Egg Freezing

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Why Freeze Your Eggs

Egg freezing, or oocyte cryopreservation, is a form of assisted reproductive technology (ART) that involves retrieving multiple eggs directly from the ovaries and freezing them using advanced cryopreservation methods so that they can be stored safely until you’re ready to use them. Egg freezing empowers you to suspend the ever-ticking biological clock and bank your eggs for future use. Many in the medical field believe we are on the onset of a prodigious social change, and that egg freezing will impact reproductive freedom as the birth control pill did in the 1960s.

Get Started

Life doesn’t always follow a set timeline, and that’s okay. At Main Line Fertility, we believe in giving you the tools to plan your future on your terms. Egg freezing is a proactive way to preserve your fertility, giving you the freedom to focus on your goals today while keeping your options open for tomorrow.

Serving the Philadelphia metro area, our experienced team is here to guide you through the process with care, expertise, and the latest technology. Whatever your reasons for considering egg freezing, we’re here to help you take this important step with confidence.

A Crash Course in Fertility and Age

The key to fertility is the age of the eggs, not chronological age. At birth, a female is born with all the eggs she will make in her lifetime. By the time a female is 30, she has lost 88% of her eggs; by the time she is 40, she has lost 97% of her eggs. Roughly 1/3 of people ages 35-39 have fertility problems, which skyrockets to 64% in people ages 40-44.

Today, many individuals are delaying their family-building plans in favor of other life goals. However, since age is a primary cause of infertility, waiting to have a child poses a unique challenge. Egg freezing offers a way to take control of your reproductive future, whether you're focusing on your career, waiting for the right partner, or simply planning ahead.

“Freezing my eggs took a giant weight off my shoulders. I had just gotten out of a long-term relationship, and I decided to make myself and my dreams a priority. Now, I don’t feel the need to lower my dating standards in order to beat my biological clock.”

— Katie, 34

The Egg Freezing Process

At Main Line, the egg freezing journey is well-defined and straightforward. From initial consultations to the safe storage of your eggs, each stage is handled with expert care and attention to detail by the Main Line Fertility care team. Below is an overview of the process.

Step 1: Fertility Evaluation

You will meet with your MLF fertility specialist for blood tests, ultrasound, and a personalized discussion of your fertility health and goals. This appointment is often covered by insurance.

Step 2: Ovarian Stimulation

Over a period of 9-12 days, we will stimulate your ovaries with self-administered injections to help stimulate the maturation of multiple eggs in a single ovulation cycle. You will also have approximately 5 to 7 early morning monitoring appointments to assess egg development and medication dosage.

Step 3: Egg Retrieval

In our state-of-the-art surgery center, your doctor will gently guide a needle attached to a catheter through your vaginal wall to collect your eggs using gentle aspiration. The painless procedure will take 10-20 minutes and you will be under twilight anesthesia. There are no stitches or scars and many patients are able to return to work the following day or after one day of rest.

Step 4. Freezing and Storage

Your collected eggs are then frozen using an advanced cryopreservation method called vitrification, which cools the eggs rapidly so that they reach a glass-like state. Immediately after they are vitrified, your eggs will be placed into one of our liquid nitrogen storage containers in our state-of-the-art laboratory. Mechanisms are in place to ensure the safe long-term storage of your eggs.

The Main Line Fertility Egg Freezing Package

At Main Line Fertility, we recognize that egg freezing is an investment in your future. We offer our patients nationally recognized fertility care combined with a comprehensive egg freezing program to ensure their best chances of a successful outcome. The Main Line Fertility egg freezing package includes:

  • Monitoring appointments
  • Egg retrieval
  • Cryopreservation
  • First year of storage

Additional costs can include:

  • Anesthesia
  • Medication
  • Annual storage

Egg Freezing Frequently Asked Questions

  • Eggs frozen from vitrification technology are suspended in time. As a result, eggs can be frozen indefinitely.

  • No. At the beginning of each menstrual cycle, hundreds of eggs begin the “race” to ovulation. Each month, only one egg is ovulated and the rest degenerate – they are lost forever. The medications we use allow many more of those eggs, which are otherwise lost, to reach maturity and retrieval for freezing.

  • No. Egg freezing gives individuals the chance to take control of their fertility and gives them the best chance to have biological children in the future, but it cannot guarantee a baby. Based on a 2017 study published in Human Reproduction, women under the age of 35 who freeze 10-20 eggs have between a 70%-90% chance of at least one live birth in the future.

  • Patients between the ages of 30 to 40, specifically early to mid-30s, are the ideal age to freeze their eggs. Factors that warrant egg freezing sooner than just age would include a family history of premature ovarian failure or early menopause, a recent cancer diagnosis, and a diagnosis of endometriosis or polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

  • Yes. While advanced age is one of the top causes of infertility, lifestyle factors also play a role in fertility health. Healthy choices that can affect fertility include regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, and taking a multivitamin that contains folic acid. Additionally, we suggest keeping stress under control, preventing sexually transmitted diseases, avoiding smoking, and refraining from substance abuse.

Schedule a Consult for Egg Freezing in the Philadelphia Area

Main Line Fertility today to schedule a consultation by filling out our online form or contact us directly at one of our fertility clinics in Philadelphia, Bryn Mawr, West Chester, Havertown, Reading, or Fort Washington.

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