Frozen Eggs

WindSock

Would you freeze your eggs?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/10419076.stm

Women in their late 30s are freezing eggs because they are still hunting for "Mr Right", research suggests.
A study of women at a Belgian clinic found half wanted to freeze their eggs to take the pressure off finding a partner, a fertility conference heard.
A third were also having eggs frozen as an "insurance policy" against infertility.
Many students would also consider the procedure to focus on a career before motherhood, a separate UK survey found.
The study of nearly 200 students showed eight in 10 doing a medical degree would freeze their eggs to delay starting a family.
Among sports and education students half said they would consider it.
Egg freezing is still a relatively new technology, which enables a woman to save eggs for future IVF treatment if needed.
The chance of success is better with younger, healthier eggs, yet most women currently choosing the procedure are in their late 30s and opting for egg freezing as a "last resort".
Continue reading the main story

Age has an impact on male as well as female fertility and when they do meet Mr Right, they may well find that he has fertility problems

Infertility Network UK Clare Lewis-Jones
The average cost of egg freezing is around £3,000 per attempt and some women may have to undergo up to three cycles in order to preserve a good number of eggs.
Speaking at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference, Dr Julie Nekkebroeck, who carried out the small Belgian study of 15 women, said they also found that 27% wanted to give their relationship a chance to blossom before bringing up the subject of having a baby.
The women who had an average age of 38 did not expect to use their frozen eggs until they were around 43 and they realised they needed to undergo the procedure while they were still healthy and fertile.
"We found that they had all had partners in the past, and one was currently in a relationship, but they had not fulfilled their desire to have a child because they thought that they had not found the right man."
Career concerns
Dr Srilatha Gorthi from the Leeds Centre for Reproductive Medicine, who presented the UK study at the same conference, said it was the first time that young women's attitudes to fertility had been examined in this way.
She said the medical students gave career reasons as the most common reason for considering egg collection while the other students were more concerned about financial stability.
And she added that society needs to better support young women in having a family when they are ready without compromising their careers.
"Women thinking about undergoing this procedure must be provided with accurate information and have counselling to both the benefits and limitations of oocyte freezing compared with other options," she said.
Clare Lewis-Jones from Infertility Network UK said it is extremely important that people are aware of the effects of age on their fertility.
"Many women now choose to delay having children and although they should be supported in that choice, they need to be aware of the potential problems they may encounter when they do decide the time is right for motherhood.
"Age has an impact on male as well as female fertility and when they do meet Mr Right, they may well find that he has fertility problems.
"They also need to be aware that using fertility treatment is no guarantee of success."

£3,000 per go and it may take a few goes to get it right. Do you think it is worth it in the long run? I would probably consider it if I were a little older, can't think of too many cons to it.

g'em

I think this is probably something I'd look into doing. I'm 30 and single and while I definitely don't want children right now, having a family is something I'd like in my life in the future. I'd rather be able to conceive the old fashioned way, but if it was a case that I didn't meet someone I wanted to settle down with for a fair few years from now then I'd be wary of the biological risks and imagine I'd be glad of having other options.

WindSock

Yeah I don't want kids now. But it irks me that I only have around a 10 year gap to make that decision, I have far too much to be doing in that time but I don't want it to be too late when the time is right either.

Orlee

I think I would ... It comes as a surprise to me because my first reaction was no, but the more I think about it, the more I would consider doing it.

I want a family and I think I mightn't be terrible at it but it scares me that it mightn't happen because of age and circumstance. It would be nice to know that there's some sort of lifeline out there should all else fail!

Emme

If I was young enough and I had the money I definitely would. Unfortunately the technology wasn't around when I was 21 or 22 which would be a good age to have it done. It would be a great graduation or 21st birthday present from parents to a daughter - pay for her to have her eggs frozen at 21. You may or not find Mr Right in time and if you don't you have the option of waiting until later when you do find him. Even if you don't find him you might be able to conceive using your own eggs later and have a child on your own.

Put it this way - you could meet someone you think is Mr Right at 28 and spend 3 years finding out he isn't. Then at 31 it's much harder to find someone and even if you do it could take 2 years before you get married, another year before you're ready to have a child and it could be too late by then.

Despite advances in education, careers etc. women and men aren't equal by a long shot because men have a much longer reproductive lifespan than we have. Men really play on this at the expense of the older childless woman. If egg freezing technology is successful and becomes mainstream it will enable women to have a longer reproductive lifespan and take back some of the power we have lost recently - long overdue I say!

g'em

Emme wrote:

It would be a great graduation or 21st birthday present from parents to a daughter - pay for her to have her eggs frozen at 21.

Hmmm, interesting idea... I got a voucher to go out and buy myself some new clothes when I graduated iirc

Emme wrote: »

Even if you don't find him you might be able to conceive using your own eggs later and have a child on your own.

This is a moral dilemma I battle with in my head sometimes but it's probably worthy of a thread of its own.

Emme wrote:

Then at 31 it's much harder to find someone and even if you do it could take 2 years before you get married, another year before you're ready to have a child and it could be too late by then.

Too late at the age of 34/35? Not sure I agree with that entirely. Biologically speaking you're not exactly past-it and there's a solid argument to say that at this age you're emotionally primed to have a child at that age. I'm not at all arguing that this is the 'best' age to have kids mind you, simply that I don't think it's in the 'too late' age-bracket.

The_Morrigan

g'em wrote: »

Too late at the age of 34/35? Not sure I agree with that entirely. Biologically speaking you're not exactly past-it and there's a solid argument to say that at this age you're emotionally primed to have a child at that age. I'm not at all arguing that this is the 'best' age to have kids mind you, simply that I don't think it's in the 'too late' age-bracket.

Genetics will possibly make that age too late for me..which at the ripe age of 29 (30 later this year) terrifies the bejaysus outta me!!
My mother and aunts all had issues with their ability to conceive in their mid 30's everything ranging from early menopause to cancer to hysterectomies.

I've yet to have this conversation with the OH cos after 9 months that might just scare him away - but for me its a real fear, and its ok for him to wait until he is financially stable to get married/have kids etc (like anyone is going to be financially stable in our lifetime!!)

jellie

How old is too old to do it? What age do you think youd leave it to? is there less chance of it working the older you get? Then when youve done it how long do you leave it before youre too old to use them?

In theory yes Id do it. but the decision of "i better freeze my eggs just in case" seems a scary one to me

g'em

NiMhaoldearg wrote: »

Genetics will possibly make that age too late for me..which at the ripe age of 29 (30 later this year) terrifies the bejaysus outta me!!

Really??? wow, that's a fairly big quandry to have. I think if I had that issue (that is having a biological need to have kids earlier on) I'd almost certainly do it. To the best of my knowledge there haven't been any major problems for the women in my family (after doing some quick mental arithmetic I've just realised my Nana was 34 having my Mum and 42 having my uncle!!) so it's not a pressing concern for me personally.

I don't particularly have any ethical or moral dilemmas with the whole process at all actually, and as Windsock said I'd be pushed to figure out any cons in it all. Are there any?

Emme

jellie wrote: »

How old is too old to do it? What age do you think youd leave it to? is there less chance of it working the older you get? Then when youve done it how long do you leave it before youre too old to use them?

In theory yes Id do it. but the decision of "i better freeze my eggs just in case" seems a scary one to me

I don't know what age is the best but I would imagine that eggs from a 21 year old would have a better chance of successful fertilization than those of a 39 year old.

g'em

jellie wrote: »

In theory yes Id do it. but the decision of "i better freeze my eggs just in case" seems a scary one to me

I think I'd probably have thought the same thing when I was younger - sure I was convinced I'd be starting to push out babies by the time I hit 25 But now it's a little different, I'm accutely aware of my age, and while the kids issue isn't one that keeps me awake at night my age does make me all the more aware of the finite window of opportunity I have.

Fertility generally drops markedly from the age of 35 onwards - freezing your eggs at a younger age will pretty much keep the eggs at your biological age at that point so the eggs are 'healthier' and of a better quality. As you get older you also increase the risk of problematic ovulation and pregnancy complications.

Madame Razz

I think if children are something that a woman without question wants, and she has the funds to do so; well then she should do it. It would probably work out less expensive than fertility treatment should a particular woman leave it quite late to have children and thus encounter difficulties of that nature. It's a sort of childbearing pension I suppose.

It's not something that I would consider myself, but I can certainly see why many women would see great benefit in doing it.

princess-lala

I would have my eggs frozen!

As for the "past it" term used! I dont think in todays age there is any right or wrong age to start a family, its not like years ago when women had 3 or 4 kids by the time they were 25!

My brother got married last year to a woman 12 years older than him! She got pregnant within weeks of them starting to "try" and she is now almost 19 weeks pregnant!

She will give birth at the ripe age of 39!

seenitall

Hmmm... as far as I remember reading about this, the cost:good outcome ratio still leaves a lot to be desired. If I had more disposable cash, I could afford pissing a few k away, but I don't, so I can't.

The problem is an egg is mostly made out of water, so the ice crystals thing when freezing and de-freezing screws things up. It is different with embryos (fertilized eggs -> IVF) because embryos don't contain as much water so can be frozen and defrosted no problem.

Emme, I hope you don't think you are too old to have a baby. Someone I know just had her first a 41, and there are lots of stories like that around. It is finding a good, solid man that's the real problem (but we all know that!;))

CathyMoran

I have no problem with the idea of having eggs frozen, I almost did it when it looked like a medical treatment could make me infertile, a family member also had early menopause. As it turns out I have had my son who is 3 months old on Friday just after my 36th birthday and we are considering trying for another one. Hopefully the treatment will become cheaper and more widely available over time.

tbh

g'em wrote: »

I'd be pushed to figure out any cons in it all. Are there any?

It's not necessarily a "con" per se, and I'm more playing devils advocate than expressing my own opinions, but I think something to be thought about when considering freezing eggs in case you don't meet mr. right is the fact that if you're too old to ovulate healthily, it could be considered that your body is too old to deal with a pregnancy healthily.
I think it's great that the technology is there, both for people who know they may have problems concieving, like Cathy, or even for people in their early 20s who want insurance "just in case" - similar to the reasons you can now store stem cells for a newborn - better to have them and hope you never need them kind of thing.

That all said, however, I wouldn't exactly argue that people shouldn't be able to take advantage of these medical advances, as by the same rational, you could argue that I shouldn't be allowed to take insulin , as I said, it's more something to think about. But not for long.

Straycat

a lot of people who struggle with egg quality is not necessarily older, so may perfectly able to cope with maintaining a pregnancy, so that aspect wouldn't be considered a con IMO. a con would however be the process used by clinics to harvest eggs. generally you are artificially stimulated using strong drugs to produce way more follicles in a cycle, then the follicles are aspirated to see if they contain eggs which are then harvested for freezing. the side effects of this are bloating, and hot flushes and mood swings. there is also a risk of a syndrome called ohss, which is where you over stimulate which has been known to kill. this is worst case scenario. there are also risks involved in the thaw process for eggs.

there is a general consensus that freezing an embryo has a higher success rate than freezing eggs unfertilized.

there is a process whereby the clinic harvest eggs using a drug free method which has much lower risks but must be done several times to get enough eggs to produce a viable embryo in the future. however no clinic in Ireland in my knowledge does this procedure.

overall the pros and cons have to be weighed up, but had i of known in my early twenties the devastation that infertility caused i would of went hammer and tongs to do anything i could to help.

bunnybaby7000

Hi I'm just wondering if this is something anyone here has done.

I am in my early 30's and haven't met anyone who I could potentially see myself having 'little ones' with... so instead of the increasing feeling of the clock ticking and the pressure of settling, I think this might be an option for me.

I am career driven but this is not the reason for my interest in this, it is solely to take the pressure off until I do find the right Mr for me!

g'em

bunnybaby this was discussed not long ago so I've merged your thread with the existing one