Freezing one's eggs is becoming very popular among women who don't want to risk their fertility or let age be a barrier. With the advancement of science and technology, it is now easy for a woman to retrieve her eggs when she is still at her fertile best and use them later. That brings us to the most pressing question—is egg freezing expensive?
Freezing one's eggs is a fertility reservation technique that collects and freezes a woman's eggs for future use. She can use these even after many years and become pregnant. This procedure is known as egg-banking or oocyte cryopreservation.
Many women want to have children at a later age for various reasons. However, a woman's fertility starts declining once she enters her 30s. While it is still possible to conceive naturally without any trouble, the risks increase with her age. Women can extract their eggs in their most fertile period to overcome this hurdle and use them even after 40. Egg freezing is also an excellent option for women undergoing medical treatments that can affect their fertility.
Let's address the main concern here – how much does it cost? It is a general opinion that fertility treatments and medical options like these are expensive and not feasible for many. Is that true?
Freezing your eggs can cost anywhere between a lakh and 2 in 2024. This cost can vary from one fertility clinic to another, but there won't be a drastic price difference. This cost will include everything for harvesting and storing the eggs.
After a full check-up, your doctor will put you on hormone injections to stimulate your ovaries. This will help release more mature eggs in that particular cycle. They will track your cycle and the eggs through ultrasounds and blood tests. After maturation, they will harvest the egg using an ultrasound-guided surgical procedure. The embryologist will then check the extracted eggs to see if they are mature and freeze them until you want to use them.
Egg preservation can be expensive for some. The following factors contribute to the cost of this procedure:
● Medications
● Consultations
● Anaesthesia
● Ultrasounds
● Egg retrieval procedure / No of cycles
● Cryopreservation
● Annual storage fees
● Long-term storage plans
Today, many fertility centers offer egg preservation at competitive rates. However, the overall cost is within the same limits as it involves many scans and tests, doctor appointments, and the main procedure.
The main differences in cost can be the number of IVF cycles and the duration of the preservation. If you can't produce the required number of eggs in one cycle (the requirement changes with age), you will need multiple rounds of IVF, increasing the cost considerably. The longer you wait to preserve your eggs, the more it will cost. You can check with the clinic for long-term plans and deals.
Are you wondering if you need to pay so much for freezing eggs that your body releases every month for free? Can't you leave it to nature? Unfortunately, not all women can let nature take its course. Here are some points to consider if you are not too sure about preserving your eggs:
● You don't have to worry about the ticking biological clock. In recent times, a woman's fertile age has decreased, making it difficult even for women in their 30s to conceive naturally.
● If you have health issues, you need not worry about the medication's impact on your fertility.
● You can use your eggs with your partner's sperm or donor sperm and carry your baby in your womb or for surrogacy.
● If you want to postpone pregnancy, you need not worry about the quality of your eggs deteriorating due to age.
● You can always donate them to a deserving couple if you don't use them.
Yes, despite all the above-mentioned advantages, freezing your eggs can have the following disadvantages, too:
● It can be pretty expensive, especially if you have to undergo multiple cycles of freezing and choose to freeze them for the long term
● The entire process of stimulation and retrieval through surgery can be uncomfortable
● Ovarian stimulation pumps your body with hormones that can take some time to settle
● A successful pregnancy is not guaranteed as it depends on more factors than just viable eggs.
Freezing one's eggs can be an expensive affair, but it provides mental peace from fertility worries. It helps you beat age and time, and overcoming nature's cycle will cost you money. It is a one-time investment that can remove your fear for many years.
For women with no fertility issues, one cycle of egg harvesting can help retrieve about 10 to 20 eggs after ovarian stimulation. The cost of freezing eggs depends on the number of IVF cycles to attain the recommended number of viable eggs.
● Many fertility centres offer egg-freezing facilities today. Talk to your gynaecologist and identify the best clinic around you for egg preservation.
● Women reach menopause after crossing 40 years of age. After 40, your egg reserve and health deteriorate. Though one can still harvest and preserve eggs at this age, you may not get as many eggs per cycle as you did in your 30s.
● Yes. Egg harvesting and freezing do not interfere with the normal menstruation cycle.
● This varies according to the woman's age. For women under 35, freezing 20 eggs will suffice; for women over 40, freezing a minimum of 30 eggs is recommended.
● The entire process of stimulating the ovaries and harvesting the eggs can cause discomfort that may take some time to settle.
● The success of egg freezing depends on multiple factors, including the age and health of the woman and the facility chosen.
