Healtius

Egg Freezing

Create a request

Egg freezing, also known as mature oocyte cryopreservation, is a medical procedure used to preserve a woman's fertility, allowing her to have children at a later date. Through this process, a woman's eggs are extracted, frozen, and stored. The procedure is an option for women who aren't ready to conceive but wish to ensure they can have children in the future.

Egg Freezing

General

The procedure begins with hormone treatments that stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple eggs. Once the eggs are mature, they are extracted from the ovaries using a needle guided by ultrasound, under sedation or anesthesia. After extraction, the eggs are quickly frozen to stop all biological activity and preserve them for future use. A woman can decide when she wants to use her eggs, at which point they are thawed, fertilized with sperm in a laboratory (through a procedure known as in vitro fertilization or IVF), and implanted in the woman's uterus. Egg freezing is a boon for women wanting to delay childbearing or those undergoing medical treatments that might affect their fertility. However, it is a complex process that involves careful consideration, thorough screening, and counseling about the potential risks and outcomes. The success rates of pregnancy using frozen eggs vary based on the woman's age at the time of egg freezing, the number of eggs frozen, and other health factors.

Special Details

Who is it for?

  • Women who are considering delaying childbearing to focus on career or other personal reasons.
  • Individuals undergoing treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy that might impair fertility.
  • Women with a family history of early menopause wishing to preserve their fertility options.
  • Couples at risk of passing genetic disorders to offspring, opting for embryo screening before pregnancy.

Recovery Period

  • Recovery from the egg retrieval procedure typically takes a day or two, with most women resuming normal activities within a week.

Potential Risks and Side Effects

  • Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), a reaction to excess hormones.
  • Bleeding, infection, or damage to the bowels or bladder from the needle used in egg retrieval.
  • Emotional or psychological distress due to hormonal changes or the procedure's outcome.
  • Limited success rates, especially as maternal age increases at the time of egg thawing and use.

Alternative Treatments

  • Embryo freezing, which involves fertilizing the eggs before freezing.
  • Ovarian tissue freezing, a more experimental procedure where ovarian tissue is frozen and reimplanted later.
  • Use of donor eggs or embryos.

Success Rate

The success rates of pregnancies using frozen eggs can vary widely but generally decrease with maternal age. Women under 35 see higher success rates, typically around 30-40% chance of birth per egg thawed, compared to lower rates in older women.

Procedure step-by-step overivew

  • Initial consultation and fertility assessment.
  • Undergo hormonal therapy to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple eggs.
  • Monitor the development of the eggs through ultrasound and blood tests.
  • Retrieve the eggs from the ovaries under sedation using a needle guided by ultrasound.
  • Immediately freeze the retrieved eggs through vitrification.
  • Store the frozen eggs until the woman is ready to use them.
  • Thaw the eggs, fertilize them with sperm, and implant the resulting embryos into the woman's uterus.

Prices

Why Do Prices Vary?

  • The cost of hormonal medications required to stimulate egg production.
  • Fees for the egg retrieval procedure, including anesthesia.
  • Costs associated with egg freezing and storage.
  • Potential future costs for egg thawing, in vitro fertilization (IVF), and embryo transfer.
  • Turkey
    • $2,500 - $4,000
  • Czech Republic
    • $1,800 - $2,500
  • Croatia
    • $2,000 - $3,000
  • Lithuania
    • $2,100 - $2,900
  • Poland
    • $2,000 - $2,800
  • Germany
    • $3,500 - $5,000
  • Switzerland
    • $6,000 - $7,500
  • France
    • $3,000 - $4,500
  • United Kingdom
    • $3,500 - $5,000
  • United States
    • $6,000 - $15,000
  • Canada
    • $5,000 - $7,000
  • Australia
    • $4,000 - $6,000