What Is Egg Freezing?

What Is Egg Freezing?

Egg freezing is a method that allows women to conceive in a healthy way even at an advanced age. In this method, a woman's eggs are frozen and stored, and when needed, they are thawed and used to achieve pregnancy. Egg freezing is the process of preserving a woman's eggs for use later during IVF treatment.

Who Is Egg Freezing Performed For?

Egg freezing can be performed on individuals who have completed puberty. Egg freezing is carried out when women need to preserve their fertility potential for a variety of reasons.

• Before cancer treatment: Cancer treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy can negatively affect ovarian function. For this reason, women who will undergo cancer treatment may wish to freeze their eggs.
• Before ovarian surgery: If a surgical operation requires the removal of your ovaries or is expected to cause a serious decline in ovarian reserve, your eggs can be collected before this operation.
• Decline in ovarian reserve: In women, ovarian reserve decreases with advancing age. Unfortunately, in some women, egg reserve declines at a much younger age. A decline in ovarian reserve reduces the chance of pregnancy at any age. For this reason, women with a reduced ovarian reserve may wish to freeze their eggs. If your AMH level is below 1.1, and you have not yet given birth and are not married, you may want to consider egg freezing.
• Genetic conditions: If there is a family history of early menopause — for example, if your mother, aunt, or older sister stopped menstruating before age 40 — you can protect your chance of becoming a mother by freezing your eggs due to the risk of early menopause. There is no time limit on stored eggs.
• Delaying pregnancy: Women may decide to delay pregnancy for career or personal reasons. In this case, they may wish to freeze their eggs.

How Is Egg Freezing Performed?

1. Hormone treatment: For the egg freezing procedure, a series of hormone medications that increase fertility hormones are used. These medications stimulate the ovaries, creating the conditions for multiple eggs to develop.
2. Egg retrieval: Once the eggs reach a sufficient size with hormone treatment, a trigger shot is given to complete their maturation. The eggs are retrieved 34-36 hours after this injection. The retrieval procedure is performed under sedation anesthesia using a catheter. During the procedure, a thin needle is guided into the ovaries through the vagina under ultrasound guidance. The eggs are collected with the needle and sent to the laboratory.
3. Egg preparation: After the eggs are brought into the laboratory setting, they are first cleaned, then washed with a special solution, and coated with a protective substance before freezing.
4. Egg freezing: Once the eggs are prepared for freezing, they are frozen using a rapid-freezing technique. This method is called vitrification. The eggs are first kept in a protective solution and then rapidly cooled to -196 degrees in liquid nitrogen vapor. Vitrification minimizes the crystallization that can occur when freezing egg cells, increasing their survival rate.

How Long Can Frozen Eggs Be Stored?

The egg freezing period refers to the length of time eggs are preserved through advanced freezing technology in a laboratory setting. Under the legal regulations currently in force in Turkey, frozen eggs can be stored for 5 years. At the end of this period, the storage period can be extended for medical reasons and with the approval of the Ministry of Health. Egg freezing is an important fertility preservation method, particularly for women who are delaying marriage plans, who carry a risk of early menopause, or who will undergo treatments such as chemotherapy that threaten their egg reserve. Throughout the storage period, the eggs are kept in special tanks at -196°C, and their quality is largely preserved. When treatment is needed, they can be thawed and used in the IVF process.

What Are the Important Factors in Egg Freezing for IVF?

Age factor: A woman's age has a significant effect on the quality of her eggs. Generally, the eggs of women younger than 30 are healthier. For this reason, the ideal age range for egg freezing is between 20 and 30 years old. It should be noted that both the number and quality of eggs decrease with age.

• Number of eggs: Collecting a sufficient number of healthy eggs is important for the success of the egg freezing procedure. For this reason, both the starting follicle count and the hormone treatment applied during the process of stimulating a woman's ovaries are important.
• Freezing method: The method used to freeze the eggs also affects the outcome. Today, the most commonly used method is vitrification. Which method is used is determined based on the quality of the eggs and the risk of damage that may occur during the freezing process.
• Storage duration: The eggs are stored in a special tank containing liquid nitrogen. The longer the eggs are stored, the lower their chance of success may be when they are used.

Advantages of Egg Freezing

• In women planned for cancer treatment, the chance of pregnancy can be increased by collecting and freezing eggs before treatment begins.
• Women with a reduced ovarian reserve can still become pregnant at an advanced age.
• Women who delay pregnancy for career or personal reasons can still become pregnant at an advanced age.

Success Rate of Egg Freezing

The success rate of egg freezing varies depending on the woman's age, ovarian reserve, and the center where the freezing procedure is performed. In general, in women under 35, pregnancy rates achieved with frozen eggs are similar to pregnancy rates achieved naturally. In women over 35, pregnancy rates achieved with frozen eggs are lower than those achieved naturally. This is because both the number and quality of eggs decline with age.

Egg Freezing Prices 2026

Egg freezing is more affordable than other IVF procedures. This is because fertilization and transfer are not performed. Collecting, protecting, and storing the eggs requires a more specialized laboratory setting. Egg freezing prices can vary depending on factors such as the technique used, laboratory quality, and follow-up after the procedure.

Hospitals That Perform Egg Freezing

IVF centers in Turkey perform egg freezing. Women who wish to have the procedure done need to obtain a suitability report for egg freezing with their doctor's approval. The recommendation of an IVF physician is important when choosing the best egg freezing center.

Fertility Preservation Options

Fertility preservation options vary depending on many factors, including the patient's age and whether she is sexually active.

Ovarian Tissue Freezing

Ovarian tissue freezing should be considered particularly for pre-pubertal child patients and for single adult patients without a partner, for whom egg or embryo freezing is not appropriate.

Embryo Freezing

If the patient has a partner and there is enough time before cancer treatment, embryo freezing is recommended. In breast cancer cases, it has been reported that embryos obtained through IVF attempts using aromatase inhibitors (letrozole) can be frozen.

Egg Freezing

Oocyte freezing is an option that should be considered for young adolescent patients as well as adult patients without a partner. However, it is a fact that the success of embryo freezing is greater than that of egg freezing.