You might not be ready to have a baby yet – but you know you want one someday. Egg freezing allows you to plan ahead, offering you a chance to have a baby later when you’re more ready.
Your age when you freeze your eggs significantly influences your chances of becoming pregnant later on.
You might not be ready to have a baby yet – but you know you want one someday. Egg freezing allows you to plan ahead, offering you a chance to have a baby later when you’re more ready.
Your age when you freeze your eggs significantly influences your chances of becoming pregnant later on.
The Royal Women’s Hospital describes your 20s and 30s as ‘the time of your life’. You may be busy studying, travelling, forging your career or finding the right partner.
As Time Magazine reported in 2022, more women are now having babies in their 30s than in their 20s, perhaps because they want to complete their education, be financially secure and have the right partner before they embark on parenthood. There’s also been a steep rise in the number of women having babies in their 40s.
But while your life is moving forward according to one timetable, your body may be marching to a different beat. You may need to think about egg freezing earlier than you think.
What is egg freezing?
Egg freezing – or oocyte cryopreservation – involves retrieving, preserving, and freezing your eggs for future use. It allows you to collect eggs during your most fertile years and store them until you’re ready to begin a pregnancy.
Your eggs throughout your life
A baby girl is born with millions of eggs, but that number has dropped to around 400,000 by the time she reaches adolescence and you lose about 1,000 each month from that point on.
By the age of 37, you’ll only have about 25,000 eggs left. By the age of 51, there’s only about 1,000 immature (infertile) eggs left.
As the number and quality of your eggs drops, it becomes harder and harder to get pregnant.
Best age to freeze eggs
Ideally, you’d freeze your eggs in your 20s or early 30s when you still have a large supply of healthy eggs.
That’s why the UK’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) recommends freezing your eggs before you turn 35.
Indeed, they found that if your eggs are frozen before you’re 35, your chances of a successful pregnancy may be higher than the natural conception rate as you get older.
Interestingly, your age when you thaw your eggs is less important. It’s your age when you freeze them that really matters.
How old are you right now? Should you be thinking about egg freezing?
Is there an age limit for egg freezing?
Not at Demeter Fertility.
We recognise that people don’t always do things at the ideal time – let’s face it, most of us still do our shopping rather too close to Christmas!
HFEA reports that most women who freeze their own eggs are 38 and some are over 40, though they note that the chance of success can be slim.
At Demeter Fertility, we prefer to consider your individual circumstances and fertility factors. There are many reasons why people delay pregnancy until later in life. Our role is not to judge but rather to provide supportive, evidence-based care to give you every chance of becoming a parent.
Egg freezing success rates by age
Egg freezing is a rapidly changing field.
A 2023 Australian review of selective egg freezing by age found that your age and the number of eggs you freeze influence your success rate. The older you are, the more eggs you need to freeze for the same overall chance of success. Your fertility is also influenced by factors like your age when trying to get pregnant, any underlying fertility factors and your overall health.
| Chance of live birth (%) based on a patient’s age at the time of oocyte collection and the number of oocytes cryopreserved | |||||
| Age at egg collection (years) | Number of oocytes cryopreserved (frozen eggs) | ||||
| 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | |
| 30 | 64% | 87% | 95% | 98% | 99% |
| 32 | 55% | 80% | 91% | 96% | 98% |
| 34 | 47% | 72% | 85% | 92% | 96% |
| 36 | 40% | 64% | 78% | 87% | 92% |
| 38 | 26% | 44% | 59% | 69% | 77% |
| 40 | 17% | 31% | 42% | 52% | 60% |
| 42 | 10% | 19% | 28% | 35% | 42% |
Egg freezing may offer you a better chance in your late 30s and early 40s
As you can see, egg freezing success rates decline in your late 30s and early 40s.
However, frozen eggs may still give you a better overall chance of having a baby than trying to use your current eggs at that age.
A large US study from 2022 showed that 70% of women who froze their eggs when under 38 (and defrosted at least 20 at a later date) succeeded in having a baby. In contrast, just 20% of 40-year-olds undergoing IVF had a baby.
Your personal insurance policy
You might never need your frozen eggs – you might get pregnant naturally or change your mind about having kids.
But you may appreciate the peace of mind that comes with knowing you have eggs on ice if you need them. It means you can live your life and approach the idea of having a baby when you’re ready.
Consult Demeter Fertility
Egg freezing is a way of keeping your options open. Demeter Fertility is an innovative fertility clinic at the forefront of new treatment technologies and techniques.
If you’d like to explore whether egg freezing could help you, please come to see us. We can talk about your goals and advise you on the best way forward based on your age, health and fertility.
Disclaimer
All information is general and not intended as a substitute for professional advice.
References
- Royal Women’s Hospital, Your 20s and 30s, https://www.thewomens.org.au/health-information/staying-well/20s-30s, [Accessed 11 September 2024]
- Time Magazine, Why so many women are waiting longer to have kids, https://time.com/6965267/women-having-kids-later/, [Accessed 11 September 2024]
- Healthline, How many eggs are women born with and other questions about egg supply, https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/how-many-eggs-does-a-woman-have#eggs-at-40, [Accessed 11 September 2024]
- Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, Press release: Age is the key factor for egg freezing success says new HFEA report, as overall treatment numbers remain low, https://www.hfea.gov.uk/about-us/news-and-press-releases/2018/press-release-age-is-the-key-factor-for-egg-freezing-success-says-new-hfea-report-as-overall-treatment-numbers-remain-low/, [Accessed 11 September 2024]
- Australian Journal of General Practice, Elective egg freezing: state of the ART, https://www1.racgp.org.au/ajgp/2023/january-february/elective-egg-freezing, [Accessed 11 September 2024]
- Science Daily, Frozen eggs more efficient option than IVF for women starting families later, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220526181147.htm, [Accessed 11 September 2024]
