Egg Freezing Egg Freezing

Egg Freezing

Egg Freezing at a Glance

Women can freeze and store their mature, unfertilized eggs for use in a future attempt at pregnancy through in vitro fertilization (IVF).

The process involves stimulating ovulation to produce multiple eggs, retrieving them in our clinic, and freezing and storing them (cryopreservation) indefinitely.

There are several medical reasons a woman may wish to freeze eggs, including facing fertility-damaging cancer treatment.

When a woman is younger and her eggs are more viable, she may wish to freeze her eggs to delay having a family to pursue a career or due to other reasons for wanting to start a family at an older age.

When ready, the eggs are thawed and fertilized through IVF, with the resulting embryo implanted in the uterus.

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Freezing Eggs to Preserve Fertility

Egg freezing has been around for some time, but it wasn’t until 2012 when the American Society for Reproductive Medicine proclaimed that it was no longer considered an “experimental” process. This was due to improvements in cryopreservation technology and processes, particularly in vitrification.

The human egg is a cell consisting of a good deal of water. Previous freezing methods tended to result in ice crystals that damaged the egg. Vitrification, which is a flash freezing technique, greatly reduces that risk, in part by removing water and replacing it with an antifreeze-like fluid. The process of re-warming the eggs from their frozen state has also improved.

The success of attaining pregnancy later using frozen eggs depends on several factors related to the quality of the eggs and the woman’s reproductive health. One study published in the journal Human Reproduction found an average pregnancy success rate of 73%; however, that rate generally decreases with age.

Who should consider egg freezing?

Ovarian reserve declines with age, both in terms of quantity and egg quality, which affects their ability to result in pregnancy. The time to consider egg freezing is generally during your younger reproductive years, ideally in your 20s, but can also be done during your 30s. 

Individuals who may wish to consider freezing their eggs include the following:

  • Those who want to delay having children until a later age for any number of nonmedical reasons that can include being free to focus on career or school, desiring to be a mother later in life, and having not yet found a mate they want to have children with.

  • Those facing cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy that can cause infertility. Preserving eggs for this reason is known as oncofertility.
    Women who are about to have gynecologic surgery that may render them infertile.

  • Those with conditions that can harm fertility, such as sickle cell anemia and autoimmune disease.
    Women with a family history of premature menopause or who have diminished ovarian reserve, which means few eggs and eggs of poor quality.

  • Transgender men who wish to preserve their eggs for any reason, including before undergoing gender-affirming procedures that impact fertility.

  • Women or couples who are undergoing IVF but do not wish to freeze embryos for religious or personal reasons.

Good Candidates for Egg Freezing

While egg freezing can be a good option for many, it is not recommended in all cases. We consider good candidates for egg freezing to be:

  • Individuals in a lower age bracket, ideally 20 to roughly 37.
  • Those with good evaluation of ovarian reserve as indicated by an antral follicle count (i.e., the number of fluid-filled follicles in the ovaries containing immature eggs), as well as proper levels of follicle-stimulating hormone and the anti-Müllerian hormone.

The Egg Freezing Process

As with IVF, the egg freezing process begins by using medications to induce ovulation of multiple eggs. Normally, one egg is ovulated per menstrual cycle, but with egg freezing, we want to retrieve multiple eggs at once, which involves controlled ovarian stimulation. To achieve this, the patient takes injectable hormones for about 12 days before ovulation. When the eggs have reached the desired level of maturation, the patient is given what’s known as a trigger shot, and egg retrieval is scheduled for 36 hours later.

During egg retrieval, the patient is placed under conscious sedation, while our fertility specialist inserts a long needle through the vagina directed through ultrasound imaging. The physician uses this instrument to pierce the follicle and suction out a mature egg. Our embryologist evaluates the eggs, retaining those eggs that meet our quality criteria. Afterwards, the patien spends a short time recovering in our clinic and will generally go home in about an hour.

These eggs are frozen by vitrification. The embryologist records the specifics of the process, including particulars on the solution used, as this information is needed to properly thaw the frozen eggs later. The eggs are stored in our cryopreservation system, which utilizes liquid nitrogen storage in a tank system that is rigorously monitored. Eggs can be stored indefinitely, as the freezing process suspends their biological activity.

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Egg freezing cost

Because the egg freezing process includes many of the steps used in IVF, it involves considerable cost. These include the cost of medication, office visits, monitoring, and the egg retrieval process. Then the eggs need to be stored until it is time for the woman or couple to attempt pregnancy. This involves a monthly or annual fee that covers the use of advanced equipment and professional monitoring of the cryopreservation system. We have financing programs that may help patients more easily afford egg freezing. 

Considerations and Risks of Egg Freezing

The primary factor to be aware of regarding egg freezing is that it does not guarantee a pregnancy later. This is a procedure growing in popularity and has generated a considerable amount of marketing. Often, egg freezing is positioned as an insurance policy against age-related infertility, but this is not the case, medically speaking.

We counsel each patient on the prospects for individual success with egg freezing and discuss all factors of it, including addressing any risks of the procedure. The main risk to be aware of is ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), which is swelling of the ovaries and associated pain due to the stimulation medications used. This usually resolves on its own after a few days, though medical treatment is sometimes in order. As with any invasive medical procedure, the retrieval process may also result in infection, pain, and damage to nearby tissue or organs.

The eggs themselves are rarely damaged during the process, and studies show that using frozen eggs does not result in any effects on the future child.

Start Your Egg Freezing Journey in New Jersey Today

If you’re ready to explore egg freezing, take the first step and connect with the Reproductive Science Center of New Jersey. Using the most cutting-edge reproductive technology and compassionate care, we’ve helped countless individuals and couples from Brick, Hamilton, Princeton, Red Bank, and all of NJ expand their families. Contact us today for more information about egg freezing or to schedule an appointment at one of our fertility clinics in Eatontown, Toms River, or Lawrenceville.

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