Egg freezing: Everything you need to know about the process

• Author: Dr. Arik Kahana
• Published date: 04 October 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

In fact, only about 10 years ago, a law was passed that allows the preservation of fertility for non-medical reasons for women between the ages of 30 and 41. Why is it actually recommended to perform fertility preservation in one's early 30s, what does the process include and what are its chances of success?

The important thing to remember is that the average chance of getting pregnant and giving birth by age 37 is about 30%, beyond the age of 40, the chance is only around 10%, and beyond the age of 42 it's down to single digits.

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The older the eggs, the much lower the chance of getting pregnant, and there's also an increase in cases of miscarriages and chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus due to an older egg. Or in simple words: The decision to preserve eggs for women can be significant for them and increases the chance of having a healthy baby at a later age.

Why should women freeze eggs?

The reasons for preserving fertility are divided into two main reasons. The first is a medical cause, mainly due to cancers that require combined treatment of chemotherapy, radiation or surgery in the pelvic area, which may cause cessation of ovarian activity and ovulation. In these cases a fertility preservation procedure should be performed as soon as possible by freezing eggs or even sections of ovarian tissue for future use.

It's important to note that in recent years it's been possible to preserve fertility for medical reasons, funded by government-run health clinics, for women at risk of a rapid and significant decrease in ovarian egg reserves depending on the medical history or test results which assess the quality of the ovarian follicles.

The second reason is the preservation of social fertility. In this option, the intention is to freeze fertilized (fetal) or unfertilized eggs from a healthy woman who currently isn't planning a pregnancy. Indeed, in recent years women have tended to postpone family planning for a later period in their lives, mainly in order to achieve self-fulfillment in terms of studies, career, travel and financial independence.

Which procedure is used to perform fertility preservation?

Since only one egg is naturally ovulated each month, in the preservation process the goal is to freeze as many eggs as possible in order to increase the chance that pregnancy will occur at the appropriate time. For this...