#electiveeggfreezing has become the buzz word in Singapore and will be legally allowed from July 2023.
While it is a giant step forward for women to control their fertility, there are facts that you should know before deciding if you should do elective egg freezing.
#1 What is social egg freezing and what procedure is needed?
Elective egg freezing (EEF) means to store the eggs (oocytes) of a woman for future fertility when she wants to conceive with IVF at a later date. EEF involves daily hormonal injections for about 2 weeks and a egg-retrieval procedure is planned to retrieve the stimulated eggs. The retrieved eggs are then frozen for storage.
#2 Why elective egg freezing?
EEF allows women to freeze and optimize the egg quality at a younger age as oocyte quality will decline with age especially above 37. Note that the legal age of EEF is up to 37 in Singapore. So do consider before you hit 37.
#3 How do I know if I need EEF?
See a doctor to assess if you are considering EEF program. If your menses are irregular or your ovulation tests have been negative, you may have polycystic ovary syndrome which can affect your chance of fertility. Conversely, some women may have premature ovarian failure (menopause). Do your blood hormone test and anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) to find out. Try to download PCOSg app to predict your fertility.
#4 How much is EEF in Singapore?
This will depend on your doctor and IVF centre charges. Also, the public and private center charge may differ. In general, it is expensive and may set you back on average $10K.
#5 What is success rate of EEF?
In general, egg harvesting should be successful. However, whether the eggs are of good quality and usable in future, it is an unknown. Average of 9 eggs were frozen per retrieval in a study for women with mean age of 37.
Vitrification, which is the preferred freezing method, has 74% “thaw” survival rate. Studies show that only 15% returned to use their frozen eggs for IVF. The mean egg fertilisation rate was 67%. The pregnancy rate achieved per post embryo transfer was 48%. The live birth rate per embryo transfer was 35%. Remember, #EEF does not guarantee future pregnancy.
#6 What are your risks of EEF?
Injection pain, ovarian hyperstimulation which causes bloating and breathless, infection are possible rare complications, although it is a safe procedure.