What Are the Chances of a Successful Pregnancy Using Frozen-thawed Oocytes?

Egg freezing (oocyte cryopreservation), gives couples and individuals hope of starting or expanding their family on their own terms. Women considering egg freezing to preserve their fertility often have questions about the likelihood of a successful pregnancy using frozen eggs.

Assisted reproductive technology has come a long way. In the past, fewer eggs survived the freezing and thawing process. Today, the chances of a cryopreserved egg being fertilized as a healthy embryo are better, but age at time of preservation is key.

Board-certified Fertility specialist Kutluk Oktay, MD, and the team at Innovation Fertility Preservation and IVF are pioneers in fertility preservation. With more women electing to preserve their fertility, we understand you may have questions about how often egg freezing leads to successful pregnancy. Read on to learn women interested in fertility preservation should know about egg freezing.

What does egg freezing involve?

If you’re considering freezing your eggs, you’ve likely started to do your research and may have come across abundant information that can be overwhelming. We’re here to help you learn more about egg freezing so that you can decide with your doctor if it’s the right option for you.

First things first: What does egg freezing involve? Oocyte cryopreservation is a fertility preservation technique that involves stimulating the ovaries with follicle stimulating hormone to induce multiple egg development. These eggs are then aspirated, frozen with a hughly specialized process, and stored in liquid nitrogen tanks. There is no limit to how long eggs can remain frozen.  When you are ready to have children, the eggs are thawed and in vitro fertilized. The resulting embryos are then available to be used with in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer procedure (IVF-ET) to attempt pregnancy. 

Age is a key factor 

When it comes to egg-freezing success, age is the key factor. Women are born with all the eggs they’ll ever have. No new egg cells can be generated during lifetime, and the pre-existing eggs will age as you age. In fact eggs age earlier than the rest of the body, which means they will be less likely to result in a pregnancy. This means the sooner you freeze your eggs the better.

The chances for success are higher if you freeze your eggs before the age of 35. As egg quality declines with age, pregnancy failures, and likelihood of chromosome abnormalities significantly increase after in vitro fertilization, if you are older at the time of egg freezing. 

Estimating egg freezing success rate

The probability of egg freezing resulting in a successful pregnancy is a major factor to consider when thinking about whether freezing your eggs is right for you. Dr. Oktay can discuss your chances of success with you and answer your questions and concerns.

We use a unique formula to calculate your egg-freezing success rate. This can help you decide how many eggs to freeze for the future, as well as how many eggs to thaw to attempt IVF. However, bear in mind that our formula is based on infertile patients around the world. If you do not have infertility and are healthy, and considering egg freezing to postpone childbearing and preserve your fertility, the success rate will be higher for you. For individualized assessment of egg freezing success rate for you, please book an appointment with Dr. Oktay.

How long can eggs be stored?

The length of time you choose to store your eggs does not reduce their quality. Many babies have been born from frozen eggs stored for decades. In addition, the available research data, along with our own success in using frozen eggs to conceive, indicates that there is no increase in birth defects in children born from ivf with frozen-thawed eggs. 

Preserve your fertility

Many women choose egg freezing because they want to start or extend their family, but want to do so at a later time. The option to freeze your eggs, when exercised, halts the biological clock and provides you the peace of mind, so that you can grow your family on your own term.

To learn more, book an appointment online or over the phone with Innovation Fertility Preservation and IVF today.