Understanding Egg Freezing

Egg freezing has rapidly grown in popularity over the past decade, with nearly 20% of large employers now offering it as part of their benefits package. At Boston IVF, egg-freezing procedures have increased six-fold since 2007, with over 5,000 eggs frozen annually.

While often seen as an "insurance policy," the age of the individual remains a key factor in its success.

Consult and Plan
It begins with a meeting with a fertility expert to review your goals and options. Testing will assess your egg supply and quantity which will inform a tailored egg freezing plan.

Stimulate and Wait
An egg freezing cycle takes less than a month. We’ll stimulate the ovaries with easy-to-use hormonal medications to encourage the development of many eggs in a process called controlled ovarian hyperstimulation. You’ll be monitored through blood work and ultrasound as the eggs mature. 

Retrieve and Freeze 
When ready, the eggs are retrieved in a 20-minute procedure and frozen in the IVF lab through a process called vitrification, which cryopreserves eggs at –196° C with liquid nitrogen. With vitrification there is no limit to the length of time eggs can be frozen.

When your ovaries develop multiple large follicles (typically 18-22 mm or larger), you’ll take a “trigger shot” to help your body prepare the eggs for ovulation. Instead of ovulating naturally, a Boston IVF reproductive endocrinologist will collect your eggs during a procedure called vaginal ultrasound-guided egg retrieval.

Egg retrieval is an outpatient surgical procedure that only takes about 20 minutes under light anesthesia. Though you’ll need someone to drive you home afterward, you will typically be able to return to work and other activities the next day.