Egg Freezing has become more popular over recent years. Women are much more aware that increasing age has a serious impact on fertility, as the average age to start a family is increasing. However, by freezing their eggs, they can improve their chances of success if they’re not ready to have a family now. Egg freezing is far more accessible and successful than it used to be, even 2 or 3 years ago.
Egg freezing is often performed for medical reasons, such as before some cancer therapies. The common reason for freezing eggs in many fertility clinics is for donation to another woman or for fertility preservation for personal, as opposed to medical reasons. This blog provides brief information on egg freezing to preserve your fertility. Banking your eggs can give you more freedom to decide if, and when you are ready to start a family. However, there are no guarantees and women must make informed decisions.
Egg freezing aims to effectively allow you to pause your biological clock. Female fertility (egg quality) starts to decline in your 30s so storing eggs from your late 20s to mid 30s can give you the reassurance and freedom to wait until the time is right. It may be that they will not be needed, but they will be there when you need them – safely stored.
Eggs which are frozen when you are at your ideal fertile age have a better chance of surviving to produce a successful pregnancy. If you are older than 35 and are thinking about storing your eggs, it may still be possible, however your chances of a successful outcome diminish with age – our Consultants can advise you.
Our experts have devised a simple and cost effective approach to egg storage which maximises the chance of you having a family in the future if you are under 36, healthy and have a good reserve of eggs available (which we can assess). With EGGsafe® we aim to store at least 20 mature eggs for you to ensure a realistic chance of a family, should you need them. Plus it gives you peace of mind until that time comes.
Whilst we can’t guarantee a successful outcome, together we are doing all that we can to ensure a realistic chance, should you find yourself struggling to conceive, as so many do, into your late 30s and beyond.
So, how do we store eggs? Firstly we will assess your needs and suitability for the procedure, as it is essential that you understand the likelihood of your eggs being of good quality and the processes involved.
Next, you take medication in order to encourage your ovaries to produce several eggs. Then we perform the egg recovery, which takes about 20 minutes, and the freezing. The eggs are then stored for up to 10 years. If you are undergoing EGGsafe®, we will repeat until we have obtained 20 mature eggs, with a limit of 4 procedures.
“There’s no doubt I would have considered egg storage when I was 30 if it was available. Embryologists are very aware of their own fertility potential and I have known so many female embryologists over the years worrying about when the right time is and feeling the pressure to start a family when they may have preferred to wait for a few years. Egg freezing is now well established and highly successful so having eggs stored when they are at their best, gives women that freedom and reassurance. I often recommend it to friends and colleagues” Alison Campbell, Director of Embryology, Beacon CARE Fertility
We understand that this is a big decision and are available to support you through it.
Alison Campbell, BSc(hons) M.Med.Sci. DipRCPath,
Director of Embryology CARE Fertility Group