With a growing number of women choosing to have children later on, they are increasingly finding themselves in a race against the biological clock to start a family.
For many women, egg freezing is a great way to preserve fertility if they are planning to have a family in the future, but not any time soon. The process involves collecting a woman's eggs, freezing them and thawing them later so they can be used in treatment.
While the thought of starting a family may seem like a distant idea for some, lead embryologist Cynthia Hudson at fertility tech company TMRW Life Sciences, says considering your fertility earlier can better prepare you for the future.
Cynthia said: “If a woman is unsure about whether she wants children at the moment, she can freeze her eggs to give her more options for family building in the future. She may never need or want to use them, but sometimes having that 'insurance policy' can help to relieve stress and anxiety.”
A growing number of women choosing to have children later on (Getty Images)Speaking to the Mirror, the expert answered the most frequently asked questions about egg freezing. Here’s everything you need to know:
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What is the ideal age to freeze your eggs?
She said: “There is no one right answer to this question, however, the younger you are when you freeze your eggs, the better your chances are of having a successful pregnancy later.
“The quality and quantity of a woman’s eggs decline with age in line with traditional IVF cycle success rates. What this means is if you’re over 35 you'll need to bank more eggs to get the same chance of success as someone who froze them when they were under 35.
She added: “All of these questions should be discussed with your fertility specialist to determine the options that give you the best chances of achieving your parenthood dreams.”
How long can you store frozen eggs for?
The rules on how long you can store frozen eggs changed in the UK on July 1, 2022, increasing from 10 years to up to 55 years. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) explained that for storage to lawfully continue you will need to renew your consent every 10 years.
“This extended time period affords women the freedom to confidently freeze their eggs without the worry that they will need to use them within 10 years or else have to discard them,” said Cynthia.
What are the success rates?
The expert highlighted: “It is important to think of egg freezing as an insurance policy rather than a guarantee – it helps you to preserve your fertility for longer and gives you options, but cannot promise success.”
The fertility industry is regulated and licensed by the HFEA and information can be found on their website on the different treatment options available, as well as clinic ratings and reviews.
To date, only small numbers of women in the UK who have frozen their eggs have actually gone back to use them, so it's difficult to draw firm conclusions from this sample.
You shold discuss your options with with your fertility specialist (Getty Images/iStockphoto)“Universally though, those using frozen eggs during IVF cycles have pregnancy rates that correspond to the age of the egg when it was frozen, not the age of the person that received embryos created from those frozen eggs," informed Cynthia.
“Not every egg will fertilise, not every fertilised egg will result in a viable embryo, and not every “viable” embryo will lead to a live birth.”
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She added: “This is why it’s important to understand all of the data and options available to you – your fertility specialist will be able to answer all of your questions and advise you accordingly.”
How much does egg freezing cost?
According to the HFEA, the average cost of having your eggs collected and frozen in the UK is £3,350, with medication being approximately £500 to £1,500 on top of that. Storage costs and other treatment options are not included in this number.
The embryologist explained: “That said, freezing your eggs will require an IVF cycle later, so these costs need to be considered as well. Definitely speak to your fertility specialist about all of this.”
Are some clinics better than others?
With something as precious as a woman’s future fertility at stake, choosing the right fertility clinic is important. The HFEA is responsible for licensing and inspecting UK fertility clinics and their website details how clinics have scored against their inspections. This can give you an indication of the success rates and patient ratings of a clinic.
The HFEA is responsible for licensing and inspecting UK fertility clinics (Getty Images)“Women may also want to inquire about the technology and equipment used by clinics to freeze and store eggs and embryos. The current standard of care relies on manual identification, tracking, and written record keeping. As the numbers of frozen specimens under management increase, this can put pressure on human abilities to maintain accurate inventories,” she said.
is changing these processes by bringing an automated platform for specimen management, identification, and storage of frozen human eggs and embryos to the field.
What exactly does the egg freezing process entail?
The egg freezing process is very similar to anyone undergoing IVF treatment in that it requires a standard evaluation and workup, followed by an ovarian stimulation plan to produce multiple eggs.
Cynthia said: “The differences start at this point, because instead of making embryos with a partner or donor sperm source and attempting to fall pregnant, the eggs will be frozen on the day they come out.
“When you’re ready to use them, which could be years on, is when you’ll need to consider the second phase of this process (IVF). In the meantime, making sure they’re safe and secure until that point in time is critical to your eventual success, so be sure you bring all of these questions to your fertility specialist.”
What other options are available?
It is important to remember there are also alternative paths to parenthood. These could include introducing donor eggs, sperm or embryos to your journey.
Cynthia explained: “Donor conception is a great way to achieve your goals if you’re not producing high quality or enough eggs of your own, if you are in a same sex relationship, or you have a high risk of passing on an inherited disease.
“You may need to partner with a gestational carrier to bring your child to this world. Yet another approach to having a child is choosing to foster or adopt; there are many paths to parenthood, and there is no one right way to do it."
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