Why consider egg freezing?

Let’s not beat around the proverbial bush. Egg freezing will set you back about as much as a one-week luxury holiday in Maui. But that’s nothing compared to the cost of waiting for years to have a baby, only to find out you’ll need to undergo multiple rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment before finally succeeding.

While egg freezing shouldn’t be considered an insurance policy (or a guarantee) that you’ll have a successful pregnancy, it does boost your odds of having a healthy baby later in life.

Here’s everything you need to know before making your decision.

Note: We will be referring to women throughout this article for clarity, but know that that not everyone assigned female at birth identifies as a woman. We are simply referring to anyone born with ovaries as we discuss the process here.

What is egg freezing?

By now, you’re probably familiar with the term oocyte. If you aren’t, it’s the scientific term for a human egg. Once a girl reaches puberty, she has only 200,000 eggs – we say “only” because at birth, a baby girl has 6 million eggs. The older women get, the quality (and quantity) of eggs decreases, which can lead to difficulty conceiving.

Egg freezing allows your eggs to exist in a permanent state of youth; being literally frozen in time the moment they’re vitrified (flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen). Medication is used to help you produce more eggs than normal during an egg freezing cycle, and the process is most effective if completed in your early to mid-30s.

However, choosing to preserve your fertility via egg freezing is a great choice even after age 35 for many women. Your doctor will discuss your chances of success with you after assessing your baseline fertility and current ovarian reserve (how many eggs you have left).

Note: The more eggs you freeze, the greater your chance of a successful pregnancy.

When you decide the time is right to use your eggs and attempt pregnancy, they will be thawed and fertilized (each with a single sperm) through a process called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

After fertilization, the resulting embryos are closely monitored in the embryology laboratory as they develop. Around five days after fertilization, the embryo is ready to be transferred to the uterus.

How much does it cost to freeze your eggs?

Egg freezing is a big decision – often made when you’re too young to know when (or if) you’ll need to make use of it. Freezing eggs can cause strain on both your pocket book and your emotions, so you need to weigh your decision carefully before diving in.

We spend so much time factoring things like college, cars, and houses into our budgets. It makes sense that we should also include building our families into our financial plans.

Egg freezing can cost up to $30,000+, but the average cost is around $11,000, with the typical range being $8,000 to $15,000 per cycle (if you pay out-of-pocket). Keep in mind, storage fees will cost you anywhere from $500 to $1,000 annually.

It is important to note that there is a direct correlation between age and the quantity and quality of eggs expected at egg retrieval. It’s quite possible that women in their late 30’s will have to undergo multiple cycles in order to achieve a desired result, not just one cycle. 

What other variables affect the cost of egg freezing? Let’s discuss.

5 Factors That Can Impact the Cost of Egg Freezing 

Egg freezing costs depend on a few different factors you may not anticipate, including:

1. Your Location

Certain cities (like New York) are more expensive to undergo an egg freezing cycle in than others (like Boston and San Francisco). 

2. Your Age

Typically, those over age 37 need multiple cycles of egg freezing to garner the same number of viable eggs as healthy, younger women.

3. Your Health

Costs may be lower if you’re freezing eggs due to a medical condition (i.e. cancer, endometriosis or a family history of early menopause).

4. Your Clinic

Prices vary significantly between fertility practices, so don’t be afraid to shop around and ask lots of questions before choosing your clinic. A word of caution: some clinics advertise lower upfront costs for egg freezing but fail to include the price of essential medications, monitoring, and other important parts of the process. Always request a full breakdown of the costs associated with egg freezing, including storage fees. 

5. Your Insurance

Each insurance provider has a different policy around coverage for fertility preservation procedures, so be sure to review yours carefully and cover your bases. Egg freezing is typically not covered by insurance – however, some insurance companies (and employers) are starting to offer partial or full coverage for fertility-related care.  

Egg Freezing Cost Breakdown 

Below are some of the most commonly asked questions about egg freezing costs:

Does insurance cover egg freezing? 

How do I pay for egg freezing?

Here are a few ideas that may help:

1. Speak with a financial advisor to determine what you can afford.
2. Compare prices at different clinics, and ask each one for a detailed list of what’s included. See if they have payment packages or guarantees (some offer a 100% money-back guarantee for some treatments).
3. Look for deals on fertility medications. Talk to different pharmacies and your doctor to see if any special rates apply to your situation.
4. Save! Set up a regular automatic debit from your checking account into savings.
5. Ask friends or family to help. This could be a great birthday or holiday gift.
6. Set up a GoFundMe fundraising page to accumulate donations.
7. Use a flexible spending account (FSA) if you have one.
8. Pay with a rewards credit card to accumulate cash back, travel, or other rewards.
9. Read carefully through your employee benefits. Some companies cover egg freezing!

Is there financial help available for egg freezing?

Yes! Many fertility clinics centers offer financial packages to help offset the cost of egg freezing. A select few even include medications.

How many egg freezing cycles will I need?

This will depend on a few factors:

• Your age
• Your desired family size
• Your baseline ovarian reserve
• Your body’s response to ovarian stimulation

Many egg freezing patients undergo more than one cycle in order to retrieve the amount of eggs that gives them the best chance at a successful future pregnancy. In short, the more eggs you freeze, the better your odds are. 

What else should I know about egg freezing?

You now know how much egg freezing costs and what the treatment includes. Below are four other factors to take into consideration as you make this important decision:

1. Don’t freeze eggs when you’re too young or too old. At 20, your eggs are better quality and you’ll get a lot more of them in one cycle. However, being so young means you likely won’t have a good idea if you’ll need them later. You could be throwing away money if you’re able to get pregnant naturally. By 30, you’re closer to the age at which you’ll use the eggs and will have a better idea of whether you’ll need them.
2. Choose your clinic carefully. Do your research before freezing your eggs and choose a clinic with plenty of experience and high success rates (not just with freezing, but thawing and fertilization too).
3. Know you’ll lose eggs along the way. Freezing won’t guarantee success. There’s still a chance some eggs won’t survive the freeze or thaw, and others won’t fertilize correctly.
4. Be prepared for failure. The live birth rate per frozen egg is anywhere from 2-12% on average, which is why we always recommend you have as many mature, healthy eggs frozen as possible to give you the best chance at pregnancy. 

Ready to take the next step?

Now that you know all the facts about egg freezing costs, take some time to consider your next steps. Do you have more questions you’d like to discuss with a fertility specialist? Perhaps you’d like to get a head start by calling your insurance company or HR department to see if egg freezing is covered. Maybe you just need to take a few days to mull it all over.

No matter how you’re feeling right now (overwhelmed, excited, nervous, hopeful), know that you’re not alone and many other women have been in your shoes!