Egg Freezing - What Should You Know?

As per the latest data released by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the United Kingdom’s fertility industry regulator, there is an increasing number of women, who are freezing their eggs. There is also very little guidance for those women, who are considering to keep their eggs preserved.

Let us take a look at five things which women must consider and take into account before going for freezing their eggs:

1. Women should look to freeze their eggs when they are young but not when they are too young. Women, who undergo the procedure of egg freezing before attaining the age of 30, usually tend to have the highest live birth rates from eggs which were frozen previously. Usually, women’s average age, when they go for freezing the eggs, is near about 37 years. In order to have the best chance of getting success for a live birth in the future, it is ideal to freeze the eggs before a woman attains the age of 36 years. By doing so, the stored eggs might still remain in sufficiently good quality for freezing and in all probability, can use them for future purposes. By getting them frozen at a relatively older age, for instance when you are in the 30s, there is a likelihood that one can make use of the frozen reserve and thus do not go through a procedure which is costly.
2. Eggs Can Be Stored Only For Ten Years. In UK, there is a regulation which only permits women to freeze their eggs, once they have remained frozen for ten years. So, for that reason, women may not look to get their eggs freezed when they are in their 20s. Extension can be obtained until the period of storage, hence allowing the eggs to stay frozen till 55 years but only after meeting a condition. Women need to demonstrate that they have become infertile in a premature manner.
3. There Is Possibility Of Losing Eggs Along The Way: The higher the number of eggs you freeze, there is a high possibility of having live birth in the future, till the time eggs are of good quality. Latest data shows that in order to have 75% chance of having one live birth, a woman of 34 years will need to freeze ten eggs, similarly at 37 years, she would require to freeze 20 eggs. In the process of egg freezing, eggs are lost. Some of the eggs may not freeze appropriately, may not even fertilise or not even reach blastocyst stage. 
4. Women Might Require To Undergo This Procedure A Number of Times: The amount of eggs collected at the time of one cycle of stimulation and retrieval largely depends on the age of the woman at the time of going through the process, the remaining ovarian reserve of her and the way she responds to stimulation. So, some women can go on to produce 15 eggs for storage only after one round of treatment, while others may require to undergo several rounds of stimulation and retrieval to get hold of and freeze the similar number of eggs.