An example of egg freezing for a medical indication would be a woman diagnosed with a treatable malignancy between the ages of 15 and 41 years that will require chemotherapy or radiation treatments to a part of the body near the ovaries. Another example would be a woman who requires surgical removal of her ovary(ies) for a benign or questionable disease process. In these cases, if time permits and the treating doctor(s) approves, the patient can undergo one (and occasionally a second) treatment cycle to store a batch of eggs. The average number of oocytes retrieved at our center in cycles completed for cancer is twenty, which we think is a good amount.

It is important to know that the timing of egg freezing treatment is, in part, determined by your internal reproductive hormones and that the treatment is generally started at the beginning of the menstrual cycle (if you have a uterus). If cancer is diagnosed and you are interested in freezing eggs, it is important to call your cancer doctor and our center as soon as possible so that the cancer and egg freezing treatment can be coordinated. The oocyte cryopreservation treatment takes about two weeks and is usually fit in between your initial diagnostic procedures and your cancer treatment. If not clinically contraindicated (meaning your cancer doctors say it is alright), the timing of treatment is made easiest and most flexible if a patient is on oral contraceptive pills at the time they are evaluated at the NYU Fertility Center. The hormones of the birth control pills broaden the window when fertility preservation such as egg freezing can be performed.

At present, oocyte cryopreservation is considered attractive, yet experimental by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. This is in part due to the fact that many centers around the country currently offering egg freezing have never had or have a very low success rate regarding pregnancy. Information about our success is available on our Program Information page. In addition, there have been many fewer babies born from egg freezing and thawing than from embryo freezing and thawing, or from regular fresh IVF treatment cycles. To date, of the more than 600 babies born (greater than 300 reported in the past year), there has not been an increase in the number of birth defects described.

If you are interested in or need more preliminary information about egg freezing, learn more about how to get started with egg freezing. If medically necessary, you will be fit in for a priority appointment within one week of calling the office.