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Everything You Need To Know About Egg Freezing
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How does the egg-freezing process work? Is there an age limit? How much does it cost? Women's prime reproductive age is between 25 and 35 years old, which is the best time for high egg quality. After 35 years old, ovarian function gradually declines, and especially after 38 years old, it’s an even steeper decline. However, women nowadays are getting married later and later because of their workplace and career planning, so the means to preserve their fertility has become a topic of the new era. Egg freezing is one of your options, so we’re going to explain the process of egg freezing and its related FAQs.
Do I Need to Freeze My Eggs?
With the advancement of technology and medical techniques, the freezing of pre-stored eggs has been realized to safeguard fertility, allowing modern women to preserve their "egg quality" in advance through this technology, to ensure that fertility planning is no longer restricted by age. When is egg freezing suitable? Who is recommended to undergo egg freezing?
Recommended Ages
Doctors at the NUWA Fertility Center recommend that the appropriate age to freeze your eggs is 30 to 35. Generally speaking, if a woman in good physical condition has sexual intercourse during her ovulation period, there is a 50% chance of getting pregnant between the ages of 20 and 25, a 40% chance between the ages of 26 and 35, and a 30% chance between the ages of 36 and 40.
Who Is Suitable for Egg Freezing?
Who are the women recommended for egg freezing? If you are one of the following 5 groups, you are advised to consult a professional medical organization.
✅ Cancer patients with future fertility plans
✅ Over 30 years of age, who will not rule out having children in the future
✅ Premature ovarian failure or aging, need to collect a sufficient number of eggs for IVF treatment
✅ Endometriosis patients
✅ People with a family history of genetic diseases
Costs and Procedures
The cost of egg-freezing treatment is about NT$90,000 to NT$120,000 (including medication and the first year of preservation), and the actual cost varies according to each person's ovarian function, the doctor's professional evaluation, and the medication arrangement. The procedure is roughly the following 5 steps:
STEP 1: Make an appointment
Make an appointment to see your doctor and inform them about your condition so the doctor can evaluate your condition and assist you in scheduling your treatment.
STEP 2：Return to the clinic during the menstrual cycle
Return to the clinic on the 2nd to 3rd day of the menstrual cycle. Blood tests and an ultrasound will be performed before the egg-freezing treatment begins.
STEP 3：Ovulation induction
After beginning treatment, according to the doctor's diagnosis, ovulation injections or ovulation medication will be administered to induce ovulation, and about 2 visits will be scheduled for ultrasound examination.
STEP 4：Egg retrieval surgery
Egg retrieval surgery is scheduled around the 11th to 14th day, and an ovulation trigger shot will be given before the surgery (34 to 36 hours before the surgery).
STEP 5：Egg freezing
Finally, the eggs will be frozen according to their maturity level. If you freeze your eggs at NUWA Fertility Center, you will be able to find out the number of eggs you have frozen on the NUWA Fertility Center APP.
Generally speaking, the entire egg freezing treatment can be completed within 2 weeks, averaging about 10 to 14 days. Ovulation injections or long-acting ovulation injections are administered every day, and the doctor will closely track the growth of the follicles. The counselors at NUWA Fertility Center will also carefully instruct you on injection techniques, to wait until the follicles have grown to a sufficiently large size before administering the ovulation injections, and then arrange for the egg retrieval surgery.
Are There Consequences of Egg Freezing?
Are there any risks or after-effects associated with egg freezing? After undergoing the egg-freezing treatment, more people usually worry about the risk of "Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS)", but in fact, this side effect does not happen very often. The chance of occurrence is less than 5%, and it usually occurs in the cases of young, thin, polycystic ovary syndrome, with more than 15 to 20 follicles. Most people recover on their own within a few days; a few may experience symptoms such as bloating, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, etc., and only a very small number of people need to be hospitalized.
FAQs
Q1: How many eggs do you need to freeze to ensure it’s enough?
The quality of eggs decreases with age, and the older you get, the more eggs you would need to freeze if you want to bring home a baby. According to the experience of our doctors at NUWA Fertility Center, the success rate of pregnancy is 70%:
- At 35 years old, you need about 8 eggs.
- At 38 years old, you need about 20 eggs.
- At 40 years old, you need about 35 eggs.
However, we are reminded that the above figures are based on planning for the birth of one child in the future. If you want to have a second or third child, you will need to freeze more eggs.
Q2: Where are the eggs stored?
All eggs will be stored in liquid nitrogen at -196℃, and the laboratory must have a strict monitoring system, constant power and temperature, and a professional must be aware of the level of liquid nitrogen at all times. NUWA Lab has a 24-hour reproduction monitoring and alarm system, which is controlled by a centralized back-office, assisting the embryologists to keep a close eye on the values of various systems 24 hours a day. They also strictly monitor the environmental conditions to ensure the quality of the frozen eggs.
Q3: Will freezing eggs speed up the depletion of eggs and advance menopause?
There are about 2 million primary oocytes in the ovaries of a newborn baby girl at birth, and each woman will only have about 400 ovulation cycles in her lifetime (from puberty to menopause). Each woman will only ovulate about 400 times in her lifetime (from puberty to menopause). One egg is ovulated in each cycle, so the maximum number of eggs that can be ovulated in a lifetime is 400, while the other hundreds of thousands of oocytes will not become mature enough to be ovulated due to hormonal factors.
Egg freezing treatment is to induce ovulation through drug stimulation, so that other follicles that would have naturally shrunk during the cycles will have a chance to grow and, therefore, will not cause menopause to come early!
Q4: Are there any government subsidies for egg freezing?
Currently, Taoyuan City Government and Hsinchu City Government have launched the egg freezing subsidy program (updated to 2024), so the latest information about the egg freezing subsidy program will be based on the announcements of Taoyuan City Government and Hsinchu City Government, and you are welcome to inquire at the Department of Public Health of Taoyuan City and the Department of Public Health of Hsinchu City. Or refer to this article: 2024 Egg Freezing Subsidy Program: Application Procedure, Eligibility, Subsidy Items and Fees at a glance, which will provide you with more detailed information about the subsidy.
NUWA’s 8 Advantages
Do you want to undergo egg-freezing treatment but don't know which fertility center is better? Then we recommend NUWA Fertility Center, which has the following 8 advantages and has been experienced and chosen by several people!
Major Fertility Chain in Taiwan
NUWA Healthcare has 3 high-quality IVF centers and 2 Chinese medicine clinics in Taipei, Taoyuan, and Taichung, with a total of one hundred healthcare professionals providing comprehensive fertility treatments.
International-Grade Embryology Laboratory
The NUWA Lab has a strict monitoring system, constant power, and temperature, and there are always professionals monitoring the levels of liquid nitrogen so that the spermatozoa and embryos can live in a safe and secure environment.
High Thawed Eggs Survival Rate
With an international standard embryo laboratory and experienced embryologists, the survival rate of frozen eggs is as high as 96.3%, so you can trust us with your future fertility!
Heartfelt Services
At NUWA Healthcare, we are committed to providing heartfelt services and consultation, hoping that all women can relax and feel at ease during treatments. The comfortable environment is a stark difference from the cold walls of hospitals in the past and even ensures your privacy from the consultation to the operation.
Assistance with Ovulation Injection
NUWA Healthcare also provides personalized ovulation injection services to reduce the psychological barrier of women in egg freezing treatment.
Reports in 90 Minutes
We know your time is precious, and NUWA Fertility Center recognizes this. The clinics ensure that "the same day you come in for a blood test will be the same day you get your AMH report result." Before entering the egg freezing treatment, we will take a blood test for AMH value (AMH value is an important indicator to check the egg stock in the ovaries), and the result will be available 90 minutes after the blood draw.
Customized Treatment
Depending on the circumstances of the case, the doctor can discuss a "customized treatment plan" and adjust the injections and medications, so that you do not have to return to the clinic and take injections frequently. For example, the long-lasting ovulation injection can be used for 6 to 7 days, which is a great blessing for women who are afraid of injections. However, long-lasting injections may not be suitable for everyone, so you can discuss with your doctor before the treatment so that you can schedule your treatment around your schedule, not the other way around.
Traditional Chinese Medicine
NUWA TCM Center’s professional team will help you with your physical conditioning, providing specialized care for egg and uterus nourishment. Working alongside Western medicine practitioners, we ensure that the medication can be adjusted at any time for a smoother egg-freezing process.
If you want to keep your eggs in good condition before it's too late, then egg freezing is a good choice for you!
NUWA Fertility Center not only has professional doctors who can plan customized treatments for you but can also provide you with attentive services for your comfort during the treatment. Therefore, if you have any questions related to egg freezing, you are welcome to make an appointment online and come in for a consultation, so that you can properly plan out your life!
Author's Information
NUWA Fertility Center
With many infertility experts and more than 10,000 doctors with successful IVF experience, the company has 5 clinics, including 3 high-specification IVF reproduction centers, 2 TCM centers, and 3 international embryo laboratories, which are located in Taipei, Taoyuan, and Taichung.
Main Services: Infertility treatment, IVF, artificial insemination, egg freezing, egg borrowing, and pregnancy preparation. In 2021, NUWA Healthcare will formally cooperate with Dianthus Medical Group to provide one-stop integrated services from preparation, pregnancy, labor, and postpartum care, which will bring the greatest convenience to the patients.👉Learn more about NUWA Healthcare