Freezing and storing eggs

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What is egg freezing and storage?

To help boost egg production, fertility drugs are used to stimulate the ovaries to produce follicles (which contain the eggs). The developing follicles are monitored and when they are large enough, they are carefully emptied to collect the eggs that they have produced. They are collected while the patient is under sedation or general anaesthetic.

To freeze the eggs, they are placed in storage in liquid nitrogen.

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Is egg freezing and storage for me?

By storing your eggs, you may be able to use them for treatment in the future. You may want to discuss freezing your eggs with your clinic if:

  • you are concerned about your fertility declining as you get older, and are not currently in a position to have a child
  • you are facing medical treatment, such as for cancer that may effect your fertility

For more information on preserving fertility if you have cancer see:

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What happens when eggs are frozen?

The procedure for freezing eggs is as follows:

Step 1. Before you agree to the freezing and storage of your eggs, your clinician will explain the process involved, including the risks. Your clinic should also offer you the opportunity to discuss your feelings and any concerns with a specialist counsellor.

Step 2. You will be screened for infectious diseases, including HIV and Hepatitis B and C.

Step 3. You will need to give written consent for your eggs to be stored.

Step 4. Eggs are collected using the same procedure as for conventional IVF.

Step 5. Cryoprotectant (freezing solution) added to protect the eggs when they are frozen.

Step 6. The eggs are frozen either by cooling them slowly or by vitrification (fast freezing and then stored in tanks of liquid nitrogen).

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How much control do I have over what happens to my eggs?

The consent forms allow you to specify:

  • that you consent to your eggs being stored then used in your treatment
  • how long you want the eggs to be stored (the standard period is 10 years)
  • what should happen to your eggs if you were to die or become unable to make decisions for yourself
  • whether the eggs are to be used for your own treatment only, or whether they can be donated for someone else’s treatment, or used for research or training 
  • any other conditions you may have for the use of your eggs.

You can vary or withdraw consent at any time, either before treatment or before the eggs are used in research or training. If this happens, your eggs will not be used.

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How long can my eggs be stored for?

When you store eggs, make sure you understand the limits on the storage time and keep in contact with the clinic:

  • The standard storage period for eggs is normally 10 years. This period can be exceeded only in certain circumstances. Your clinician will be able to explain whether you can do this, and for how long you may be able to store your eggs.
  • You must let the clinic know if you change address. This is so that they will be able to contact you when the storage period is coming to an end. If they cannot contact you when the storage period ends, they may take your eggs out of storage and allow them to perish.

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What is my chance of having a baby with frozen eggs?

The use of frozen eggs in treatment is a relatively new development.  Up to December 2012, only 20 babies have been born in the UK after treatment using patients’ own frozen eggs (although more have been born from donor eggs).

Eggs do not respond as well as embryos to freezing, and generally the resulting success rate is not as high, although this will vary from clinic to clinic. However, vitrification (a new method for egg storage) has recently been shown to improve the chance of eggs surviving the freeze-thaw process and therefore increase the success rate

Records show that up to December 2012 around 18,000 eggs have been stored in the UK for patients' own use. Around 580 embryos from stored eggs have been created. These embryos were transferred to women in around 160 cycles, which resulted in around 20 live births. These figures are for patients using their own eggs, both eggs which have been stored using slow freezing and vitrification methods. 

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What are the risks of freezing eggs?

The usual risks of using fertility drugs apply to the fertility treatment involved. Egg freezing is still a relatively new technique and not all eggs will survive the freezing and thawing process or become fertilised.

It is important that you take into consideration the risks of this procedure and the likelihood of your eggs surviving the process when deciding whether to store your eggs for future use. Your clinic should give you information on the risks involved.

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What are the options for girls or women having cancer treatment?

Some women about to have cancer treatment are able to freeze their eggs for later use. For those who are not able to do this, freezing ovarian tissue may be an option. This involves either taking a whole ovary or small pieces of tissue from an ovary, containing eggs, which is then frozen and stored.

Ovarian tissue freezing is in the very early stages of clinical use but it may be a suitable option for girls or some women wishing to preserve their fertility before undergoing cancer treatment.

It may be suitable for girls who have not reached puberty yet and do not therefore have any mature eggs to collect from their ovaries for egg freezing. It may also be suitable for women who do not have enough time to undergo an egg collection before their cancer treatment commences. 

After the cancer has been treated, the ovary or tissue could be transplanted back into the patient and will potentially restore natural fertility. Only a small number of babies (less than 20) have been born worldwide following transplantation of frozen-thawed ovarian tissue and no pregnancies have resulted from whole ovary transplants.

Any clinic which is licensed by the HFEA to store eggs can also store ovarian tissue. However, currently only a few centres in the UK offer this service. 

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Page last updated: 03 October 2013

Who offers egg freezing and storage?

To find the nearest clinic that offers egg storage, use the Advanced search on our Choose a Fertility Clinic search.