Is There a “Right” Age for Egg Freezing?

You want to have a family, but now isn’t the right time. If you’re considering egg freezing to preserve them until you need them, you may wonder if there’s an ideal age to freeze your eggs. 

According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), women may have the best chances of a successful pregnancy with a frozen egg if they freeze their eggs before age 38. 

At CARE Fertility in Bedford and Fort Worth, Texas, our fertility experts — Drs. Kevin and Kathy Doody, Dr. Anna Nackley, and Dr. Robin Thomas — take a personalized approach to care. While we follow the guidelines set by ASRM, the effects of aging on a woman’s fertility differs, and there’s no “right” age that applies to everyone. 

However, there is a time frame that may improve your chances of a successful pregnancy with frozen eggs. Here, we address egg freezing and when you should consider starting the process.

About egg freezing

Egg freezing, medically called mature oocyte cryopreservation, is a fertility option for women that involves harvesting mature eggs from the follicles in the ovaries and then freezing them. Your eggs remain in a frozen state in a special storage facility until you’re ready to use them.

Before 2012, egg freezing was considered experimental and reserved only for women with health conditions that affected their fertility. However, when researchers looked at the data, they found that pregnancy success rates for in-vitro fertilization (IVF) was about the same whether using frozen or fresh eggs. 

Now, egg freezing is a mainstream treatment option for women who want to preserve their future fertility.

Best age for egg freezing

At birth, females have more than 1 million eggs. Every year, the number of eggs in their body declines, and by the time they reach age 25, they have about 300,000 eggs. 

Egg quantity and quality are major factors in a woman’s fertility, and both decline in her late 30s. That’s why health experts recommend freezing eggs before age 38.

However, women who freeze their eggs before age 35 seem to have more success with pregnancy from their frozen eggs. The ideal age range for egg freezing is between ages 30 and 34. 

However, all is not lost if you’re not at the “right” age. How age affects fertility differs from woman to woman, and the only way to really know if egg freezing is an option for you is to schedule an evaluation. 

Our experts can talk to you about fertility preservation and conduct a comprehensive evaluation to determine if egg freezing is an option for you. 

The egg freezing process

Egg freezing is a medical procedure that requires preparation. In order to retrieve as many eggs as possible at one time, we prescribe hormonal injections that increase egg production during your menstrual cycle.

We schedule regular ultrasound testing to track the development of eggs. When your eggs mature, we perform an ultrasound-guided medical procedure to harvest them. 

Our embryologist closely examines each egg at our embryology lab to make sure it’s reached maturity, and then we freeze the eggs for future use. We keep your eggs in a frozen state for as long as needed.

Unlike embryo freezing, we don’t need sperm for egg freezing. All we need is you. 

Are you thinking about egg freezing and wondering if you’re at the right age? We can talk to you about the process and perform an exam to determine if it makes a good choice for your future fertility. Call the CARE Fertility office near you, or request a consultation appointment online today.