Female infertility is directly related to age. This is because women are born with a fixed number of eggs. By their mid-thirties, the number of viable eggs available is very few. Thankfully, it is possible for a woman to harvest and preserve eggs at a young age and use them to have a baby at a later age. This is known as egg freezing or oocyte freezing.
Oocyte freezing or egg freezing is a relatively new procedure. When a woman decides to freeze her eggs, she is given medication to stimulate the production of eggs. These eggs are then retrieved form her ovaries and stored at sub zero temperatures with the help of cryoprotectants. This way, the biological activity within the eggs is paused until the egg is thawed at a later date.
There are three types of costs associated with egg freezing. Firstly, one must consider the cost of retrieving the eggs and freezing them. Secondly, you must consider the cost of keeping them frozen until you decide to use them. This is a recurring cost that must be paid on an annual basis. The third cost includes eggs that are frozen and preserved may be used to conceive only through In-vitro fertilization of IVF. Thus, you must also consider the cost of IVF in your assessment. These three costs vary from clinic to clinic.
It's also important to know that the procedure of harvesting and freezing eggs may need to be repeated a few times in order to have sufficient eggs for IVF. This can be physically and emotionally taxing.
While you cannot ignore costs, it is far from being the most important cost. All fertility clinics are not the same. If you're thinking about freezing your eggs, you must be able to choose a clinic where you feel comfortable and a doctor who you can trust.