Egg Freezing: Procedure, Costs, and Benefits

Quick Highlights

• Egg freezing has emerged as a revolutionary technique offering individuals the flexibility to preserve their fertility. 
• Oocyte cryopreservation, or egg freezing as it is technically termed, is a fertility preservation method that enables people to freeze their eggs for future use. 
• The procedure is extracting the eggs from the mother, freezing them, and preserving them in a storage for a long time. 
• By offering flexibility in family planning and addressing concerns about age-related fertility decline, this strategy helps to protect a woman’s fertility. 
• For individuals who are thinking about this option, it is important to understand how egg freezing works. 

In this article, we will cover all the necessary details related to the egg freezing process, its benefits and what to expect from the procedure.

Egg Freezing Process with Timeline

Egg freezing is an advanced procedure which is solely based on your choice and preference. In the below-mentioned table let’s examine the egg-freezing process step by step and in detail:

Egg Freezing Process Cost

In India, the price of the egg-freezing process could be anything between ₹1,17,000 and ₹1,82,000 INR. The method utilised for the egg-freezing process, the clinic’s location, reputation, and extra services rendered during the process are only a few of the variables that affect the ultimate egg-freezing prices.  This estimate usually accounts for the first year of storage, first consultations, medications, monitoring, and egg retrieval.

What to Prepare for the Egg Freezing Process?

Several crucial procedures must be taken to prepare for the egg freezing process:

• Consultation: To discuss your objectives, evaluate your fertility, and gain an understanding of the egg freezing procedure, make an appointment for an initial consultation with a fertility specialist.
• Health Assessment: Have a thorough examination of your health, which should include hormone testing and an ultrasound to determine your ovarian reserve.
• Talk About Medications: Recognise the drugs used in ovarian stimulation. Talk about any possible adverse effects and make sure you understand the prescription regimen.
• Lifestyle Decisions: Lead a healthy lifestyle by controlling stress, eating a balanced diet, and exercising frequently. These elements may have a favourable effect on the procedure’s outcome.
• Recovery Schedule: After the egg retrieval operation, schedule a brief period of time for recovery. This can entail scheduling a day off from work and making plans for a companion to take you home in the event that you will be sedated or anaesthetized.
• Financial Planning: Recognise the expenses related to the freezing of eggs, such as drugs, treatments, and storage charges. Verify whether any parts of the procedure are covered by insurance.
• Emotional Support: Seek guidance or assistance from friends, family or a therapist to deal with any worries or fears.
• Logistics: Plan the visit schedule in conjunction with the fertility clinic, particularly for the ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval phases.
• Observe the pre-procedure instructions: Follow any pre-procedure instructions given by the reproductive clinic; for example, refrain from eating or drinking before the egg retrieval process.
• Ask questions: Never be afraid to speak candidly and ask questions of your healthcare staff. Your confidence and preparedness will increase if you comprehend every step of the process.

Benefits of the Egg Freezing Process

Some benefits of the egg-freezing process are:

• Fertility Preservation: Egg freezing gives people the flexibility to plan their family and the chance to have biological children at a later age by preserving their fertility.
• Goals for Career and Education: It gives women the flexibility to pursue their goals for their careers or educations without affecting their ability to conceive in the future, giving them autonomy over when to start a family.
• Medical therapies: Patients receiving chemotherapy or other therapies that may affect fertility can benefit from egg freezing. Egg preservation in advance facilitates family planning in the future.
• Reducing Age-Related Decline: When people decide to use their frozen eggs, they can reduce the effects of age-related decline in fertility by storing their eggs at a younger age. This will increase the likelihood of a successful pregnancy.
• Emotional Peace of Mind: Freezing eggs can ease the stress brought on by age-related reproductive issues and give future parents peace of mind if they intend to start a baby.

Associated Risks & Side Effects of Egg Freezing Process

Egg freezing is a safe procedure. A  few rare and temporary side effects that can be experienced by some individuals are:

• Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS): Mild bloating or discomfort due to hormonal stimulation.
• Procedure Risks: Minimal risks associated with egg retrieval, such as infection or bleeding.

Modern techniques have minimised these risks, making egg freezing a low-risk option for fertility preservation.

Who Should Consider the Egg Freezing Process?

• Career-Driven individuals: Those who want to put off having children yet are committed to their careers.
• Individuals who are planning for medical treatment: People undergoing medical procedures that could affect their ability to conceive.
• Single women: Women who choose to preserve their fertility before dating or having children are referred to as single women.
• Women Over 35: Those who are thinking ahead to starting a family and who are worried about the age-related loss in fertility.
• Flexibility in Family Planning: People who want flexibility in family planning decisions and reproductive autonomy.

Chances of Live Birth Using Frozen Eggs

The efficiency of the frozen eggs used for conception is determined by the age when the eggs were frozen. The fertility and the number of eggs produced reduce as the age increases thus freezing eggs will yield better results at a young age.

Women Under 35

• Success Rate: Freezing 15 mature eggs provides a cumulative 80% chance of at least one live birth.
• Why It’s Ideal:
  • Eggs are of optimal quality, with fewer chromosomal abnormalities.
  • Fewer eggs are required to achieve a high probability of success compared to older age groups.
• Recommendation: Women considering egg freezing for any reason should freeze their eggs before 35 for the best results.

Women Aged 35 to 40

• Success Rate: Freezing 20 to 30 mature eggs provides a cumulative 75-80% chance of at least one live birth.
• Considerations:
  • While egg quality starts to decline, the success rates remain relatively high if enough eggs are frozen.
  • Slightly more eggs need to be retrieved to compensate for age-related quality decline.
• Recommendation: Women in this age group can still achieve high success rates especially if they undergo multiple cycles to retrieve the recommended number of eggs.

Women Aged 40 and above

• Success Rate: Freezing 30 mature eggs provides a cumulative 50% chance of at least one live birth.
• Challenges:
  • Egg quality and ovarian reserve decline sharply, reducing success rates.
  • More eggs and cycles may be required making the process more intensive.
• Recommendation: Although egg freezing is possible, the women in this age group should consider other possibilities like donor eggs to achieve higher chances of conception.

Key Insights

• Higher Egg Quality at Younger Age: Women freezing their eggs before 35 require fewer eggs to achieve higher rates of success than the older age groups.
• Increasing Egg Numbers Offsets Declining Quality: With age, the process of retrieval and freezing more eggs becomes important for maintaining live birth rates.
• Technology Like Vitrification Improves Outcomes: Technological improvement in egg freezing like vitrification has increased the chances of survival rates of the frozen eggs regardless of the age of the woman.

Is Egg Freezing Covered by Insurance?

While egg freezing is usually not completely covered by insurance in India, some international plans include it under fertility preservation for Cancer. In India, patients generally bear the costs themselves, but it’s worth exploring specific insurance policies or employer benefits for fertility treatments.

What Is the Ideal Age to Freeze Eggs?

• Best Age to Freeze Eggs: The best age is before the age of 35 years since the egg reserve and quality begin to decline at an older age.
• Freezing Eggs at 35: It still maintains good success rates, although there might be a small decrease in comparison to younger ages.
• Freezing Eggs at 40 and Beyond: Once you cross 40, egg quality decreases significantly reducing the likelihood of live births. Women freezing eggs at this age should also consider other options such as donor eggs for better chances. 

How Long Can Eggs Be Stored?

Eggs can be stored indefinitely without degrading in quality, thanks to advanced freezing techniques like vitrification. No matter how long you preserve, eggs remain viable as long as they are properly stored in a regulated facility.

Factors Affecting the Cost of Egg Freezing in India

How to Utilise Frozen Eggs for Conception

Frozen eggs are viable for conception based on a series of medical procedures that are planned and closely coordinated. This is explained below:

1. Thawing the Frozen Eggs

• Frozen eggs are taken from the storage and thawed using techniques of Cryopreservation such as vitrification. The process of warming the eggs to a temperature at which they can be considered viable is known as thawing.
• This process requires precise temperature control  to avoid destruction of the cells and to ensure their proper functioning
• Eggs are highly sensitive and proper thawing technique retains their viability for fertilisation.

2. Fertilisation Using In-Vitro fertilisation (IVF)

• The thawed eggs are fertilised with sperm in a laboratory setting. The process is known as IVF.
• This is typically done using a technique called Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), where a single sperm is directly injected into each egg to maximise fertilisation chances.
• ICSI is particularly effective for frozen eggs as freezing can sometimes slightly harden the egg’s outer shell (zona pellucida) making traditional fertilisation more challenging.
• Fertilisation results in the creation of embryos which are monitored for development over several days.

3. Embryo Transfer to the Uterus

• After fertilisation, one or more embryos are carefully selected and Frozen Embryo transferred to the woman’s uterus.
• This is done through a minimally invasive procedure using a thin catheter.
• Any remaining high-quality embryos can be frozen for future use.
• Proper timing and a healthy uterine environment are critical for successful implantation.
• Hormonal support may be provided to prepare the uterine lining for implantation.

Monitoring Post- Embryo Transfer

This is done to determine whether the implantation and early development of pregnancy have occurred. A pregnancy test is generally conducted about 10–14 days after the transfer to confirm pregnancy.

Ask Questions To A Fertility Specialist

A few questions you can ask a fertility specialist regarding the egg-freezing process:

• How long does the egg freezing process take?
• Is it painful to freeze eggs?
• How does egg freezing work?
• What is the cost of the egg freezing process?
• What is the optimal age for considering the egg freezing process?
• What medications will be involved, and what are the potential side effects?
• What are the clinic’s success rates with egg freezing, especially for individuals in my age group?
• How can risks and side effects be managed?

Conclusion

Egg freezing is a revolutionary technique for fertility preservation. It gives control to women in order to choose future pregnancies according to their choices and growth. This article gives you a brief idea about the egg freezing process, what you can expect and the advantages of the procedure. If you are looking for options regarding fertility preservation and need more clarity, talk to our expert. At Birla Fertility & IVF, you get a free consultation with a fertility expert. To book one, you can either give a call at the mentioned number or you can fill out the form given on the website with the required details.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• What is the ideal age range for considering the egg freezing process, and why is timing crucial in the process?

Generally, people should think about freezing their eggs when they are between the ages of 25 and 35. Egg quality tends to deteriorate with age, therefore timing is important because freezing them early increases their viability for later use.

• Are there any lifestyle factors or medical conditions that may impact the success of the egg freezing process?

Egg freezing method success might be affected by lifestyle variables like smoking and certain medical problems like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). You and your fertility expert must talk about your personal medical history.

• Can you explain the cost structure of egg freezing, including potential additional fees beyond the initial procedure?

Although the price of egg freezing process varies, it usually covers the retrieval process, prescription drugs, and first consultations (at Birla Fertility & IVF you get free consultation). If you want to use the frozen eggs, you may incur additional expenditures for fertilisation and thawing as well as storage. Getting a detailed breakdown from your clinic is crucial.

• What are the key steps involved in the egg freezing process, and how long does it typically take from start to finish?

Three steps are involved in the egg freezing process: cryopreservation, egg retrieval, and ovarian stimulation. The process of retrieving the eggs takes 20 to 30 minutes after ovarian stimulation, which takes about 10 to 12 days. It takes two to three weeks for the complete process, from the beginning of stimulation to the freezing of the eggs.

• When should I freeze my eggs?

Egg quality is said to deteriorate exponentially after a woman reaches a certain age (generally over the age of 35). In cases of advanced maternal age, apart from difficulty in natural conception, there is also a higher risk of the baby being born with congenital defects such as Down Syndrome. Women are advised to explore the option of egg freezing in their 20s or early 30s.

• How long will it take to freeze my eggs?

The whole cycle will take around 15 days and consists of a course of approximately 15 injections (the exact number may vary based on your ovarian reserve and response to the fertility medication.

• How are eggs frozen?

The vitrification process involves dehydrating harvested eggs and replacing the fluid inside the egg with a special antifreeze agent or cryoprotectant to prevent the formation of ice crystals within the egg during the freezing process. Liquid nitrogen (-196°C) is used to flash freeze the egg. At this temperature, all metabolic activity is stopped, and the egg can be stored indefinitely in this suspended animation state.

• Should I get my eggs frozen if I have ovarian cancer or breast cancer?

Egg freezing is recommended for women who need to undergo cancer treatments. It is also helpful in situations where there is a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer or breast cancer especially if there is a family history of the same, considering egg freezing is recommended.

• How long can I freeze my eggs?

For social egg freezing, guidelines state that maximum time for storage of frozen eggs is 10 years. For cancer fertility preservation, the stipulated duration is extended till use.

• Will ovarian tissue freezing cause delay in my cancer treatment?

The process of harvesting and transplanting ovarian cortex is done in conjunction with the patient’s cancer treatment. It is suitable when there are time constraints because of the cancer treatment which makes conventional egg or embryo freezing unviable. Frozen ovarian tissue can be thawed and grafted back into the pelvis after completing chemotherapy.