When it comes to choosing whether or not to freeze your eggs, there are a lot of things to weigh. Will I need to use them? Will egg freezing work? Can I afford it? Does the fertility center publish their outcome data?
Ultimately, what each woman has to decide: is egg freezing worth it?
Weighing the cost of egg freezing isn’t just about comparing different centers’ egg freezing programs and outcome data but assessing whether you are able to make a fairly significant investment into protecting your future fertility potential.
Bills, Bills, Bills
The Washington Post reporter Nicole Ellis, who is considering freezing, views the decision to freeze her eggs through this lens: with all of her current expenses, her desire to buy a home, and her desire to maintain a comfortable lifestyle, can she afford to freeze her eggs?
Ellis found that the cost of egg freezing can vary significantly depending on:
- How many eggs you plan to freeze
- How many treatment cycles it may take to get the desired number of eggs
- The cost of medication
- The fertility center and any package pricing they may offer
Step 1: How many eggs do I need to freeze?
The number of eggs to freeze is largely dependent on a woman’s age at the time of freeze. SGF physicians typically recommend women 37 years or younger freeze 20 eggs, and women 38 years and older freeze 30 eggs.
Step 2: How many treatment cycles does it take to freeze my eggs?
Every woman will respond differently to treatment and produce a different number of eggs. Some women will produce 20 eggs in a single cycle, while others may take 2 or 3 cycles to produce the same amount.
Step 3: What is the cost of medication for egg freezing?
Medications can range significantly based on how well a patient is expected to respond to the medications. In general, medications cost between $3,000 and $6,000 per treatment cycle. Insurance benefits or discounts may apply.
SGF’s Assure Fertility Bundle Pricing Reduces Cost of Egg Freezing
Prices quoted in this article were from 2018 and subject to change. Connect with your SGF financial counselor to get up to date pricing.
Good news for anyone considering freezing their eggs… SGF’s Assure Fertility program offers multiple treatment cycles for one flat rate. This program was designed with egg freezing patients in mind. Sometimes, after the first or second cycle, a patient may have close to the number of desired eggs, but not quite enough. If a patient is paying per cycle, one at a time, facing a hard economic choice—Do I pay the extra money to secure my future fertility or do I risk not having enough eggs later to save money now?—can feel like a lot of pressure.
With Assure 20, the one-time flat fee is paid, guaranteeing up to 20 mature eggs frozen or four treatment cycles. For women wanting to freeze 30 eggs, Assure 30, guarantees 30 mature egg or up to five treatment cycles.
The Washington Post reports that the average cost of an egg freezing cycle in the U.S. is $11,000. At Shady Grove Fertility, the cost of a single egg freezing cycle is $7,500-9,000, depending on program selection.
Reporter Nicole Ellis, who is assessing the potential cost of freezing her own eggs, estimates that she would need three cycles to achieve 20 eggs, and that her medication would cost at $4,500 per cycle.
Ellis estimates that her total cost to freeze her eggs, using per-cycle pricing, would be $46,500. However, with Shady Grove Fertility’s Assure Fertility bundle pricing, she would save $20,500 on the overall cost of treatment and medications.
Prices quoted in this article were from 2018 and subject to change. Connect with your SGF financial counselor to get up to date pricing.
Shady Grove Fertility encourages women considering egg freezing to come in and get their fertility tested. A physician will review your testing results and provide guidance in the decision making process to determine whether egg freezing make sense. But ultimately, the decision is yours. Take your time. Set your goals. Make a plan.
