Although a woman’s fertility declines markedly in her late-30s and early-40s, more women are now starting a family at this stage of their lives, with the average age of childbirth progressively increasing.
More women are storing their eggs to give them the potential opportunity to have a baby in the future. Nonetheless, the number of egg freezing cycles accounts for 5% of IVF cycles, and the number of cycles using stored eggs is much lower.
The use of a technique of rapid freezing called vitrification gives success rates almost as good as using fresh eggs. The success of egg freezing is strongly dependent on the age of the woman at the time of freezing her eggs, with much higher success rates in those aged 35 years and under.
Elective egg freezing provides women with an opportunity to take action about the drop in their fertility, but at present most women who are doing this are already in their later 30s when the success rates are limited.
The relevant legislation changed in 2022 and now allows women to store eggs for 55 years, although consent for this needs to be renewed every 10 years. This now supports the better success rates when women store eggs at a younger age.
It is essential that women are very clearly informed about the likely success rates of egg freezing, particularly as it is primarily provided by the private sector, with the associated concerns of financial costs and inappropriate or inaccurate marketing.
The paper strongly supports the need for improved and continuing education of both women and men regarding the decline in female fertility with age.
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This is the second edition of this paper.
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