Egg freezing

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If you are considering freezing your eggs, the recent Huffington Post article “10 Realities of Freezing Your Eggs: What Women Need to Know,” is an excellent resource. In addition to what was shared on the original Huffington Post blog, we wanted to elaborate on five of key points with medical information, patient stories, and financial details. To read the Huffington Post article, click here.

1. “You’re already ahead of the game.”
Yes, by even considering your future pregnancy and family building options, you are already ahead of most. Considering your options early is very wise. What’s that saying?… “Life happens while your busy making other plans.” For some women who successfully planned ahead in many aspects of their life – career path, economic security, and social circles – the family building may not have gone according to plan. Life happens and even though you may not be in the place to start a family immediately, the biological clock unfortunately does not naturally pause or change. Generally speaking – unless a medical condition, such as cancer, premature ovarian failure or early menopause, provides an earlier reason to freeze – we recommend women to freeze in their early to mid 30s.

2. “You will walk away with more than just frozen eggs.”
As the Huffington Post states “doing an egg retrieval is an involved process that provides a wealth of personal medical information.” At Shady Grove Fertility, this includes insights into your current fertility potential, as well as results from genetic testing.

In addition to medical information, time and time again we receive feedback from patients that freezing eggs has provided them with a sense of control and allows for peace of mind. For Melanie, egg freezing provided the ability to date again without the pressure of deciding if he is ‘the one’ on the very first date. Or for Sarah, the ability to make sure the one you are dating is the one you want to have a family with, without pressure of your naturally declining fertility making the choice for you.

3. “There’s no guarantee”…but it is reliable
As stated in the article, “it’s important to know that freezing eggs does not guarantee a baby, but it offers a reliable insurance plan.” Similar to the fact that for a young, healthy couple, it can take several months to conceive, it can take multiple attempts to achieve a pregnancy using frozen eggs. Generally speaking, eggs from a woman who is in her early to mid 30s are more reliable than the eggs of a woman 39 or 40, which is why we recommend freezing younger, if it is an option you are considering.

4. “This will require some work.”
While freezing eggs will require time and dedication, it is our goal to make the process as quick and efficient as possible while ensuring our patients are safe and well informed. On average, the entire process, including the completion of one egg freezing cycle, can take five to seven weeks. Time commitments include:

  • 1 appointment for ovarian reserve testing including an ultrasound and bloodwork.
  • 1 follow up appointment to review test results with your Shady Grove Fertility physician, a financial counselor, and nurse.
  • 2-3 weeks of birth control pills.
  • 12 days of stimulation (medication) coinciding with approximately 6-9 regular, 15 minute monitoring appointments at your local SGF office.
  • 1 appointment for the egg retrieval.

5. “It’s not cheap.”
True, but it is now more attainable than ever before through various financial options such as financing and discount programs. Associated costs include:

  • Ovarian Reserve Testing and Physician Consultation cost $325 with 90% of patients having insurance coverage for this initial step of egg freezing.
  • Egg Freezing Cycle Financial Options, including: Single Cycle option, Multi-Cycle Discount Program, and Multi-Cycle Guarantee Programs with refund options (Assure Fertility). Learn more about our unique financial programs.
  • Easy Monthly Payment Plans available exclusively for Shady Grove Fertility patients Fertility Finance for patients who qualify. Learn more about financing.
  • Medications: costs vary from $2,800-$5,000 based on ovarian function and insurance benefits.
  • Storage fees: $480 per year beginning year 2.

Weighing the Options

There are many important factors to consider when deciding to proactively freeze your eggs. Just remember, if you are considering egg freezing you are ahead of the game! Weigh your options, and determine what is best for you. If you are having trouble making a decision and want additional insights regarding costs, time requirements, the process, and success rates we encourage you to learn more.

Egg Freezing Events and Resources:

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“Egg freezing can preserve female cancer patients’ fertility before undergoing chemotherapy.”

On August 28, 2014, Andrea Starling of WJLA (ABC) interviewed Jim and Mary Craige, former oncofertility patients at Shady Grove Fertility.

Mary & Jim: Adapting to an Unexpected Diagnosis

Mary and Jim Craige were married in 2007 and welcomed their first son, Liam, in 2009. In February 2010, Mary discovered a lump in her breast during a routine self-exam. Six weeks later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 34. Though the Craiges had been planning to have another baby, their focus shifted to Mary’s treatment. Her cancer was highly aggressive, leading her oncologist to recommend chemotherapy, radiation, and endocrine therapy. While they were eager to start treatment, they were startled to discover chemotherapy’s negative effect on fertility: Mary would go into menopause and experience premature ovarian failure.

Chemotherapy and Fertility Preservation

Mary’s oncologist referred her to Shady Grove Fertility to explore her fertility preservation options. Shady Grove Fertility is at the forefront of oncofertility, a field representing the partnership of cancer and infertility treatments between a patient’s oncologist and reproductive endocrinologist. Shady Grove Fertility has created a special cancer team to immediately respond to patient inquiries, help them understand their options, collaborate with oncologists, and expedite fertility preservation treatment when appropriate.

“Women need to act immediately when diagnosed with cancer, as they only have a month or two to extract their eggs before their treatment begins,” says David S. Saffan, M.D. of Shady Grove Fertility’s Annandale, VA office. Under Dr. Saffan’s care, Mary had her eggs retrieved and inseminated through in vitro fertilization (IVF), freezing the embryos for a future date.

Three years later, when Mary received the go-ahead from her oncologist, she returned to Shady Grove Fertility to transfer her embryos. With only two embryos still eligible for transfer, she had them both implanted. Nine days later she discovered that she was pregnant. In January 2014, Jim and Mary welcomed their son Gavin into the family. “I’m healthy and we have a healthy baby and he’s our miracle. We are very blessed to have him,” said Mary.

Mary has been cancer-free for five years.

Watch Jim & Mary share their oncofertility story on WJLA.

The Cost of Treatment

While fertility preservation like Mary’s can be costly, her insurance covered roughly half of her treatment, and her medication costs were covered by Fertile Hope (Livestrong Foundation), a non-profit association. Shady Grove Fertility works closely with Fertile Hope to help patients access the care they need. Read their Cancer & Fertility Education Booklet. Shady Grove Fertility also has a variety of financial programs to assist patients on their oncofertility journey.

If you would like to learn more about oncofertility treatment and fertility preservation at Shady Grove Fertility, please contact a New Patient Liaison at 1-877-971-7755 or complete this inquiry form to learn more.

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In the media, the growing egg freezing trend is often treated as if it were a lifestyle choice, when in fact, for many women it’s the only current option they have available for future reproductive success. For example, the story Fertility Treatment – Freezing Time on ABC in Springfield, Massachusetts this Tuesday, predominately featured couples who elected to participate in egg freezing due to social reasons. While this can happen on occasion, at Shady Grove Fertility the majority of our egg freezing patients are women who must create options based on personal circumstances, timing and health. By freezing one’s eggs, a woman creates family building opportunities beyond her normal reproductive years, providing an option to build a family when the timing is right.

Some women find themselves with dramatically different lives than where they had planned to be, so the choice to freeze their eggs is a matter of timing. The reason some women pursue egg freezing due to unrelated medical conditions such as professional responsibilities, available time, being with the right person, unexpected changes in personal situations, living out of the country, this list goes on. Anonymous women have shared their reasons for freezing both related and unrelated to medical issues (names in this article have been changed):

  • Women have found themselves in a different place in life from where they expected to be. This was the case for Alicia, “I thought I had it all. But at 34, I found myself going through a divorce and I was left thinking about when I would ever have children. I knew I was young according to the biological clock, however, to start dating… meet a guy… date for a couple of years… get engaged and plan a wedding, I would be in my late-30s or early-40s and just starting to grow a family. Coming right out of the divorce, I wasn’t ready to rush into a relationship, let alone a serious relationship.”
  • For some women, like Susan, the choice to have a baby is a matter of timing, “I am 29 years old and interested in finding out more about my options to potentially have a baby in the future.” While some people may believe women in their late twenties have plenty of time to conceive, Susan explained why she was looking into egg freezing as an option, “I am just recently in a committed relationship, but not thinking about having children together any time soon. I would hate to wait too long and not have any eggs left when I am with the right person and ready to have a baby.”
  • Another reason some women pursue egg freezing is due to other medical conditions, such as cancer. Even if the cancer would not impact fertility potential, the radiation treatment likely would. At just 23 years old, Nicole was diagnosed with breast cancer and dealt with just that scenario, “I needed to undergo aggressive chemo but my doctors have given me a few weeks to get my eggs frozen before we have to start treatment. I want to freeze my eggs because I want kids in the future and am facing infertility.”
  • One woman, explains why at the age of 35 she froze her eggs, “My test results showed my fertility has started to decline and on top of that, I have endometriosis which will make it even harder to get pregnant in the future.” Or Christine who had a complicated first pregnancy, “I’m not sure if I want another child, however I want to create options just in case I change my mind in the future.”

Whether it’s a decision based on current life circumstances such as a recent divorce, or health issues such as low ovarian reserve, there are many personal reasons women decide to freeze their eggs. Regardless of the reason, egg freezing does the same thing for all women: it freezes their current fertility in time, extending their reproductive options for the future. Women who freeze their eggs are not simply delaying pregnancy; they are making a conscious choice to have future reproductive success at a later, more opportune date.

Take the Next Step 

  1. Fill out this form to schedule an appointment or for more information,or call 1-877-411-9292
  2. Learn more about egg freezing and financial options: Archived Webinar
  3. SGF Egg Freezing Patient Story: Melanie: Hope in the future restored 

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There is a lot of talk in the media about the decline in a woman’s fertility over time and as a result, there is much discussion around the different ways to gain control of the biological clock. First, let’s set the biological clock straight – does female fertility “fall off a cliff” as Kristie Allsopp suggests in The Guardian or is it more of a gradual decline? The truth is, our fertility decline is somewhere in between. Throughout our twenties all the way to menopause a woman’s fertility will gradually decline; however, somewhere around the age of 35 – and this point varies woman to woman – fertility does begin to decline at a faster rate making it more difficult to conceive.

Read the full article: Ditch the university and have a baby by 27.

“Reverse the Order: Child, then Career”

After witnessing the heartache of friends struggling to conceive, Allsopp’s advice for women is: “don’t go to university, start work straight after school, live at home to save money, find a nice boyfriend, and have a baby by the time you are 27.” Her advice to reverse the order – child first, then career – is a proactive approach to prevent age-related female fertility. But is switching the order of personal life goals the only way to gain control of future family building options?

Ways to Gain Control of Future Family Building Options 

Egg freezing offers is a reliable alternative for proactive women who don’t want age to dictate personal life goals and decisions. While both egg freezing and Allsopp’s advice offer the same goal, having a baby, it is important for women to proactively discuss or consider future family building options with their physician.

By freezing ones eggs, a woman has the ability to essentially extend her future fertility potential. Due to the relation of age and egg quantity and quality, at Shady Grove Fertility, egg freezing is available for women ages 30-40, but it is most reliable when frozen in the early to mid 30s.

For Shady Grove Fertility patient, Melanie, “My frozen eggs are an insurance policy in case ‘plan A’ doesn’t work. Dating isn’t easy and I still have a clear picture of what I’m looking for in regards to a family. But my decision to freeze my eggs has put the pressure of the biological clock on hold.”

Personal Decision Based on Timing, Biology and Statistics

As stated by Nick Raine-Fenning, clinical associate professor in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery at University of Nottingham, in the Washington Post, “having a family is a very personal decision and the timing is just as important. Neither should be influenced by age, but we cannot ignore biology and statistics.” While some women who freeze their eggs may not use them in the future by getting pregnant naturally, it is a great option for women who want to have a baby when the timing is right.
Read the Full Washington Post Article: No, women’s fertility doesn’t ‘drop off a cliff’ at 35.

Take the Next Steps

  1. Fill out this form to schedule an appointment or for more information, or call 1-877-411-9292
  2. Learn more about egg freezing and financial options: Archived Webinar
  3. SGF Egg Freezing Patient Story: Melanie: Hope in the future restored 


This Week in Egg Freezing – Recent Articles

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Increased interest in egg freezing at Shady Grove Fertility has led to many changes regarding the patient experience and increasing access to care. These changes include an improved patient protocol beginning with scheduling an appointment, ovarian reserve testing and physician consultation, and most recently, both new and improved financial programs, Assure 20 and Assure 30, have made affording egg freezing possible for more women.

Benefits of Egg Freezing

As some may already know, fertility potential is mostly dependent on the quality and quantity of eggs
(a woman’s ovarian reserve), which is largely impacted by a woman’s age. Therefore, as a woman ages, her fertility potential steadily declines. Through egg freezing, women essentially extend their biological clock, and the ability to attempt pregnancy in the future, when the timing is right to have a child.

By undergoing treatment, women are able to return in the future to utilize the eggs, and have the same chance of success as they would have had at the age they froze their eggs. For example, if a woman were to freeze eggs at the age of 34, and then return to use them at the age of 40, her chances of success would be based on the age of a 34 year old.

Number of Eggs to Freeze Based on Age

Human reproduction is quite inefficient—many are surprised to learn the chance of conception each month is only around 20 percent. As a result, the average couple takes 5 to 7 months to conceive naturally. At the beginning of each cycle, several follicles containing an egg are present with only one developing, maturing, and being released through ovulation. The remaining eggs die off and are no longer available for conception. Since not every egg will result in a pregnancy, we recommend women 37 or younger, with excellent ovarian function, freeze between 15 to 20 mature eggs. For women over 38, or women at any age with diminished ovarian function, we recommend freezing 25 to 30 eggs.

Upon returning to attempt pregnancy, our embryologists will thaw several eggs at a time and inseminate with sperm in order to develop a high quality embryo with a strong pregnancy potential. By starting with a group of either 15 to 20 or 25 to 30 mature eggs, depending on the age and ovarian status of the patient at the time of freezing, multiple chances of conception are possible.

Continued Growth Leads to New Financial Program

To meet the needs of our patients, several egg freezing financial options exist, including the patient favorite the fee-for-service which is a part of the Egg Freezing Discount Program. Often times, patients are comfortable committing to one egg freezing cycle, which is $7,500, and if needed, the next cycle costs $6,000, and so on.

As the interest in egg freezing has increased (specifically, at Shady Grove Fertility, interest has continued to grow an average of 50 percent year-over-year beginning in 2011), we evaluated the difficulties associated with egg freezing in order to eliminate as many barriers as possible. For many, we determined, existed a financial barrier to access care. According to Joseph Doyle, MD, “due to the increased patient interest in egg freezing, and a desire to better serve our patients, we developed a new financial program to make affording egg freezing more accessible.”

We found that women were in need of more information, and a financial program to guarantee they would have the best chance at freezing the recommended number of eggs. To resolve this issue, we have introduced additional financial programs: Assure 20 and Assure 30.

With the improved Assure 20 financial option, women are still able to freeze their eggs for a flat fee of $12,500, for up to four cycles or 20 mature eggs, whichever comes first. Assure 30, our newest financial program, allows women with favorable ovarian reserve, to freeze up to 30 mature eggs or five cycles, for one flat fee of $18,000. Women may now choose the program that works best for them. Details regarding refunds for both options are listed below. In addition to having several financial programs, the option to finance is available, as well with monthly rates varying depending on financial program, credit history, and length of the loan.

All egg freezing cycles must be complete by the age of 41.
*Patients paying out of pocket will pay $250 to SGF for testing and consultation and $75 to Reprosource for Ovarian Reserve Testing.
**Medication cost will vary from $2,800-$5,000 based on ovarian function and insurance benefits.

It is our hope that these financial programs will provide more comfort and access to care for the women interested in egg freezing. To learn more about the cost of egg freezing, join us at a free upcoming educational event, or watch this archived webinar featuring Dr. Sunita Kulshrestha.

Next Steps Toward Preserving Your Fertility

  1. Ready to schedule an Egg Freezing consultation? Fill out this form or call 877-411-9292.
  2. Talk to someone who has frozen her eggs by e-mailing askmelanie@shadygrovefertility.com

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The assumed reason women consider egg freezing is the fear or constant reminder of the biological clock. While it is true that age plays a large role on woman’s fertility, the primary motivation for women freezing, according to a study conducted by the governing body of reproductive medicine, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), is that women want to know they did everything they could to have a baby in the future and they don’t want to blame themselves later.

What Makes a Woman Freeze: The Momentum Behind Patients’ Desires to Undergo Elective Oocyte Cryopreservation
Published Monday, October 14, 2013

As stated in the study, elective oocyte cryopreservation – or egg freezing – can be costly, timely, and a complex venture that requires commitment and motivation from the patient. Furthermore, despite significant technological advances and encouraging success rate statistics, like nearly all medicine or treatment options, there is no guarantee of future fertility.

In spite of all of this, the number of patients electing to undergo egg freezing has increased, and specifically at Shady Grove Fertility, the number has doubled year over year. The goal of the study was to gain insight behind the increasing number of women electing to freeze their eggs as well as analyze the underlying factor motivating women to freeze.

Study Controls:

  • 129 women interested in egg freezing
  • Ages <35 to >40
  • Each consulted by a psychologist between the years 2005-2012
  • Each patient was asked to rank the following statements in order of importance:
    1. I feel pressured by my biological clock.
    2. I want to know I did everything I could; I don’t want to blame myself later.
    3. I think I will probably never need to use them, but want my eggs frozen just in case.

The results were clear. On average, 65 percent of the women interviewed elected to freeze their eggs with the desire to avoid future self-blame knowing they did everything they could. To the surprise of many, the ticking of the biological clock was a secondary goal. “Decisions surrounding reproduction, family and parenthood are complicated; elective oocyte cryopreservation empowers women to control their destiny.”

Do you agree? Take the Survey:


Take the next step:

Click here or call 1-877-411-9292 to schedule an egg freezing consultation.

2026 Shady Grove Fertility

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