Egg freezing

If you’ve ever thought “I want to freeze my eggs,” but are not sure how many to freeze or if it’s a reliable option for the cost Dr. Joseph Doyle from the SGF Rockville office answers these questions and more. In this Q&A, Dr. Doyle explains everything about egg freezing from the various factors that contribute to having a baby using frozen eggs, to the appropriate age to consider freezing, to how many eggs you should freeze to freeze in order to have a baby in the future. Read the Q&A below:

Q: What factors contribute to egg freezing and lead to successful pregnancy?

Dr. Doyle: Each case is unique and each woman has her own timeline for building a family. However, three factors influence egg freezing success, no matter the circumstances. They are:

• Age: Your age and the results of your ovarian reserve testing will help determine the number of eggs you should freeze.
• Ovarian function: Your ovarian function will show if you are facing infertility challenges, which could affect the number of suggested eggs for freezing. Also, your test results can give us a better idea of how quickly we need to move forward with egg freezing. If the test suggests that your ovarian reserve is low, proceeding earlier confers greater benefit.
• Number of eggs that are frozen

Q: At what age should I freeze my eggs?

Dr. Doyle: You may have heard of cryopreservation as it applies to embryos, but the same process can be applied to unfertilized eggs.

Age is the number one factor that determines fertility—as you age, so do your eggs. You’re born with a finite number of eggs, and younger eggs are of a better genetic quality. The better the genetic quality of an egg, the higher the probability that egg will result in a successful pregnancy. In a sense, egg freezing allows you to pause your biological clock.

We usually suggest against freezing eggs too early (younger than 30). The reason is simple: If you freeze eggs too early, it’s less likely you’ll use them. In such a case, you’ve spent time and money on a procedure that wasn’t necessary. Of course, there are exceptions. For example, if you are facing cancer treatments that may affect your fertility in your 20s, or you will be deployed (or otherwise not able to pursue family building as a result of other goals) into your early 30s, we may recommend freezing your eggs at a younger age.

The optimal time for a fertile woman to freeze her eggs is in her early- to mid-30s.

Q: How many eggs should I freeze to guarantee a future baby?

Dr. Doyle: Based on our thaw data reported in Fertility and Sterility:

• If you are younger than 38, freezing 15 to 20 mature eggs will give you roughly a 70 to 80 percent chance of at least one live birth.
• If you are 38 to 40 years old, freezing 25 to 30 mature eggs is recommended for a 65 to 75 percent chance of at least one live birth.

There is no magic number of frozen eggs that will result in a 100 percent guarantee of a successful pregnancy. While success rates continue to improve, other factors—including deficiency in egg quality and implantation issues—will always be at play.

But the above findings, in addition to your ovarian reserve test results, provide a guideline for determining how many eggs you should freeze to ensure the best possible outcome for you.

Q: Are there benefits to freezing my eggs earlier, rather than later?

Dr. Doyle: In short, yes. The possible benefits of freezing your eggs earlier include:

• Fewer cycles needed to reach your desired number of eggs, as the younger you are, the higher number of quality eggs we are likely to extract and the fewer eggs we need to extract in total
• Fewer cycles mean the overall process is less expensive
• Higher likelihood you’ll take home your baby, since the higher the quality of your egg when it’s frozen means the higher the quality it is at thawing and implantation

Q: Does it matter where I freeze my eggs?

Dr. Doyle: Again, the answer is yes. Fertility centers that perform more egg freezing and subsequent in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles that result in successful pregnancies have better, more reliable data to help you make the best decisions for your family building.

In 2009, we began using a flash-freezing process, called vitrification, for patients who were facing cancer treatments that could affect their future fertility. Initially, this was used in the process for women who donated their eggs in their 20s to women in their 40s. It quickly became the standard for women who are electing to freeze their eggs for future use.

Vitrification allows us to more safely freeze and thaw eggs for implantation. Since 2009, we have completed multiple freeze cycles daily, giving us reliable thaw data we can use to help you make well-informed family-building decisions.

Q: Finally, is it possible to freeze too many eggs?

Dr. Doyle: Safety is a top priority during the egg freezing process, which means avoiding ovarian hyperstimulation. We don’t want your ovaries overworked, instead we want to stimulate your ovaries just enough to produce a recommended number of eggs for freezing. We use all available research to determine a number tailored to suit your age and ovarian reserve.

In prescribing the perfect number of eggs for you to freeze, we also consider your family-building goals. If these goals include having more than one child, we may recommend a freezing count closer to the top of the suggested range for your age, as this increases the likelihood of successfully having two or more children.

To learn more about egg freezing or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Doyle or any of our other 38 fertility specialists, call 1-877-411-9292.

At Shady Grove Fertility, we’re here to give you the caring support you deserve as you start or grow your family. As a leading fertility and IVF center of excellence, we offer patients individualized care, innovative financial options, over 30 accepted insurance plans, and pregnancy rates among the highest of all national centers. We offer patients the convenience of 19 full-service and 6 satellite locations across Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. More than 1,700 physicians choose Shady Grove Fertility to refer their patients, and more than 96 percent of our patients say they would recommend Shady Grove Fertility’s 35+ physicians to a friend. With 10 Shady Grove Fertility babies born each day, your dream of starting or growing your family is within reach.

Amanda Bradford, Founder and CEO of the dating app, The League, characterized as a dating app targeted at ambitious professionals, added a unique (and pretty awesome) feature to the dating app after getting her fertility measured and considering egg freezing herself. In addition to helping potential “power couples” connect, a new feature on the app allows women to discuss freezing their eggs with other women. Watch the interview.

A Fertility Snapshot

Bradford took CNN Tech behind the scenes for a consultation with her physician and together they looked at her antral follicle count (AFC). A follicle is what can be considered a resting egg and each month only one follicle matures to become an egg. The AFC is performed through an ultrasound and allows the physician to count the small resting (antral) follicles, which gives the physician a snapshot of the patient’s ovarian reserve. At Shady Grove Fertility, the AFC is one part of ovarian reserve testing. We also measure a woman’s current fertility through a simple blood test to assess her anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level, which has been found to be one of the best predictors of female fertility. Learn more about ovarian reserve testing.

Connection between Egg Freezing and Dating

Bradford says it may seem contradictory, but freezing eggs allows women to extend the biological clock and prioritize their career. About freezing her eggs, Bradford concludes the interview by saying “I do think having that knowledge is power and now I know where I stand. You can look at the probability at getting pregnant and how that declines over time, and you can really make decisions if egg freezing is right for you.”

Bradford also shares that now that she knows how many eggs she has, she knows she needs to freeze within the next year.

Get started by testing your fertility to see where you stand. A simple blood test, ultrasound, and physician consultation provide answers. Click or call 1-877-411-9292 to schedule an appointment.

During a short interview with Dr. Rubina from MyNEWPhilly.com, SGF’s Dr. Isaac Sasson from our Chesterbrook, PA office goes behind the scenes of the IVF laboratory. He takes the opportunity to explain fertility testing prior to fertility treatment or egg freezing.

An egg freezing cycle is not unlike an in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle for fertility treatment. Women who freeze eggs complete the in vitro, but pause the fertilization until later, either when they have a partner or donor sperm. The cycle consists of two parts: medications and the egg retrieval.

The Rx: Shady Grove Fertility from MyNEWPhilly on Vimeo.

The Medications Used during an Egg Freezing Cycle

The medications used during both an egg freezing and IVF cycle are hormone injections that replicate the hormones a woman’s body naturally produces each month, but are administered at a higher level. These hormone injections stimulate your ovaries to produce eggs from the existing follicles that would naturally be discarded during a menstrual cycle.

The Egg Retrieval Part of the Egg Freezing Cycle

After 10 to 12 days of medications, the eggs are ready to be retrieved. You will administer the medications at home and throughout those 10 to 12 days you will come to one of SGF’s 25 locations, whichever office is closest to you, for monitoring appointments. The egg retrieval takes place at one of our three surgery centers located in Rockville, MD, Towson, MD, and Chesterbrook, PA.

Once the eggs are retrieved, they are frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored, Frozen eggs remain viable indefinitely.

The Average Cost of Freezing Eggs

The cost to freeze your eggs is dependent on what you are looking for and is based on your individual needs. For women 37 and younger with good ovarian function, we recommend freezing 15 to 20 mature eggs, which can take one to four cycles. Women with poor ovarian function or between the ages of 38 and 40, we recommend freezing 25 to 30 mature eggs, which can take up to five cycles. The number of eggs and number of cycles is completely dependent on how you respond to the hormone medications and your ovarian reserve.

There are several egg freezing financial options at Shady Grove Fertility for women to choose from. For women who want to make sure more chances to achieve the number of recommended eggs, they can elect our Assure Fertility financial program. Assure Fertility at Shady Grove Fertility is a flat-fee option for up to four or five cycles, or until the recommended number of eggs are achieved.

Setting Expectations

You will discuss your goals and expectations with your SGF physician after completing initial ovarian reserve testing. Results from testing—when paired you’re your medical history and goals (number of children you may want)—will help determine which financial route is best for you.

Learn more about the financial programs for both freezing your eggs and returning to use your frozen eggs, including our exclusive Shared Risk 100% Refund Program for Returning Egg Freezing Patients. Or call 1-877-411-9292 to schedule an egg freezing appointment.

Since 2012 when the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) lifted the experimental label on egg freezing (also known as oocyte preservation), millions of women have sought more information about the procedure. In 2014 Facebook and Apple’s decision to cover the expenses of egg freezing treatment to their female employees led to a flurry of national headlines along with a renewed interest in egg freezing and the benefits of preserving a woman’s fertility. Despite the enormous potential that egg freezing offers to women who wish to pursue other endeavors without worrying about the so-called biological clock ticking louder and louder, one of the main hurdles continues to be cost.

Why Kara’s Parents Helped Her Afford Egg Freezing

In December a new online magazine, The Outline, wondered if women were getting financial assistance from their parents to help pay for egg freezing treatment. First, they spoke to Kara Egber, a Shady Grove Fertility patient currently living in Arlington, Virginia. Egber said that talking to her parents about helping wasn’t difficult at all. “They would love to be grandparents one day,” she said. “They were on board immediately, wanting to help ensure the continuation of our family bloodline.”

Michele Purcell, RN, MHA, director of Shady Grove Fertility’s Egg Freezing program said she, “estimates that a pretty large percentage of younger patients under 35 are receiving financial assistance from parents, who she refers to as ‘hopeful grandparents.’”

Financial Options to Afford Egg Freezing

As the largest fertility center in the country, Shady Grove Fertility has sought innovative ways to ease the financial burden of fertility treatment, including elective egg freezing. In 2013, just a year after the experimental label was lifted, we introduced the first-of-its-kind flat fee guarantee program that established a set number of recommended eggs to freeze based on a woman’s age and her current fertility.

The original program, Assure, evolved into our signature Assure20 and Assure30 financial options. For women under 37 years old, a flat fee of $12,500 provides for 20 mature eggs or 4 cycles, whichever comes first. If 20 eggs are retrieved after the first cycle or a patient withdraws from the program, she will be reimbursed $4,000. For women over 37 with a favorable ovarian reserve, $18,000 provides for 30 mature eggs or 5 egg freezing cycles, whichever comes first. If 30 eggs are retrieved after the first cycle or she withdraws from the program, the patient will receive $8,500 back. If she chooses to withdraw or achieves 30 eggs after the second cycle, she’ll receive $4,000 back.

A Guarantee Makes Affording Egg Freezing a Worthy Investment

In 2016, as we began to see patients return to thaw and use their frozen eggs to build their families, Shady Grove Fertility developed the country’s first money back guarantee program, the Shared Risk 100% Refund Program for Returning Egg Freezing Patients, which guarantees patients will go home with a baby or their Shared Risk money back—some restrictions apply.

Click to read Kara’s story or learn more about the several egg freezing financial options. If you would like to learn more about egg freezing or to schedule an appointment, call 1-877-411-9292.

Freezing as we know it was not always as reliable, trustworthy, or even available. Dr. Joseph Doyle from the SGF Rockville, MD office talks with Kate Allen, a science and technology writer for news outlet, The Star. The article, Take one egg. Cool to -196 C. Revolutionize fertility. Advances in freezing human eggs have made IVF easier and cheaper for many, but bring thorny new questions.

It wasn’t until 2009 that vitrification, a flash-freeze technology, entered the sphere of assisted reproductive technology and changed fertility treatment options forever. Prior to vitrification, the first sex cell that could be successfully frozen and thawed was sperm. Female oocytes (eggs) are the largest cell in the body, and therefore they are extremely complicated to properly freeze. The same freezing technology used to preserve sperm caused ice crystals to form inside of the eggs ultimately damaging them. Vitrification, when done correctly, eliminates the formation of ice crystals, which allows them to be preserved.

Arguably there are many benefits that have come with vitrification, but for women who want children but aren’t in the right life situation to have a child or children right now, vitrification has leveled the playing field. It made eggs and sperm equals in the realm of fertility preservation.

How Female Fertility Leaped Forward with Vitrification Technology

Before vitrification, egg freezing was rarely used and only used in severe cases such as fertility preservation prior to cancer treatment. With vitrification, the playing field became equal; men can freeze sperm, and women can freeze eggs.

The ability to freeze is even more revolutionary for women than men because female fertility is significantly impacted by a woman’s age and the quantity of eggs a woman has during her lifetime is incomparable to a male’s sperm. Men produce hundreds of thousands of sperm every day while women are born with a set number of eggs and lose them throughout their lifetime. Furthermore, men often remain fertile well into their 50s while female fertility begins to decline in a woman’s late 30s.

Now, women can extend their ability to conceive by freezing their eggs. Furthermore, data has shown that eggs that are frozen, thawed, and used to conceive at a later time have a 70 percent chance of taking home at least one baby for women who are 37 and younger at the time of freezing.

Click to learn more about female fertility or call 1-877-411-9292 to schedule an appointment to learn more about egg freezing. Read the entire story about vitrification and how it has transformed the lives of couples needing and using fertility treatment to have a baby, how it has decreased the cost of fertility treatment, and how it has made fertility treatment much more effective and efficient.

What is primary ovarian insufficiency?

Primary ovarian insufficiency, also called premature ovarian failure and early menopause, is defined as a loss of ovarian function before age 40. With the cessation of normal ovarian function, estrogen levels diminish and eggs are not released. Infertility and an increased risk of osteoporosis is a common result. Dr. Stephanie Beall, from our SGF Columbia and Towson, MD offices, provides insight to whom early menopause impacts, the effects, and what women can do about it.

How common is premature ovarian failure?

Approximately 1-3 percent of women experience early menopause. Unfortunately, there are usually no warning signs and it can impact women at any age. It can even occur prior to the first menstrual cycle.  For most women they only become aware when they stop having regular menstrual cycles. The ultimate impact regardless of when it occurs is that she will no long be able to have a child using her own eggs.

Dr. Beall shares her experience discussing premature ovarian failure with patients, as premature ovarian failure can be devastating, especially when it is not expected, “For some women, it represents a loss of who they are and their identity as a woman—when you lose that identity there can be a lot of shame and guilt if you are not able to start a family with a husband or partner. It is incredibly difficult. Luckily, there is something women can do to be proactive.”

What can you do about early menopause?

Dr. Beall: “Be proactive. We understand that there is a genetic link, although we don’t know all the genes involved”.  With this knowledge, women can actively talk with family members to learn if they have experienced early menopause. Due to a shift in culture, more women are talking about their difficulties conceiving.”

If a family member shares that she did have menopause prior to age 51 (the average age a woman reaches menopause), Dr. Beall recommends that you test your own ovarian function.

I have early menopause in my family, how do I measure my own ovarian function?

Testing ovarian function is as simple as getting your anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level tested. This hormone level provides the best insight into a woman’s current ovarian reserve. Testing can be done at your OB/GYN or at Shady Grove Fertility. An AMH test paired with other initial fertility testing provides your physician with a complete picture of your overall fertility.

Dr. Beall: “My advice for women is to ask around; find out if anyone in your family has experienced menopause earlier than expected. If they have, get your ovaries tested. Your testing results will reveal a great deal of information that your physician can use to advise you regarding your next steps, which may include seeing a reproductive endocrinologist or considering egg freezing.”

To learn more about how early menopause may impact your fertility, or to schedule an appointment, please speak to one of our New Patient Liaisons at 1-877-971-7755 or click here.