Egg freezing is a technique that allows women to preserve their fertility for social or medical reasons. This method yields the highest egg count when performed on women with higher AMH levels. While it remains a viable option for older women, multiple procedures may be necessary to achieve optimal results.

Women opt for fertility preservation for social or medical reasons. On the personal side, they might want kids in the future but find it impractical due to education, lack of a partner, caregiving duties, financial constraints, or career goals.

On the medical front, conditions like cancer treatment, premature ovarian insufficiency, genetic disorders, endometriosis, or ovarian surgery might prompt the need for fertility preservation. Before undergoing treatment for these medical issues, women might consider taking steps to preserve their fertility as a precautionary measure.

The egg freezing procedure preserves eggs that would typically be lost during each menstrual cycle. Hormonal medications can stimulate the growth of multiple eggs, which are then frozen for future use, contrasting with the typical production of only one egg per cycle.

This option only preserves your fertility, and studies indicate that egg freezing does not diminish the likelihood of a future natural pregnancy nor deplete the remaining ovarian reserve.

There is a small risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Most cases are mild, but rarely the condition is severe and can lead to serious illness.

Your frozen eggs can usually be stored for many years, and sometimes even indefinitely! As long as they're properly stored, they can stay healthy for quite a while. This means you can hold onto your fertility options for as long as you need, until you're ready to use them for treatments like IVF.

Yes, fertility clinics or specialized agencies experienced in handling cryopreserved materials can assist with the logistics and necessary documentation for the safe transportation of frozen eggs across borders.

If you want to use your frozen eggs, they’ll be thawed and fertilized with partner or donor sperm using in vitro fertilization (IVF).

It varies based on multiple factors, with age being the most critical. Your age at the time of freezing is the most reliable predictor of the number of genetically normal eggs. While there's no specific number guaranteeing a future pregnancy, the generally recommended approach is to freeze around 20 eggs for optimal chances.

You have two choices. If you choose not to keep storing your frozen eggs, they will be removed from the liquid nitrogen and lose their viability. Eggs are cells that naturally leave your body during your menstrual cycle. Alternatively, you can donate your eggs to individuals who are unable to have children. In Slovakia, this process requires the woman to be younger than 35 years old and undergo a genetic test.

Egg freezing process typically consists 8–11 days of hormone injections to stimulate your ovaries to produce multiple eggs in one menstrual cycle, instead of the single egg they would typically produce. During this period, you’ll have 5–7 short “monitoring” visits where the clinic assesses your progress and possibly makes adjustments to your medication or schedule.

Finally, there’s a 15-minute surgical procedure performed under mild anaesthesia to retrieve the eggs from your ovaries. This whole process, from the beginning of the injections through to the retrieval, is called a “cycle.”

This depends on how sensitive you are. Injecting the medication is generally not painful for most of patients. The needles are very thin and you inject them into the fatty tissue around your belly button.

Some women feel bloated and crampy while taking the medication, but those side effects will stop after egg collection. The transvaginal ultrasound exams used during egg freezing aren’t painful, but they can be a little uncomfortable.

During egg retrieval you will be under sedation and therefore won’t feel anything. You may experience some pain when you wake up, like a little soreness or some abdominal cramping.

It's best to plan to take the day off work on the day of your retrieval procedure, so you can rest afterward. You may experience some vaginal soreness and cramping for a few days, but typically, you can return to your normal routine by the following day.

During the freezing process, you'll need to steer clear of intense exercise, drug use, alcohol, and sex. This is important because you may stop taking birth control and the hormone injections can increase your fertility. Your clinic will provide more details on any additional restrictions. Besides those, you can carry on with your daily life as usual! On the day of your egg retrieval, and possibly the day after, it's a good idea to take time off work or school. However, some women feel well enough to resume their normal activities right away.

If you have a regular period can expect to get her next period at the same time she would have during a normal cycle, 28–30 days after her previous period began.