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Egg freezing is done for a variety of reasons, including fertility preservation after the diagnosis of cancer, as well as for social reasons. For information on egg freezing or sperm freezing before cancer treatments, please see our section on Cancer Fertility Preservation.
At our fertility clinics in Greater Vancouver, BC and Edmonton, AB, our approach to egg freezing and fertility preservation is where advanced technology and personalized care meet. Whether choosing egg freezing for medical reasons or personal ones, our team will be there to guide you with invaluable insights and answers to all your questions and concerns.
Click here to read Dr. Caitlin Dunne's article, "What I Wish I Knew About Egg Freezing".
Social egg freezing refers to the banking of eggs for the purpose of delaying childbearing. In 2013, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) removed the ‘experimental’ label from this technology, and since then its popularity has increased exponentially. Social egg freezing is important because women in our society are choosing to have children later in life. According to Statistics Canada, 2010 marked the first time in our history that more women in their 30s were having children than women in their 20s. In British Columbia, the percentage of live births to women ages 35 and older rose from 11% in 1991 to 23% in 2011.
In order to freeze their eggs, women must undergo a very similar process to an in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle. This involves injections of gonadotropin hormones for approximately 10 days to stimulate the development and maturation of multiple eggs at once. The eggs are then removed from the ovaries and checked under a microscope for maturity. Unfortunately, egg quality cannot be tested at this point but it can be inferred based on age. Mature eggs are then frozen (cryopreserved) using flash-freezing technology called vitrification. Eggs can be frozen for an indefinite amount of time without damage to the eggs. According to Canadian guidelines, women can use their frozen eggs to achieve a pregnancy up until age 50.
Here are some helpful articles about egg freezing by PCRM doctors that might be of interest to you:
British Columbia Medical Journal – Social egg freezing: A viable option for fertility preservation
Huffington Post – As a fertility doctor, here’s what I wish women knew about egg freezing
Refinery29 – What women need to know (but don’t) about fertility
Globe & Mail – Want to hire more women? Make your workplace fertility friendly
Reader’s Digest Best Health – Should you freeze your eggs?
Podcast: Inner Circle with Carrie Doll – Dr. Caitlin Dunne on Infertility & Egg freezing
Basenotes – Let’s talk about freezing your eggs
Females are born with between one to two million eggs, which decrease in both quality and quantity throughout life. The number and quality of eggs reduce significantly around the age of 35. As such, the ideal age to freeze eggs is between your late 20s to early 30s, although some women choose to wait until later in life to freeze their eggs and still have excellent results. Our doctors published a review of social egg freezing in the British Columbia Medical Journal.
Vitrification (a.k.a. flash freezing) is a cryopreservation technique that provides the ability to freeze eggs and embryos with a much higher degree of success than the ‘slow freezing’ method used in the past. In vitrification, the tissue undergoes a controlled plunge into liquid nitrogen within a protective solution, which safeguards the tissue’s structural integrity during freezing and thawing. The thawing process permits excellent cell recovery – in several trials, the survival rate of embryos is up to 15 times higher with vitrification versus older techniques. This superior method permits multiple new fertility treatments, such as high-performance egg freezing, embryo biopsy for genetic screening, and a myriad of other benefits.
For an outline of costs, please see our Fees section.
The total cost of egg freezing at PCRM, including medications, can range from $10,000 – 14,000. Our fees include the first year of storage. If you have extended medical insurance, you might want to check whether fertility medications and/or fertility treatment procedures are covered. Click here to view a list of Drug Identification Numbers (DINs).
The process of egg freezing is very similar to an IVF cycle. You will take hormone injections for approximately 8 – 12 days and have regular ultrasounds to check on the follicle growth. Be prepared to attend at least 3 – 5 visits. You will have 2 days’ notice before your egg retrieval. On the day of egg retrieval, you should take the day off work and ensure you have a ride home. You will be sedated for the egg retrieval procedure, which takes about 10 minutes and is minimally invasive. In total that day, you will be at our centre for 1 – 3 hours and you might feel sleepy, bloated, and/or have mild nausea that day.
Gentle activity such as walking is safe and encouraged, but you cannot do heavy exercise during your egg-freezing cycle. Because your ovaries will be enlarged, they are at risk for twisting (ovarian torsion) or trauma if you exercise. You can resume your normal exercise routine about 7 – 14 days after your egg retrieval when you get a period.
The most common side effects of ovarian stimulation are bloating and abdominal fullness or cramping. Some people experience mild headaches or nausea. The injections may cause pain or bruising at the injection site. Serious risks of this procedure are considered rare but can include infection, bleeding, as well as damage to the bladder, bowel, or internal blood vessels.
The egg retrieval procedure is minimally invasive. Under ultrasound guidance, a needle is passed through the top of the vagina into the ovaries, in order to suction out the follicular fluid containing the eggs.
No, egg freezing does not cause early menopause. Each month the ovaries produce several eggs. Normally, one of these eggs ovulates and the rest are reabsorbed into the body. That process repeats, month after month, regardless of whether a woman is on the birth control pill, pregnant, breastfeeding, etc. Therefore, when we remove eggs for freezing, we are removing eggs that would have been lost anyway, so the process does not ‘waste’ eggs or lead to earlier menopause.
Serving British Columbia, Alberta, and Western Canada, our team welcomes the opportunity to discuss possible treatment paths with you, including egg freezing. Rest assured that your experience with us will have a personal touch from beginning to end. Our fertility specialists are experts in fertility preservation and are committed to helping you achieve your family-building goals on your own timeline. Connect with us today to schedule an egg-freezing consultation.
