New figures show that there’s been a dramatic rise in the number of UK women and people with wombs looking to freeze their eggs, according to a report from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HEFA).
The data shows that egg freezing and storage of eggs has increased from 2,576 cycles to 4,215 in 2021 — an overall rise of 64%.
Sarah Norcross, director of the Progress Educational Trust, shared: “The dramatic rise in the number of egg-freezing cycles could be linked to the pandemic.
“Restrictions on socialising may have prompted some women to think more about their fertile window, and decide to try to increase their reproductive choices.”
What is egg freezing?
Egg freezing is a way for people to preserve their fertility so they can try and have a family at a later date.
It involves collecting eggs and freezing them to thaw later when they want to start fertility treatment.
What happens when you get your eggs frozen?
The HFEA say that you’ll first need to be tested for any infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis.
This doesn’t affect whether you can freeze or not you can freeze your eggs, but will just dictate where your eggs can be stored.
Then the IVF process can begin. It usually takes around two to three weeks and will involve taking a course of drugs that boosts your egg production and helps your eggs to mature to the best possible state for ‘harvesting’.
When they’re ready, they’ll be collected while you’re under sedation.
If you were doing typical IVF, this is where the egg would be inseminated, but instead, the egg is frozen and stored in tanks of liquid nitrogen to maintain the quality.
Your age will affect how many eggs can be taken. If you’re under 38, normally around seven to 14 eggs can be collected.
How much does it cost?
According to the HFEA, the average cost of having your eggs collected and frozen is £3,350, with medication being an added £500-£1,500.
But you’ve also got storage costs on top of that, which tend to be between £125 and £350 per year.
On top of that, you have the cost of the thawing process and transferring viable fertilised eggs to the womb, which costs on average £2,500.
So, the whole process together can cost around £7,000-£8,000.
What is the success rate of egg freezing?
Data shows that, in 2016, only 18% of babies conceived from egg freezing resulted in a healthy birth, with the HFEA saying, “there’s some way to go before egg freezing can be seen as a common practice.”
They do say that a process known as ‘vitrification’ is actually more successful, which is a process that ‘fast freezes’ the egg, so this may be explored more with the higher demand.
In any case, egg freezing can buy us some extra time, and offers women a bit of security and peace of mind so we can get on with all the things we love doing before becoming a parent.