Should You Freeze Your Eggs?

Egg freezing, or oocyte cryopreservation, is a fertility preservation technique that allows women to store their eggs for potential future use. This procedure has become increasingly popular among women who wish to delay childbearing due to personal, professional, or medical reasons. 

If you're considering egg freezing, it's essential to understand the indications, benefits, limitations and key clinical considerations. At Daniel Koh Clinic, patients undergo individualised assessment and counselling to determine their suitability and timing of elective fertility preservation. Our gynaecologist will also guide you through each phase of treatment with clinical oversight and individualised counselling.

Who Should Consider Egg Freezing?

1. Age-related fertility decline: Women are born with a finite number of eggs, and the egg quality and quantity decreases significantly after age 35. Egg freezing can be performed for women aged 21 to 37. It allows women to preserve healthier eggs with higher potential for successful fertilisation and implantation.

2. No Immediate Plans for Motherhood:Women who are not yet ready to start a family and wish to delay childbearing while preserving oocyte quality.

3. Lack of a suitable partner: For women who are single or have not found the right partner, egg freezing offers a way to preserve reproductive autonomy and plan for future family-building when circumstances align.

4. Medical conditions: Women undergoing treatments that may impact fertility, such as chemotherapy, radiation, or ovarian surgery, should consider egg freezing prior to treatment. This is often recommended as part of a fertility preservation plan in cancer treatment.

5. Planning for a bigger family: Some women choose to conceive naturally for their first child but anticipate a longer interval before trying for another. Egg freezing enables them to preserve younger eggs for future use via IVF, potentially improving outcomes for second or third pregnancies later in life.

What Are The Benefits of Egg Freezing?

1. Preservation of Reproductive Potential: Freezing eggs at a younger age preserves them at their current biological quality, mitigating the age-related decline in fertility that occurs over time.

2. Greater Flexibility and Control: Egg freezing enables deferment of conception while preserving reproductive potential. It allows for deferred conception to pursue career goals or financial stability while preserving reproductive potential.

3. Reduces Future Fertility Uncertainty: By storing eggs in advance, women may reduce uncertainty associated with age-related decline in fertility.

4. Part of a Broader Reproductive Plan: For patients undergoing IVF or fertility preservation due to medical conditions, egg freezing can be part of a long-term reproductive strategy with tailored medical guidance.

What Are The Challenges of Egg Freezing?

1. Financial Considerations: Egg freezing involves multiple cost components: hormonal stimulation, egg retrieval, laboratory freezing procedures, and annual storage. Additional costs are incurred if the eggs are later thawed and fertilised via IVF.

In Singapore, the cost of a single egg freezing cycle typically ranges between $10,000 to $ 14,000, and the cost is depending on ovarian response, required medication dosage, and the number of cycles needed to reach an optimal oocyte yield. Therefore, it is important to discuss with your gynaecologist, and carefully plan financially before proceeding.

2. Medical and Physical Commitment: The egg freezing process includes daily hormone injections over 10–12 days. Typically, a GnRH antagonist or agonist protocol is used. Thereafter, final oocyte maturation is induced with a trigger injection (e.g. hCG or GnRH agonist), followed by oocyte retrieval 34–36 hours later.This is a short outpatient procedure under sedation. Mild bloating or cramping are common. Rare but serious complications such as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and injuries may also occur. 

3. No Guarantee of Pregnancy: While clinical success rates have improved significantly, egg freezing is not a fertility insurance policy. The probability of future pregnancy depends on multiple factors including the number and quality of eggs frozen, maternal age at the time of retrieval, and the success of future fertilisation and embryo transfer. 

On average, one egg retrieval cycle should ideally result in the collection of 10 to 15 eggs. Of retrieved oocytes, approximately 40–50% may reach the blastocyst stage. The results may be affected by the womens’ age and stimulation protocol. Implantation success is further influenced by embryo quality and endometrial receptivity.

Is Egg Freezing Right For You?

Egg freezing is a personal decision that should be based on your age, fertility health, life plans, and medical history. It is best considered proactively, rather than reactively, especially for women in their early 30s who are not yet ready for motherhood.

At Daniel Koh Clinic, we offer elective egg freezing services, beginning with a comprehensive fertility consultation and ovarian reserve testing (e.g. AMH levels and antral follicle count via ultrasound). This can help you determine whether egg freezing is appropriate and how many cycles may be needed to achieve your reproductive goals.

Egg Freezing at Daniel Koh Clinic

At Daniel Koh Clinic, we provide personalised egg freezing services in a supportive environment, and a medically supervised setting in accordance with established clinical guidelines. Patients are counselled on each phase of treatment, including the screening process, ovarian stimulation protocol, egg retrieval procedure, and cryopreservation.

If you are considering egg freezing in Singapore, speak with our fertility specialist to evaluate your reproductive health and determine the suitability of egg freezing in the context of your reproductive goals.