Egg Freezing: Everything You Need to Know Before You Start

Is the ticking of your biological clock holding you back from delaying motherhood? Egg freezing, one of the most popular methods of fertility preservation in India, could be the solution. Once considered an experimental treatment, it is now widely used due to advancements in reproductive medicine. Whether it’s due to career aspirations, personal choices, or medical reasons, egg freezing offers women greater control over their reproductive future. In this blog, we cover everything you need to know before starting egg freezing.

What is Egg Freezing?

Egg freezing, also referred to as oocyte cryopreservation, allows women to freeze their eggs and store them for future use. The eggs are extracted from her ovaries and frozen until they are used for in vitro fertilization.

Egg freezing can be carried out for medical reasons, which include:

• People undergoing cancer treatment
• Patients undergoing surgery for ovarian tumors or cysts
• People undergoing treatment for Kidney disease, multiple sclerosis or lupus
• People born with ovaries about to undergo gender reassignment surgery
• People with a family history of early menopause
• People with PCOS or endometriosis

Egg freezing is also popular for personal, nonmedical reasons, including the following:

• Delaying pregnancy for career or personal reasons
• Fertility preservation to improve IVF success in the future
• Not having a partner currently
• Family planning

The Best Age For Egg Freezing

The ideal age for egg freezing is between your 20s and 30s. We don’t recommend delaying egg freezing, since fertility decreases as you get older. When your egg quantity and quality drop, you’ll require more egg freezing cycles. Your eggs will also be less likely to survive the freezing and thawing process. After 35, both egg quality and quantity decline significantly.

Preparing for the Egg Freezing Process

Start eating healthy at least 2-3 months prior to your consultation with a fertility specialist. Exercise regularly and give up smoking and alcohol. Try to follow a balanced diet with fresh greens, low sugar, and protein. Take supplements like omega-3, vitamin D, CoQ10, magnesium, and prenatal vitamins.

Wear loose and comfortable clothes on the day of your egg retrieval procedure. We suggest taking a friend or family member with you, as you might find it difficult to travel back on your own. You may also need to take a day or two off to recover from the surgery.

The Egg Freezing Process And Timeline

The process of egg freezing Mumbai usually takes 2-3 weeks. This means it’ll be over quickly, and even multiple freeze cycles won’t take longer than a few months.

Medical Testing

The first step in the egg freezing process is a consultation with our top fertility specialist, who will discuss your fertility goals and assess your reproductive health.

You will receive a comprehensive fertility analysis with hormone testing and blood tests. The specialist will also ask for your medical history. These tests are used to determine the safest and most effective stimulation protocol for you while minimizing the risk of OHSS.

Your doctor will also recommend the ideal number of eggs that you should freeze, as well as the number of eggs they expect to retrieve in this cycle.

Ovarian Stimulation

You will be administered fertility injections that increase the number of mature eggs your ovaries produce. This process will be timed with your menstrual cycle. Your ovaries will be carefully monitored at certain steps along the way through blood tests and ultrasounds.

This allows the fertility specialist to tweak fertility protocols for effectiveness and identify if you’re at risk of developing OHSS.

Egg Retrieval

The clinic will continue to monitor the growth of your follicles. Once they reach a certain size, it’s time for egg retrieval. You will be sedated during the procedure, so you won’t feel any pain. 

First, your doctor will use a needle and insert it into your follicles to extract the fluid inside them. They use a transvaginal ultrasound to safely guide the needle through. An embryologist then examines the fluid and separates the eggs from it. This process takes about 10 to 20 minutes.

Egg Freezing

The retrieved eggs will be frozen within a few hours of extraction. At Corion Fertility Clinic, we use an advanced method of cryopreservation called vitrification. In this process, the eggs are flash frozen with the help of liquid nitrogen.

Vitrification prevents the formation of ice crystals and thus improves survival rates after thawing. Vitrified eggs have a survival rate of 90%, compared to the 75% survival rate of slow-freezing eggs.

Post-Procedure Recovery

After your egg retrieval, you may experience side effects like bloating, cramping, constipation, and even minor bleeding (spotting). Stool softeners and painkillers may help in relieving some of the discomfort. These symptoms may subside in a few days—get in touch with your clinic if they don’t. You will be able to resume normal activities like exercise after a week or two.

How Do You Use Your Frozen Eggs?

When you decide to use your eggs, the clinic will thaw them and fertilize them with sperm from your partner or a donor. The resulting embryos are monitored for a few days, and the most viable one is selected and transferred to your uterus. Past that point, the embryo will grow in your body and implant itself on the uterine lining.

Also read: How Many Eggs Should I Freeze By Age?

Potential Complications and Risks of Egg Freezing

Egg freezing involves certain risks and complications, such as:

Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS)

Women who are extremely sensitive to fertility medication and stimulation are at a high risk of developing a condition called Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS). In OHSS, the ovaries swell up and become painful and can leak fluid into your body.

Most fertility specialists monitor each patient regularly and take measures to prevent your body from overreacting to ovarian stimulation. OHSS is very rare and only a small percentage of those uncommon cases can have severe side effects.

Pregnancy Is Not Guaranteed

Not every egg will grow into an embryo. Even if you freeze 10 eggs, there’s no way to know if any of them will result in a pregnancy. This is why doctors recommend undergoing multiple freezing cycles to freeze a higher number of eggs.

Side Effects and Recovery

The stimulation process can cause mood swings, stress, and anxiety, as well as bloating, cramping, and physical discomfort.

Needle Injuries

In extremely rare cases, there’s a chance that you may suffer an injury due to the needle used to retrieve your eggs.

Egg Freezing Cost in India

Egg freezing is a significant financial investment. Apart from egg freezing fees, you will also have to pay an additional amount for the long-term storage of your eggs. Storage fees may be collected in installments or may need to be paid upfront.

Egg freezing costs vary from city to city and from center to center. Reputed fertility clinics might be slightly more expensive upfront but they could get you better results in fewer cycles than smaller clinics offering cheaper egg freezing cycles.

Choosing the Right Fertility Clinic

Egg freezing Mumbai is an investment in your reproductive future. By freezing your eggs earlier in life, you can securely delay conception without unnecessary stress.

While freezing your eggs, choose a clinic that has a team of skilled fertility professionals, cutting-edge medical technology, and access to the latest advancements in reproductive medicine. A clinic like Corion Fertility clinic offers transparent pricing and high-quality, personalized treatment with empathetic care. Our team of fertility experts and embryologists uses advanced vitrification techniques to ensure the highest possible survival and success rates.

Still unsure? Schedule your egg freezing consultation at Corion Fertility Clinic. Our specialists will guide you step by step and help you take control of your reproductive future with confidence.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. For how long can I freeze my eggs?

A. Eggs can be frozen and stored indefinitely, though storing them for longer may lower survival rates. Many countries have legal guidelines that restrict the number of years you can keep your eggs in storage.

Q. Why do people freeze their eggs?

A. People may choose to freeze their eggs for many reasons, such as fertility preservation before a medical treatment, family planning, or delaying pregnancy for personal reasons.

Q. How many eggs should I freeze?

A. Pregnancy isn’t always a guarantee with egg freezing, so it’s best to freeze as many eggs as possible. You can undergo multiple egg freezing cycles to increase the number of eggs you store.

Q. What is the best age for egg freezing?

A. Most doctors agree that the ideal age for egg freezing is between 20 and 30. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine states that eggs frozen before 38 give you the best chance of a successful pregnancy.

Q. How many eggs are retrieved during an egg freezing cycle?

A. Typically, about 10 to 15 eggs are retrieved in a single egg freezing cycle. The number of eggs retrieved depends on your AFC (antral follicle count) and ovarian reserve. To achieve a good chance of future pregnancy, women under 35 often freeze 15 to 20 eggs.