If you are considering freezing your eggs, you may have asked “How many eggs do I need to freeze?” It’s a good question because, in addition to your age, the number of eggs you freeze will impact your chances of a successful pregnancy. However, before understanding the answer to that question, you must first understand the egg freezing process.
When you’re ready to have a baby and want to use the eggs you’ve frozen, around 90% of your eggs will survive the thaw. Of that 90%, a certain number will fertilise. This depends on a variety of factors, including your age at the time the eggs were frozen and the quality of the sperm you use to fertilise the eggs. Then, of those that fertilise, only a certain number will divide and become embryos and after that only a certain number will continue to develop into healthy 5-day blastocyst embryos that can be transferred back into the uterus. Every step of the way some eggs/embryos fail to progress.
So, now that you understand the process, we can explore various factors that can influence how many eggs you choose to freeze. Firstly, your age is of the utmost importance. As a woman ages the quality of her eggs declines, meaning they are less likely to fertilise. Of those that do fertilise, they are more likely to result in miscarriage or genetic abnormalities. With that said, it’s better for older women to freeze more eggs than younger women.
When choosing how many eggs you should freeze, it’s worth considering how many children you think you’ll want in the future. The bigger the family you desire, the more eggs you should freeze. It’s also important to think about your budget, as this will have a huge impact on how many eggs you can freeze.
It is worth always remembering that there is never a guarantee of success and, no matter how many eggs you freeze, you will not know for sure if they will form a child until you actually fertilise and re-implant them. For this reason you should always consider that freezing your eggs in order to delay having your family could result in you never having that family.
If you are thinking about freezing your eggs, our doctors and nurses will be able to give you the advice you need based on your personal situation. Please get in touch if you would like to book a consultation or come along to one of our open days.
