Elective Egg Freezing to Extend Your Fertility
New Techniques Can Increase the Chance of Pregnancy in Later Life
Oct 3, 2009
Cryopreservation (ovarian egg freezing) is a progressive procedure that enables women to freeze healthy eggs to preserve fertility until they are ready to try for a child. The treatment may be offered free on the NHS to cancer patients to preserve their ovaries prior to treatment, and as an elective service for financial, health or personal reasons.
Midland Fertility Services (MFS) is the only UK clinic to have achieved live births (one or more babies per birth) following cryopreservation. The UK’s first "ice baby" – Emily Perry, was born in May 2002. Worldwide there have been hundreds of live births because of the procedure and thanks to technological advances, it is becoming more successful. So, how does it work, who is it for, and how can you optimise your chances of a successful pregnancy later in life?
Who is Egg Freezing For?
Jill Anthony-Ackers, Communications Manager at MFS explains that the following groups may benefit:
- Women with endometriosis, ovarian cysts, or those who are concerned about premature ovarian failure or early menopause.
- Women who are about to start cancer treatment, which can damage the ovaries.
- Single women who would like to preserve healthy eggs now to maximise their chances of pregnancy later. The ideal time to freeze your eggs is in your 20s or early 30s. "Egg freezing after 37 is usually not recommended as both the quantity and number of a woman’s eggs decline rapidly around then," says Jill. "The age of a woman at the time of egg collection is the biggest determinant of a successful outcome to egg freezing, and any subsequent chance of pregnancy and live birth."
- Women who do not want to freeze embryos for religious or ethical reasons.
How the Process Works
At MFS elective egg freezing happens in three stages:
- The Ovarian Reserve Test assesses the age of your eggs and how you will respond to the fertility treatment. If the results are favourable, you can proceed to stage two.
- The Elective Egg Freezing Preparation Service. This includes test results, a treatment assessment, counselling and further advice on success rates and risks. You will also be given blood tests to rule out HIV, and Hepatitis B and C.
- The Egg Freezing Treatment. This includes daily injections or a nasal spray to down-regulate your menstrual cycle, followed by fertility drugs to stimulate egg production. Your eggs are collected under conscious sedation two to five weeks’ later. Once frozen, they are stored in liquid nitrogen for up to 10 years, until you are ready to try for pregnancy. Vitrification is a new process, which involves fast-freezing the eggs; it has increased egg survival rates from 65 – 95%.
"Many women don’t feel any sensation, others may feel some discomfort, but it is seldom painful," says Jill. "Progress to stages two and three is dependent on the results of stages one and two, and the clinicians’ and counsellor’s confirmation that a woman understands both the potential and limitations of egg freezing as a form of fertility preservation. The three stages will take around five months in total although emergency egg freezing for cancer patients can be completed in two to four weeks."
How Much Does it Cost?
For elective egg freezing the Ovarian Reserve Test costs £275, the Preparation Service £425, and the egg retrieval, freezing and one year’s storage, £2,600. Fertility drugs, ongoing storage and the thawing process/insemination costs extra.
Success Rates
MFS has frozen the eggs of 149 women since 2000. Around 40% of these have been young women diagnosed with cancer, and the remaining are "social" egg freezers and women who need IVF to conceive or who have opted to freeze eggs rather than embryos for ethical or religious reasons. The clinic has had three live births resulting in four babies. These were born to IVF patients rather than elective egg freezers. In September 2009, the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority (HFEA) confirmed that no other live births have been reported following cryopreservation treatment at other UK clinics.
Health Risks
Health risks include a reaction to the fertility drugs (similar symptoms to menopause or PMS), multiple births, and in rare cases, Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHS). This is when the ovaries produce too many eggs. Clinicians reduce the risk by administering low dose fertility drugs. Your progress will be carefully monitored to ensure any problems are dealt with as they occur.
The Ethical Viewpoint
Cryopreservation is a controversial technique and some fertility experts are concerned about the long-term health of "ice babies." It is thought that freezing eggs can damage DNA, and we do not know what the long-term effects on health may be.
Dr Gillian Lockwood, Medical Director at Midland Fertility Services says that we now have the technology to improve a woman’s chances of pregnancy in later life, and believes that women have a right to know about it. "I’d rather help a woman try to get pregnant using her own thawed eggs, which were collected and frozen in her early 30s than using her own fresh eggs when she’s 40+," she says. "Egg freezing is no guarantee of a baby or even a pregnancy but it does give women the hope of possible future genetic motherhood, which was not available even 10 years ago."
Elective egg freezing is a progressive treatment, which gives you a chance of pregnancy later in life. You may not use the eggs but it is reassuring to know they are there and if this helps to reduce the pressure to conceive before the age of 35, it may be worth considering. The technology is constantly developing and this means that in a few years’ time success rates may be comparable to that of fresh eggs.
Sources
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is an independent regulator overseeing the use of cells and embryos in fertility treatment and research. It has a clinic finder service.
"Fertility Report: Can You Really Buy Time on Your Biological Clock?" by Anna Magee, Marie Claire, Issue 254, October 2009, accessed 1st October 2009.
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