UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT EGG FREEZING
UNDERSTANDING THE SUCCESS RATES OF EGG FREEZING wITH PROLOGUE
Due to scientific advancements in the IVF lab, the success of egg freezing has come a long way in the last decade. This means that by freezing their eggs, women can now have a fantastic, accessible and affordable option to maximise their chances of having a baby in the future.
Using the modern technique of freezing eggs, known as vitrification, we can now freeze eggs without causing ice crystals to form. This means the eggs are not damaged by the freezing process and go on to thaw and then function with a similar quality as a fresh egg.
As she ages, the big advantage offered to a woman by using her frozen eggs to try and conceive, is that they were frozen at a younger age. As the quality of an egg is directly dependent on its age, this means those younger, frozen eggs are of a much better quality and hence will have a significantly higher chance of success at achieving a pregnancy, when compared with any fresh egg she is now able to produce. Of course this relationship is influenced by the age at which the eggs were frozen and also in some ways by the age the woman is when she is wanting to use them.
This graph relates the number of eggs frozen (at varying female ages) with the probability of at least one live birth. There is quite a bit to understand when interpreting this graph and all will be discussed in detail if and when you come in to see us at Prologue. However, on a basic level you can see that if a 35 year old woman freezes 10 eggs, it is estimated that those eggs will give her a 70% chance of a live birth in the future. Those chances are not influenced by the age at which she uses the eggs and would remain the same if she used them at age 41 or 47!
Similarly, if a woman who is 40 years old freezes 10 eggs, she has a 30% chance that those would give her at least one baby if she uses them at any point in the future.
If you are considering freezing your eggs, the team at Prologue will both explain and personalise the chances of success offered to you by egg freezing, based on your particular circumstance. This does not mean you are obliged to freeze your eggs but you are able to move forward clearly understanding the benefits that egg freezing may offer you both now and in the future.
At Prologue we are about facts and personalised plans not sugar coating or offering anything generic. It is important to realise that frozen eggs are never an insurance policy nor come with a guarantee of success. However, they are very often the best way possible for a woman to maximise her chances of either starting a family or having a family of her desired size, in the future.
WHAT ARE THE STEPS INVOLVED IN THE EGG FREEZING PROCESS WITH PROLOGUE?
The main purpose of egg freezing is to allow women to preserve their fertility by collecting and freezing their eggs at a younger age, when their eggs are healthier and more viable. They then have the option of using these frozen eggs to conceive at a point when their fresh eggs will have a less or no chance of leading to a pregnancy, hence extending and improving their chances of conceiving.
The egg freezing process typically involves several key steps:
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Before egg retrieval, the woman undergoes hormonal injections to stimulate her ovaries to produce multiple mature eggs. This process is known as ovarian stimulation and usually lasts for about 10-12 days. Most women tolerate the medication well with few side effects.
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Once the eggs have reached the desired maturity, a minor surgical procedure called egg or oocyte retrieval is performed. At Prologue, we prefer for this to be done under mild sedation, otherwise known as twilight sedation, meaning you will be asleep and feel no pain. A trained Fertility Specialist places a thin needle through the top of the vagina to collect the mature eggs from the ovaries. This procedure typically takes around 15 minutes and is considered a low risk procedure.
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After retrieval, the collected eggs are immediately assessed by a specially trained scientist. Those that are of a suitable quality and maturity are frozen using a process called vitrification. Vitrification is a rapid freezing method that prevents the formation of ice crystals, which could damage the eggs.
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The frozen eggs remain stored in a fertility clinic's cryopreservation tanks until the woman decides to use them.
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If and when a woman is ready to use her frozen eggs to conceive a pregnancy, the frozen eggs are thawed and fertilized with sperm using a technique called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The resulting embryos are then grown for 5 days. One embryo is then transferred to the woman's uterus in the hope of achieving a successful pregnancy and any remaining embryos are frozen.
AN EXPLANATION OF THE FEES ASSOCIATED WITH EGG FREEZING
It is VERY important to us at Prologue that you understand every aspect of any egg freeze treatment plan we may put in place for you and that includes its associated costs. We pride ourselves on being available for you to ask questions so that you are completely on top of any and every fee that is associated with getting your eggs in the freezer, as well as keeping them there.
In general, understanding the costs of egg freezing can be difficult. Prologue has an affiliation with Monash IVF who controls many of the fees and handles the payment of them. However, Prologue takes responsibility for explaining these to you and will unwaveringly advocate for and support you whenever needed. All of the larger fertility companies also tend to only disclose their fee associated with the egg freezing process and accompany that with disclaimers hinting at other fees such as those of the day surgery, anesthetist and medication……all of which are unavoidable and significant. At Prologue we value being transparent and practical and therefore want you to know EVERY out of pocket fee that will be involved in having your eggs frozen.
To start the process of educating you on the costs associated with egg freezing, we present here a list of fees that contribute to the approximate cost of freezing your eggs. The reason you are freezing your eggs also plays a role in the fees associated with your treatment. Freezing your eggs for a medical reason (Medical Egg Freeze Cycle) can see you eligible for medicare rebates, a private health insurance rebate as well as a significant subsidy on your medication. In our commitment to not being generic, every patient of ours will receive an obligation free, personalised quote relating to their egg freeze treatment plan BEFORE they commence treatment.
There is also an ongoing cost to keep your eggs stored at Monash IVF. The first 6 months of storage is free, after which you will be invoiced approximately $500 per year.
If you have questions relating to the cost of egg freezing prior to meeting with us at Prologue, we welcome you to reach out. We will gladly explain things in more detail.
ELECTIVE EGG FREEZE FEES
Monash IVF Treatment Fee: $5,075
Medication Fee: $3500
Day Surgery Fee: $1,470
Anesthetist Fee: $650
Estimated Elective Egg Freezing Fee Total: $10695
MEDICAL EGG FREEZE FEES
Monash IVF Treatment Fee: $7500
Medication Fee: $200
DSU Fee: $1470
Anaesthetist Fee: $650
Estimated Medical Egg Freezing Fee Total: $9820
