Egg Freezing

The best time to freeze your eggs is usually before age 35, when both egg quality and egg numbers are at their strongest.

Women are born with around 1-2 million eggs, but this naturally decreases over time, to 300,000-400,000 by puberty, and around 25,000 by age 37 (ASRM Practice Committee, Fertility & Sterility).

Freezing at an early age however, such as in your 20s, isn’t always necessary. Many women who freeze eggs young never need to use them and go on to conceive naturally. But freezing too late, particularly after 38, can reduce the chance of success because egg number and egg quality decrease with age (RACGP Elective Egg Freezing Review 2023).

Most fertility specialists consider 30-35 the ideal age range for egg freezing. It provides a good balance: strong quality eggs, higher egg collection numbers, and flexibility for women who may want to preserve fertility for future plans.

Egg freezing is also becoming more common. Latest data shows over 8,800 egg freezing cycles were carried out in Australia in 2023 - a 27.9% increase from the year before (Assisted Reproductive Technology in Australia and New Zealand Report 2023 NPESU, UNSW Sydney). A national survey also found that more than 60% of Australian women would consider egg freezing for personal or medical reasons (PubMed 2023).

Whatever your age now, the key thing to remember about egg freezing is that time matters. Freezing eggs before 35 generally offers the best chance of success, but the right timing depends on your health, your family plans and whether any medical treatment may affect future fertility.

The egg freezing process usually takes around 2-3 weeks from the start of medication to the day your eggs are collected. Most women continue their usual routines during treatment.

A typical egg freezing process involves:

Fertility assessment
You will have blood tests and an ultrasound to check your ovarian reserve and confirm egg freezing is suitable. Your Fertility Specialist uses this information to plan your egg freezing cycle and any medications.

10-12 days of ovarian stimulation
You will take daily hormone injections to help your ovaries produce multiple mature eggs. During this time, you need to attend your clinic for several short monitoring appointments to track follicle growth and adjust medication if required.

Trigger injection
When your follicles reach the right size, you’ll take a final injection to mature the eggs and prepare them for collection.

Egg collection (day procedure)
Egg collection is a procedure performed in a day surgery under sedation to retrieve mature eggs. Most women go home within a few hours and feel back to normal the next day. Your Fertility Specialist and clinic team will advise what to expect during the procedure and afterwards.

Egg freezing
Your collected mature eggs are frozen using vitrification - this is a fast-freeze technique that offers around 97% survival rates when eggs are thawed (ASRM Practice Committee). There is no biological time limit on how long eggs can be stored, but storage time is regulated differently in each state and territory, so your clinic may have a time limit and you may be required to re-give your consent for your eggs to remain frozen as time goes on.

When you decide to try for pregnancy in the future, your eggs are thawed, assessed and fertilised with sperm using a process called ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection), where a single sperm is injected into each egg. The best resulting embryo is transferred into your uterus in a simple, short procedure, while any remaining embryos are frozen for future use.

The good news is that frozen eggs are comparable to fresh eggs in IVF/ICSI treatment for women aged 35 and under (ASRM Practice Committee). However, your individual chance of pregnancy will depend on your age at the time your eggs were collected, the number of eggs retrieved, how many survive thawing, and whether they fertilise and develop for transfer.

Your Fertility Specialist will talk you through whether egg freezing is right for you and what to expect at each step.

The cost of egg freezing in Australia depends on whether you’re freezing your eggs for elective reasons, such as lifestyle or personal circumstances, or for medical reasons. 

Elective egg freezing is not covered by Medicare, so you will need to pay privately for the cycle fee, medications and storage. The egg freezing cycle fee is $4000 at Adora Fertility for initial cycles, and $3700 for subsequent cycles. If you’re freezing your eggs because a medical condition or treatment may affect your fertility, Medicare rebates may apply when the procedure is specialist-referred and clinically indicated. Your specialist will confirm if you are eligible.

Out-of-pocket costs typically apply to day surgery fees and anaesthetist fees. Typical costs of these are $400-600 anaesthetist fee, and $1000-1050 day surgery fee, depending on location. You will also need to pay for medications, which will depend on your cycle protocol, but can be approximately $1500 for elective egg freezing cycles (Adora Fertility). 

Costs vary between clinics, but you should be given a clear estimate before you begin so you know what to expect. Private health insurance usually doesn’t cover elective egg freezing, though some policies may contribute to day-hospital fees depending on your level of cover, so it’s worth checking with your fund directly.

Your Fertility Specialist can explain the likely costs for your situation, including any Medicare eligibility and ongoing storage fees.

Modern freezing techniques have greatly improved success rates using frozen eggs. Frozen eggs are now comparable to fresh eggs in IVF/ICSI treatment for women aged 35 and under (ASRM Practice Committee), and today’s vitrification methods achieve around 97% egg survival rates after thawing (ASRM).

However, success depends on a combination of several factors:

• Your age at the time your eggs were collected for freezing (egg quality and fertility naturally reduce as you get older)
• The number of eggs collected and frozen
• How many eggs survive thawing and fertilise
• Whether embryos develop to transfer stage and implant.

Younger women tend to need fewer frozen eggs to achieve a similar chance of pregnancy than women who freeze their eggs later, because fertility generally begins to decline after 35. Whatever age you are now, it’s important to remember that for egg freezing, time does matter. Statistically, the best time to freeze eggs, for the best chance of pregnancy in future, is before age 35.

Your Fertility Specialist can explain what these factors mean for you and estimate your likely chance of success based on your age, ovarian reserve and the number of eggs they expect to retrieve.

There’s no single ‘right’ number of eggs to freeze for a good chance of pregnancy, because every woman’s fertility and future plans are different. However, the number of eggs you store does have a big influence on your chance of pregnancy in future.

Research from the Australian Journal of General Practice provides helpful estimates for women with a normal ovarian reserve, which show that older women need more frozen eggs than younger women to have a similar chance of a successful pregnancy:

• A 32-year-old woman freezing 5 eggs has a 55% chance of a live birth
• A 32-year-old woman freezing 15 eggs has a 91% chance
• A 38-year-old woman freezing 5 eggs has a 26% chance
• A 38-year-old woman freezing 15 eggs has a 59% chance

Your Fertility Specialist will estimate how many eggs you’re likely to retrieve per cycle based on your age and ovarian reserve. An average number is usually around six to eight eggs, although this differs from person to person. For maximum chance of pregnancy, depending on your age, multiple egg freezing cycles may be advised so enough eggs can be stored. 

Egg freezing is generally very safe, and most women recover quickly after treatment. As with any fertility procedure, there are some risks to be aware of, but serious complications are uncommon.

Some women may be more likely to develop a rare side effect called Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS), where the ovaries overrespond to fertility medication. OHSS can happen anytime the ovaries are stimulated, not just for egg freezing but also for common fertility treatments such as IVF. However, careful monitoring during your egg freezing cycle and modern fertility drug protocols means the risk of OHSS can be reduced to almost zero.

The egg collection procedure itself is also considered low risk, similar to any minor surgical procedure, with a complication rate of around 1 in 1000. Afterwards, it’s normal to experience some cramping, spotting or bloating for a short time.

It’s also important to manage expectations. Egg freezing does not guarantee a baby in the future - it gives you the opportunity to try for a baby later on. Not all eggs retrieved will be mature, not all eggs survive the freeze–thaw process, and some may not fertilise or develop into embryos.

Egg freezing also isn’t suitable for everyone - age is a critical factor. A fertility assessment will help determine how likely it is that egg freezing will be successful for you, and whether you may need more than one cycle to freeze enough eggs.

Your Fertility Specialist will explain the risks and considerations for your individual situation, so you have a clear picture of what to expect before starting treatment.

There is no set time limit for how long eggs can remain frozen. Modern egg freezing (vitrification) methods mean eggs can stay frozen for many years without affecting their quality, and studies show that the length of time eggs are frozen does not affect their ability to survive the freeze/thaw process or be used for fertilisation in fertility treatment.

However, in Australia, the length of time clinics are allowed to store eggs varies under state and territory legislation, which means that, depending on where your clinic is, you may have a maximum storage period, or your clinic may require you to renew consent for your eggs to remain frozen over time. Your clinic will let you know the specific rules that apply to your state and remind you when your consent needs updating.

Egg freezing is designed to give you more time and flexibility when planning a family, whether you plan to use your eggs in a few years or much later. When you’re ready to try for pregnancy, your eggs will be thawed and fertilised either with partner or donor sperm. The best resulting embryo is then transferred to your uterus for pregnancy. 

Your Fertility Specialist will explain whether egg freezing is right for you and guide you through every step.