Egg freezing (or oocyte freezing) is an efficient method of preserving a woman’s fertility so she can try and have children at a later date. It involves collecting some of your eggs at a younger age and preserving them for usage when older since egg quality and pregnancy rates drop with advancing age. Whether you have cancer and about to start chemotherapy, radiotherapy or radical surgery, or you are healthy but worried about your fertility declining with age and you are not ready to have a child or you haven’t found the right partner, or you are a member of the armed forces at risk of injury or death, a female transitioning to a male but wanting to preserve her/his fertility before starting hormonal treatment or you are undergoing IVF and don’t want to freeze embryos , then you are a candidate for oocyte freezing.
In elective egg freezing (or fertility preservation), you will be asked to visit the clinic on the first or second day of your menses. An ultrasound shall be done and you will start taking daily subcutaneous injections to stimulate your ovaries to produce eggs. This shall take around 10 days before collecting the eggs. Egg collection is usually done under mild sedation and through the vaginal route. However, it may be done laparoscopically or transrectally although the transvaginal route is the easiest and safest.
The ideal age to consider elective egg freezing is 32 and the ideal age interval is 32-38.
Egg freezing is done via a process called “Vitrification”. The ideal number of eggs to freeze is around 15. This process in generally safe and doesn’t harm the ovaries and doesn’t affect the ovarian reserve.
Egg freezing is a rapidly changing field. Most people store their eggs for 5 years. The pregnancy outcome depends on the patient’s age and the choice of the IVF center which should have a good experience in oocyte and embryo freezing.
Take home message: If you are a 32 year old woman or above, and still nulliparous with no partner in your life, or if you have cancer in need of radiotherapy, chemotherapy or surgery, freeze your eggs before it is too late. Book an appointment or e-mail our doctors