shortly after ovulation or recovery of eggs. This condition is known as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. One can even develop a more severe form of this disease which can become life-threatening conditions.
• No guarantee of success – While egg preservation works like a hope for the best future, it does not guarantee you 100% success.
• The cost of egg freezing is high- As with any form of assisted reproductive technique, egg freezing comes with lots of costs. The cost of pre-IVF tests, the stimulation medication, procedure cost, and fertility doctor consultation fees need to be covered. The egg freezing cost varies from IVF clinics to the age of the female.   As no in vitro fertilization and embryos, the transfer is done, so the overall cost of egg freezing will be lower than the typical IVF cost.

What is a good age to freeze your eggs?

Younger the better.  In woman’s biological clock for fertility ticks really quickly.  By the time of 35 years of age, women start losing their eggs and fertility fast.  So, the best age to freeze the eggs should be anywhere between 25 to 35 years.  But sooner the better for the optimum success rate of pregnancy.

How much does it cost to freeze my eggs?

A typical single egg–freezing cycle costs from $5000 to $10,000.  It consists of initial fertility and infectious tests, injections, and retrieval surgery. Besides this, you need to pay the annual storage fee to make sure your eggs are viable and well-taken care of.

When you wish to become parents, the cost of eggs—thaw, fertilize, and the transplant.  This cost can go up to $15,000 to $20,000.

Conclusion

Whether egg preservation is right for you or not will be assessed by an infertility doctor based on your current situation and medical history. Egg freezing helps the women to freeze their eggs and concentrate on their profession or studies. If you want to freeze your eggs, you should consult an infertility doctor so that he/she can guide you with the possible risks and opportunities. 

Therefore, one must know each and every risk and opportunity before egg preservation before going for the same. Hope for the best and Good Luck!

The first step starts with a consultation with a fertility doctor. Based on your evaluation and age, they might give assist you further.

If you’d like to learn more about IVF, Egg Donation, or surrogacy services globally, check out the rest of our website at  IVF Conceptions. We offer legally secure and affordable surrogacy consulting services for FREE.