Egg freezing: a factsheet

Clare Ettinghausen, Director of Strategy and Corporate Affairs, said:

“In recent years, the number of patients choosing to freeze their eggs has increased by 45% from 2022 to 2023. Although this is a significant increase, it’s important to put this into context. Egg freezing made up only 7% of all treatment cycles taking place in the UK in 2023.

“While more people are freezing eggs, it’s important that they don’t consider it to be an insurance policy and are aware that it does not guarantee a baby in the future. There are many factors that people should take into account when considering whether this treatment is right for them, but it’s vital that they are well-informed before beginning the process.

“These FAQs provide accurate and impartial information for anyone either considering freezing their eggs or who wants to find out more about the process. We always urge people to do their research on fertility treatment, and the best place to start is the HFEA website.”

Ends

1. What is egg freezing?

Egg freezing involves starting the IVF process, which usually takes around two to three weeks to complete. Normally this will involve taking drugs to boost your egg production and help the eggs mature. When they’re ready, they’ll be collected whilst you’re under general anaesthetic or sedation and then frozen.

Most patients under the age of 38 will have around 7-14 eggs collected, although this isn’t always possible for patients with low numbers of eggs, known as low ovarian reserve. When the patient wants to use the eggs that have been collected, the eggs will be thawed and those that have survived intact will be injected with their partner’s or donor’s sperm to create embryos that are transferred to the patient.

2. What trends have the HFEA seen in this area?

HFEA data shows that the average age of patients freezing their eggs was 35 and the average age of thawing was 40 in 2023.

According to our Fertility Trends 2023 report, the number of egg freezing cycles increased from 2,567 cycles in 2019 to 6,932 cycles in 2023, while embryo storage cycles increased from 8,190 cycles to 8,908 cycles. While this is a large increase, this remains a proportionately small amount (7%) of all treatment and storage cycles that took place across the UK in 2023. Egg freezing cycles have increased across all age groups between 2019 and 2023, with the largest increases among patients aged 30-37. Despite the large increase in the number of people freezing their eggs, our data shows the number of people returning to use their frozen eggs is much lower.

Our Ethnic diversity in fertility treatment report showed that use of egg freezing was similar across ethnic groups in 2017-2021, but most used among patients of Other ethnic groups, with 5% of all cycles being egg freezing, followed by patients with a Black and a mixed ethnic background (4%), and then White patients (3%).

NHS funding is not available to those who freeze their eggs for non-medical reasons. Where patients are freezing their eggs for medical reasons, such as before treatment for cancer, this is likely to be carried out with NHS funding. We estimate that at least 15% of egg freezing cycles were for medical reasons between 2018 and 2022. These numbers aren’t included in the HFEA’s report and the HFEA does not collect the reasons for people storing their eggs.

3. Why is egg freezing becoming more and more popular?

For those who can afford to and have considered any medical risks, the availability of egg freezing can provide more reproductive choice. However, egg freezing should not be seen as a guarantee to having a baby in the future and there are lots of things people should think about before freezing their eggs.

If you don’t have any underlying health or fertility concerns, you shouldn’t feel compelled to freeze your eggs, as our research shows a significantly lower number of people are going back to use their own eggs after storing them.

4. What are the success rates of egg freezing?

When looking at success rates for freezing eggs, numbers tend to be quite low. We advise patients to look at success rates for fresh IVF cycles with patients using their own eggs in their age band. We consider these rates to be more reliable as there are much higher numbers of fresh embryo transfers each year compared to egg freezing. This information can be accessed via our Choose a Fertility Clinic page and in our Fertility Trends report.

Information on egg freezing, and IVF birth rates and pregnancy rates are available on our HFEA dashboard via the ‘Pregnancy and birth rates’ page. Users can filter the data on information such as egg and sperm sources, patient age, and treatment type. The data provided in the dashboard is not medical advice, patients should discuss treatment directly with their clinic who will provide guidance based on their own personal circumstances and medical history.

5. What are the risks?

Egg freezing is mostly very safe, although some patients do experience mild side effects from their fertility drugs. In extreme cases, patients can develop ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), which is potentially fatal, so it’s important that patients familiarise themselves with the symptoms. Information about the risks of fertility treatment is available on the HFEA website.

Patients should also keep in mind that the older they get, the higher the risk of pregnancy-related complications and health problems to both you and your baby. The largest risk of egg freezing is that it won’t work, which is why it’s crucial that anyone who is considering freezing their eggs understands the optimum age for freezing and the success rates.

Fertility clinics have a responsibility to ensure anyone using fertility services understands the risks and long-term impact of any treatment decisions they make.

6. What are your thoughts on how egg freezing is advertised?

In 2021, the HFEA worked with the CMA and the ASA during the development of new guidance for fertility clinics in the UK. The guidance set out what information clinics must provide to patients and when. We also issued a joint enforcement notice with the ASA to clinics to make them aware of the advertising rules. Clinics must follow the rules set out in the ASA codes and in Consumer Law. Our Code of Practice sets out how clinics should describe success rates and what information they should give to patients in advance of treatment, including egg freezing.

7. What are your thoughts on how egg freezing is marketed by clinics?

Any advertising should be carried out in line with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) codes, the joint ASA/HFEA enforcement notice for the fertility sector and information provision set out in our Code of Practice.

Fertility clinics have a responsibility to ensure anyone using fertility services understands the risks and long-term impact of any treatment decisions they make. Women who are wondering whether egg freezing is the right choice for them can find impartial information about the process on the HFEA website. The HFEA Code of Practice sets out the information clinics should give patients before treatment.