Preserve Your
Fertility
Elective
Egg
Freezing
Will conception be possible
when you’re ready to start a family?
Many women hold the dream of becoming a mother and starting a family. For most, the question is not
if they will have a child, but rather when. Thankfully, this dream is realized naturally for most. For other women,
however, life’s circumstances, such as a current focus on their professional career, family obligations or a medical
condition, may delay starting a family.
A woman’s fertility is largely dependent on the quality of her
eggs. A woman’s egg quality decreases over time. Certain
medical conditions, such as premature menopause, accelerate
the aging of eggs while other conditions, such as cancer,
require treatments that often have an adverse effect on fertility.
The fact is, diminished egg quality significantly impacts a
woman’s ability to become pregnant.
Elective egg freezing, sometimes referred to as fertility
preservation or oocyte (egg) preservation, enables you to
freeze and store more “youthful” eggs so you can choose to
have a baby on your timeline. When a woman uses her frozen eggs in the future, even if a number of years have
passed, both the pregnancy rates and the incidence of miscarriage and genetic abnormalities will be based on the
age of the woman when the eggs were frozen, not her age when she uses the eggs.
You can pause your biological clock !
Elective egg freezing, sometimes referred to as fertility preservation or oocyte (egg) preservation, enables you to
freeze and store more “youthful” eggs so you can choose to have a baby on your timeline. When a woman uses
her frozen eggs in the future, even if a number of years have passed, both the pregnancy rates and the incidence
of miscarriage and genetic abnormalities will be based on the age of the woman when her eggs were frozen, not
her age when she uses the eggs.
Egg freezing is intended to pause the biological clock. Female fertility begins declining in the early 30s, and by the
mid-30s with significant decline in pregnancy potential for women in their 40s.
Call 800.858.4832 to learn if you are
a good candidate for egg freezing.
IVFNE.com
Women over 35 also have an increased risk of miscarriage and/or genetic abnormalities in their children as a result
of age-dependent changes in egg quality.
Thanks to exciting advances in cryopreservation technology, freezing a woman’s eggs today may preserve her
fertility potential in the future when the circumstances and timing are right for her.
Frequently Asked Questions About Elective Egg Freezing
Why Choose IVF New England for egg freezing?
Fertility experts at IVF New England (IVFNE) are on the
forefront of technological advances in infertility. IVFNE is
a recognized national leader in egg freezing through its
involvement in MyEggBank®, an internationally known
repository for egg donation. This experience has led to
successful freezing and outstanding egg thaw survival rates,
which maximize a woman’s chances for a successful
pregnancy in the future.
How do I know if egg freezing is right for me?
The process begins with a consultation with and IVFNE
fertility expert, followed by diagnostic testing to determine if
you are a good candidate for egg freezing. When test
results are complete, a follow-up appointment is scheduled
to create an individualized treatment plan for you.
What is involved in the egg freezing process?
Treatment begins with an appointment to review your
stimulation protocol. Typically, oral contraceptive pills are
prescribed for about 3 weeks to help prepare the ovaries for
hormonal stimulation. You are then prescribed injectable
medication to stimulate your ovaries to produce a mature
group of eggs. Over a two week period, you will have
approximately 4 to 6 appointments for ultrasound and lab
work. After your monitoring is complete, your egg retrieval
procedure will be scheduled, at which time sedation will be
administered to retrieve your eggs. The eggs will then be
cryopreserved in IVF New England’s lab and stored in our
Lexington facility until you are ready to use them.
Who can benefit from egg freezing?
Choices for female fertility preservation now include egg and
embryo cryopreservation. Egg freezing is generally
recommended for single or married women not ready to start
a family and wish to preserve eggs until a more appropriate
time, women with a medical condition or other life circumstances that necessitate delaying plans to start a family, and
married couples who have infertility requiring in vitro fertilization who have ethical or religious concerns about creating
multiple embryos. Embryo cryopreservation is recommended for couples who wish to create embryos using their
sperm and eggs for later use.
What is the optimal age for egg freezing?
Egg freezing is most successful in women aged 25 – 35.
However, depending on the results of initial evaluation and
medical history, it may be appropriate to freeze eggs up to
age 40. The younger you are when you freeze your eggs,
the more likely these eggs will later result in pregnancy.
Having eggs that have been cryopreserved does not
guarantee that you will be successful in achieving
pregnancy,however.
How many eggs can I expect to freeze?
It is recommended to freeze 10 to 20 eggs. Since every egg
will not result in pregnancy, multiple attempts may be
needed. For each attempt at pregnancy several eggs are
thawed and inseminated to develop as many high quality
embryos for transfer as possible. With 15 to 20
cryopreserved eggs, multiple attempts may be possible.
For how long can eggs safely be frozen?
Eggs can be stored for as little as a few months to as long as
many years, without impacting egg survival rates. Eggs are
placed in vials and stored in tanks of liquid nitrogen.
What are the reasons a woman would NOT be a good
candidate for egg freezing?
Clearly you must be healthy and within your reproductive
years. You need to have sufficient ovarian reserve, a key
indicator of the available pool of eggs. Since egg quality
deteriorates as you age, the likelihood of a successful
pregnancy using cryopreserved eggs obtained in your late
30s and early 40s is significantly less than if that same
individual was in her 20s or early 30s.
How much does egg freezing cost?
Egg freezing is an investment in your future fertility.
The cost for this procedure is approximately $6,000
including the first 3 months of cryopreservation storage.
This fee does not include required diagnostic testing,
fertility medications or additional years of cryopreservation.
There will be additional costs when you are ready to thaw
your eggs in an attempt to conceive. Some of the diagnostic
work-up may be covered by your insurance carrier. Please
contact one of our financial counselors for more information
on your fertility benefits and financing options.
Meet our Fer tility Experts
Samuel Pang, MD
Medical Director
Kristen Wright, MD
Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist
MD: University of Vermont College of Medicine
Ob/Gyn Residency: Alpert Medical School at Brown
University Women and Infants Hospital
REI Fellowship: University of Vermont College of Medicine
MD: University of British Columbia
Ob/Gyn Residency: University of Toronto
REI Fellowship: UCLA School of Medicine
Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist
Isaac Glatstein, MD
Associate Medical Director
Samuel Pauli, MD
Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist
MD: Columbia University College of
Physicians and Surgeons
Ob/Gyn Residency: Yale New Haven Medical Center
REI Fellowship: Emory University School of Medicine
MD: New York University School of Medicine
Ob/Gyn Residency: Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
REI Fellowship: Harvard, Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Carla DiGirolamo, MD
Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist
Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist
Kerri Luzzo, MD
MD: Wake Forest University School of Medicine
PhD Molecular Biology: MCP-Hahnemann Univ.
Ob/Gyn Residency: Alpert Medical School, Brown
University, Women and Infants Hospital
REI Fellowship: Massachusetts General Hospital
Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist
MD: Medical College Wisconsin
Ob/Gyn Residency: Tufts New England Medical Ctr.
REI Fellowship: Washington University School of Medicine