Egg freezing & single

[EggFreezing36]

I am 37 and egg freezing, due to being single and wanting to give myself some options.

Is there anyone else in the same boat who can relate to whilst being pleased you are doing something about it, and recognising it's good to be able to afford it; also struggling to be on forums where everyone else is well on the journey e.g. have a partner, actively trying, whereas you feel a million steps behind?

Hi there, I'm on my second cycle of egg freezing. I had a topic in my first cycle and a few people chimed in so we are definitely not alone.
Pretty much on the same boat as you, I'm 34 and single. I'm not sure I will find a partner eventually, so it may be all for naught, but I don't want to regret later if I do meet someone. I think it's becoming much more common these days.

Best of luck with your cycle 💐

I am 37, married, but my husband is not sure yet if he wants to have children (says we need bigger house/more work stability/better health, etc - all points I agree with and respect - but sadly fertility is really UNFAIR to women). So, I decided to do a few exams to check on my fertility and, for now, we are considering egg freezing. Just came back from my first consultation at the Fertility Clinic and will be planning on doing my first egg retrieval in a month or so.

Ultimately, if you have the chance/opportunity/money to get your eggs frozen I would say “do it” - sooner rather than later. It is an investment/safety net without ANY guarantees, YES…but at least for me it represents a piece of mind that, if in the future you want to try to become a mum, then you are giving yourself a better chance using your younger/healthier eggs (in our case at 37, they are NOT that young anymore 😭)…if anything, in hindsight I wished I had my eggs frozen a few years ago when I first thought about it.

@EggFreezing36 I am also single, but didnt freeze my eggs. Im a carrier for a genetic illness with 50% chance of passing, so unless I did genetic testing, it was a big risk.

I ended up going with double donors, but just going for it! Currently 6 weeks pregnant, at 40!

@EggFreezing36 i just wanted to share my story- I froze my eggs when I was 35 and living in NYC. Single, so afraid I’d never have the chance to be a mum.. and I’m here eight years later, pregnant with twins at 43! I moved back to London and found my fab partner at 41. I only had ten eggs so I got lucky and had a good clinic. I am so glad I gave myself the chance to be a mum. If you’ve the slightest inkling then follow your heart and you won’t regret it. Good luck x

@Ellsbatt Thank you for sharing that is a very hopeful story.

I did one round when I was 36 at ABC IVF in London, and only got 4 eggs despite having 12 ripe follicles. They thought they got the timing wrong on the extraction. Not sure I would recommend ABC. I found it so emotionally difficult I stopped. Now 38 and planning on trying another few rounds, but with another clinic.

Does anyone have a recommendation for clinics in Bristol or London?

Good for you on freezing your eggs.

Worst case scenario, what do you plan to do with your eggs? Would you be willing to use donor sperm?

I'm just saying because you have more chances freezing embryos than eggs. You could fertilize some of those eggs to make embryos so you have a higher change and freeze both, embryos and eggs (if the budget permits).

I'm just saying because I started IVF at 36 and already struggling due to egg quality.

Good luck 🤞

Totally second this

I agree. If be freezing half my eggs and half of them I'd make embryos via donor just to be safe as eggs are one cell and there's no guarantee any of your eggs will survive whereas embroys have a much higher chance of survival

My friends had twenty eggs frozen and none made it when she eventually fertilised them x

@CR7 I’m guessing this was a while ago? Freezing techniques have improved greatly over recent years.

To offer a more encouraging story to @EggFreezing36 , I purchased 18 frozen eggs from a bank last month. 17 survived thaw, 14 fertilised and 5 have become good quality blastocysts suitable for freezing. The clinic I’m with in the US now uses frozen eggs as standard for all its donor cycles and gets good results.

@ListerMummy sadly not I'm afraid. 2021.

I have been through four rounds myself. It's such a huge rollercoaster and drop off is also massive even with embryos.

Delighted your experience was so positive x

@CR7 well I’ve not attempted a transfer yet so don’t want to get carried away. I just didn’t want to leave the OP feeling too pessimistic.

Totally agree, just wanted to echo a PP who mentioned embryos as opposed to eggs. So much in the press about ivf clinics not being realistic about eggs freezing

www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/egg-freezing-real-cost-misleading-ads-hidden-fees/

We used the BCRM just outside Bristol for our first round. I have mixed feelings about them. I think the lab is very good, and the nurses seem to care. But when I was there, my care was entirely nurse led, with no input from doctors. Nothing was explained. When I miscarried after our second transfer, all communication stopped - it felt like we were pushed out the door and we didn't hear from them again until I sent them an email to complain about the lack of aftercare. I was in a really bad place - understandably - and the lack of contact from them made it so much worse.

For our second round we used the Bristol Fertility Clinic which is based at the Spire Hospital. They use the BCRM for lab work and egg collection, but all treatment decisions were made by the same doctor - Uma Gordon, who runs the clinic. I liked her a lot and I'm now nearly 30 weeks pregnant from our first transfer from that round. So of course I feel more positive about them, rightly or wrongly!

I wish you loads of luck. I'd advise you to do your research, don't rush into to it super quickly, and ask questions. Remember that most fertility clinics are profit-driven, and not all of them have your best interests at heart.

@eggfreezing My friend and I are quite pleased with Lister. Nurses are nice and know what they are doing. Scans/tests will be reviewed by consultants same day (although you won't hear from them unless they need to change your treatment). I emailed the main consultant/nurses a few times during the process and got answers quite quickly. The only issue is the wait time at their main clinic (Chelsea) is quite long, so it often took me 1-2 hours for an appointment. The London Bridge clinic is much quicker.

From a male perspective I don't envy women having to do egg freezing. However, I think it's important to state that men really appreciate it if a woman has frozen eggs ( ideally a couple of rounds). I'm 41 and have tended to date at my own age over the last 5 years. It is of great comfort to men if a woman has frozen eggs because we too cling to hope. Trying for a first time baby at say 39-42 is stressful enough and- although imperfect - it's a big advantage if egg freezing ( effectively the first half of ivf) has been done with say 35 year old eggs. The truth about ivf from say 40-42 is it might take 5 or 6 transfers and still not work. Whereas in your mid thirty's on average there is a live birth by 3 or 4 goes. In short, whether we like it or not a late thirties relationship is greatly enhanced if a woman froze her eggs, ideally between 33-37.

I guess it won’t be long now until a little box appears on Tinder which you can tick if you have eggs frozen. Lovely.