More and more women in Germany are enquiring about social freezing. This refers to the freezing of unfertilised egg cells in order to postpone pregnancy to a later date for non-medical reasons: maybe a career is in full swing, for want of a partner, or because the time is not right yet for the woman or couple. Not only are couples nowadays missing out on the opportunity to conceive naturally; the success of artificial insemination also decreases with age because the quality of the egg cells deteriorates significantly. We at Fleetinsel Fertility Clinic offer you this procedure, which is also known as egg cell freezing.
Who is eligible for social freezing?
Women and couples who, for non-medical reasons, would like to postpone their desire to have a child from the biologically ideal age phase between around 25 and 35 to a later phase of life. This has been possible for several years thanks to an improved cryopreservation process: with the help of “vitrification”, unfertilised egg cells can be gently “shock-frozen”.
When is the best time to freeze the egg cells?
The crucial factor for a successful pregnancy is not the woman’s age at the time of her pregnancy above all, but the condition of her egg cells. Their number and quality decreases with increasing age. Thus, the lower the age at egg retrieval, the higher the quality and therefore the greater the chance of having a child later on. Conversely, the older a woman is at the time of egg retrieval, the more egg cells are needed for a good chance of having a child later on.
How many egg cells should be put “on ice”?
Around 90 per cent of frozen eggs are intact after thawing. Around 70 per cent of them can be fertilised, but not all of them develop into a healthy embryo that eventually grows in the uterus and leads to a pregnancy. As a rule of thumb, if the number of frozen egg cells corresponds to the age at which the eggs were retrieved, there is a very good chance of having a child. To achieve this, you usually need to plan for around two to three stimulation cycles and egg retrievals. Our doctors will be happy to advise you on your particular situation.
What are the individual steps involved in social freezing?
The main steps in social freezing are similar to those of artificial insemination. Firstly, egg maturation is hormonally stimulated in order to obtain an adequate number of egg cells. Once these are mature, we remove them through the vagina for cryopreservation using a fine needle. In order to get pregnant later using the frozen egg cells, they are thawed and then fertilised using ICSI (Introcytoplasmic Sperm Injection). Two of the resulting embryos are then transferred into the uterus. For detailed information on the stimulation of egg maturation, retrieval and ICSI, see Treatment.
Up to what age can a pregnancy take place?
With eggs retrieved at a young age and appropriate hormone supplementation, healthy women can now have a child even over age 45. The age up to which we advise women to undergo treatment or not is decided individually based on several factors. It goes without saying that we are under medical obligation to inform couples undergoing fertility treatment of the treatment methods and health consequences and to advise them responsibly.
What is the chance of pregnancy using social freezing?
The probability of pregnancy depends on individual factors: first and foremost on the quality of the eggs retrieved and not least on how fit and healthy the woman is. Data on success rates is not yet available for this new procedure. Foreign studies of artificial fertilisation using egg donation – which is not permitted in Germany – are usually consulted (for the prospects of artificial insemination at Fleetinsel Fertility Clinic, see also our success rates.) There is one thing you should bear in mind when considering egg cell freezing: within the framework of modern reproductive medicine, social freezing offers women and couples the opportunity to take preventive measures without a medical necessity. This allows them to have a child during a biologically less ideal phase. However, social freezing is neither insurance nor a guarantee of a “child for later”.
For advice on social freezing, please schedule an appointment at Fleetinsel Fertility Clinic.