Using advanced egg freezing methods available at PFCLA, you can freeze the eggs indefinitely without weakening them. In fact, European countries like the UK have even proposed legislation to increase the storage limit up to 55 years. In the US, there is no limit on the number of years that eggs can be frozen.
There is no actual age limit or cutoff for freezing your eggs, although the potential of those eggs turning into a live birth reduces in the 40s. According to research, women who are under age 36 when freezing their eggs have a 95% survival rate for their eggs once they are thawed.
Occasionally, egg freezing medications can get the ovaries working too hard, resulting in what we call “ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome” or OHSS. OHSS is associated with swollen, enlarged ovaries and the collection of fluid in the abdominal cavity.
Egg freezing typically works best for women in their 20s to 30s, and is not generally recommended for women older than 38 years.
“Freezing eggs after the age of 40 is not typically recommended but may be considered on a case-by-case basis,” says Cross.
Fertility After Age 40 – IVF in the 40s. At age 40 and above women have reduced fertility potential as compared to that seen in younger women. They also have substantially lower success rates with fertility treatments including in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Thus, the pregnancy rate even with IVF (using her own eggs) is less than 5% in women above age 42 years. They are even lower at age 44 and practically zero at age 45 years.
While it's not impossible to become pregnant naturally at 50, it is very rare. Women are born with all of the eggs they will ever have. As you get older, you have fewer eggs, and they are more likely to have abnormalities. Most women who get pregnant after 50 use donor eggs.
However, it is not recommended to attempt IVF over the age of 45 years with your own eggs, as very few women conceive and have a baby with their own eggs at that age.
Refrigerate eggs at 45 degrees Fahrenheit or less when they are received. Keep eggs under refrigeration until used. Keep a maximum of two weeks supply of eggs, and rotate your stock so that the oldest ones are used first.
Not everyone is a candidate for egg freezing. Egg freezing typically works best for those in their 20s to early 30s, and is not usually recommended for women over 38 years.
The stimulation cycle for egg freezing encourages more of the immature egg cells to mature so that more eggs can be harvested. This explains why egg freezing does not cause early onset menopause. Another risk often discussed when considering egg freezing is cancer risk.
Cost of egg freezing
At IVF Australia, an Elective Egg Freezing Cycle costs $6,000. This includes cycle management, surgeon's fee, initial freeze and first six months' storage (up to 10 eggs retrieved).
Yes it is possible, however as the number of eggs the body produces is reduced the number of eggs that can be extracted and frozen will be minimal. Pregnancy rates are lower from eggs frozen after the age of 35 so it is often recommended to freeze eggs much earlier.
If you're freezing your eggs for elective purposes – it's not covered by Medicare. Egg freezing isn't covered by private health insurance, but if your policy covers assisted reproductive services it might cover some costs like hospital fees, doctor or anaesthetist fees and other associated costs.
After this age, egg quality slowly deteriorates until around age 37, and then deteriorates more rapidly until about age 42. After roughly age 42, fertility for most women basically falls off a cliff. While some women in their mid-40s will achieve a pregnancy, many more will be disappointed.
Pregnancy after age 45 years is infrequent and the mother and baby should be considered as a high risk. There is a greater incidence of spontaneous abortion, gestational trophoblastic disease and chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus.
By age 43, your egg supply is near its end. Your risk of pregnancy complications, such as high blood pressure and gestational diabetes, increases after 35 as well, and continues to rise into your 40s. Miscarriage rates begin to skyrocket in your 40s as well.
A woman's peak reproductive years are between the late teens and late 20s. By age 30, fertility (the ability to get pregnant) starts to decline. This decline happens faster once you reach your mid-30s. By 45, fertility has declined so much that getting pregnant naturally is unlikely.
“It's exceptionally rare for patients to get pregnant naturally at 50 or over 45. They make history,” said Dr. David Keefe, an obstetrician-gynecologist and fertility researcher at New York University. In part that's because around age 50, many women are entering menopause, after which egg harvesting isn't possible.
However, pregnancy success rates using your own eggs drops considerably for women over 40. In the U.S., the likelihood of achieving a live birth from one egg retrieval in women between ages 41-42 is less than 20% (http://sart.org); in women above age 42, the rate is less than 5%.
So on average, when we look at large groups of women, of women who want to conceive at age 40, about half will get pregnant naturally. But that decreases quickly to perhaps 20% to 25% by age 42 to 43. And by age 45, it's quite rare to become pregnant naturally. Dr.