What is fertility preservation?
Fertility preservation treatment involves the freezing and storing of eggs and/or sperm so that they can be used at a later date. It can also be used to freeze gametes and embryos in a process called vitrification.
Fertility preservation may be considered, or recommended by your doctor, for several reasons. For example, you might want to wait to have a family until you’re older, or perhaps you require treatment for another medical condition which will likely impact your fertility. Preserving your eggs or sperm is a safe and effective way of safeguarding your ability to start a family later in life.
Who might benefit from fertility preservation treatment?
There are many benefits to using fertility preservation treatment. For example, if you’re about to have treatment for an illness (like cancer) that could impact your fertility afterwards, freezing your eggs or sperm can allow you to have a biological child when you’re recovered.
Some people will preserve their fertility because they don’t want to have children yet. For anyone who isn’t ready to have children but doesn’t want to worry about age affecting their ability to have a child when they are ready, fertility preservation treatment can be the solution they are looking for.
If you’re a transgender person, you may want to consider fertility preservation treatment, as hormone therapy and reconstructive surgery could impact your fertility later on.
Other people needing to have medical procedures like a hysterectomy or a vasectomy for health reasons. If this is the case for you, freezing your eggs or sperm can safeguard your ability to have a child in the future — though a surrogate will need to be used if you’ve had a hysterectomy.
Female fertility preservation
At IVF Matters, we offer many different female fertility preservation treatments. These are done safely at our clinic and can be effective at helping you preserve your fertility — helping you to have children when the time is right for you.
Egg Freezing Treatment
Freezing eggs is the procedure of choice for those who want to delay having a child due to social or medical reasons.
Egg freezing involves injections being given to stimulate your ovaries for about 12 days in total. The eggs are then collected under sedation in a relatively non-invasive procedure. Once collected, the eggs are vitrified for use in the future.
The 1st birth from frozen eggs using vitrification was documented in 1999. This was followed by the HFEA permitting egg freezing treatment in the UK from 2000.
As per data published by UK’s fertility regulator The HFEA in Sept 2018, egg freezing cycles are on the rise and currently make up around 1.5% of all fertility treatment cycles carried out across the UK with majority of treatments taking place in London.
1. Your age at the time of starting treatment
As per the HFEA data, most women who froze their eggs in 2016 were over 35. The commonest age to freeze eggs was 38. However, the most common age women came back for fertility treatment to use their cryopreserved eggs was 40.
“There are many women freezing eggs into their 40s and even 50s. Given the scientific consensus around age-related fertility decline, it is not clear why patients of this age are freezing eggs and we would caution against this being a sensible option for this group of women.” HFEA
When should women be freezing their eggs?
‘Standard’ fresh IVF does not offer a solution to age-related fertility decline because it cannot reverse the egg degeneration that comes with getting older’. This is why the age a woman is when she freezes her eggs is so important. HFEA
In cases over the age of 35, we know there is a steep decline in fertility and this has an impact on both natural conception and IVF success rates. HFEA
The likelihood of a successful outcome following egg freezing is based on the age at the time of freezing one’s eggs. Hence, freezing eggs prior to early 30s would be the ideal time to have the best chance of a successful outcome in future. However, young women are likely to get pregnant spontaneously and are hence, are less likely to use their frozen eggs. The current 10-year legal limit on storage of frozen eggs means the frozen eggs are to be used within this period.
When one freezes later in life, the process may be more invasive and expensive due to the natural decline in fertility as more cycles may be needed to collect the desired number of eggs. The chances of treatment being successful reduces but one is more likely to use the frozen eggs.
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2. Cost of treatment – how will you fund your treatment
3. Risks associated with the treatment – it is generally a safe treatment
4. Chances of success – The birth rate from frozen own eggs is 18% per treatment cycle
5. Risk of not using the frozen eggs - There is a chance that one may conceive spontaneously and hence, may not use the frozen eggs in the future
6. Risk to baby and mother - Currently 2000 babies worldwide have been born from cryopreserved eggs but long-term studies on safety for children born from this process are not yet available. Evidence to date, shows no differences between the use of vitrified or fresh eggs in the rates of obstetrical problems in pregnancy. There are no increased risks of chromosomal anomalies or significant physical or developmental deficits in the babies born.
“Egg freezing is emerging as a viable clinical technique to preserve women’s fertility, providing the eggs are frozen at a clinically optimum age, and the patient is aware of the risks and possibility of becoming pregnant naturally. The evidence suggests that if eggs are frozen below the age of 35, the chances of success using these frozen eggs is higher than the natural conception rate as the woman gets older.
The results of our analysis are supported by international evidence which suggests egg freezing is a successful and cost-effective method of preserving fertility.” HFEA
Egg freezing involves the following steps:
Step 1 - Workup
a) Initial consultation
b) Fertility Fitness Tests
c) Follow up
Step 2 - Preparation
a) Complete consent forms
b) Attend a nurse consultation
c) Purchase of medication
Step 3 - Treatment
a) Ovarian stimulation
b) Egg collection
c) Freezing and storage
The most important factor that affects the success rates of egg freezing is the age of the women at the time of freezing. The age of thawing the eggs does not seem to significantly influence the outcome.
Birth rates from frozen own eggs are increasing but remain below fresh IVF treatment cycles at 18% per treatment cycle, HFEA data.
Cost of egg freezing
The cost of our egg freezing treatment is £3,999.
This includes the following:
- HFEA fee
- Nurse consultation
- Cycle management
- Ultrasound monitoring
- Egg collection under sedatio
- Egg-freezing and storage for 1 year
- Consultation with a nutritionist or counsellor*
*First cycle of treatment
There may be additional charges as well if you need further treatment during this process.
Additional charges as applicable:
- Blood tests – £349
- Two cycle egg freezing package – £7,499
Egg Vitrification | Fertility Preservation
Process
Advantages and Risks
Egg Collection Demo
Embryo Freezing Treatment
Embryo freezing may be recommended after a round of IVF, if there are a number of successfully fertilised embryos which can be kept for future use. The embryos do need to be of the best quality as they won’t freeze and thaw properly if not.
Embryos can be stored for up to ten years. A frozen embryo transfer gives you another chance of a pregnancy from the initial egg collection with a much-reduced cost without having to go through an egg collection again.
Cost of embryo freezing
The cost of our embryo freezing treatment is £4,899.
This includes the following:
- HFEA fee
- Nurse consultation
- Cycle management
- Ultrasound monitoring
- Egg collection under sedation
- Sperm preparation
- Embryo freezing and storage for 1 year
- Consultation with a nutritionist or counsellor*
*First cycle of treatment
There may be additional charges as well if you need further treatment during this process.
Additional charges as applicable:
- ICSI – £1,299
- IMSI – £699
- Blastocyst culture – £749
- Embryoscope – £649
- Blood tests – £349
- Two cycle embryo freezing package – £9,399
Male fertility preservation
We also provide male fertility preservation treatments at IVF Matters. Male fertility preservation can preserve your fertility and your ability to have one or more children, whether you’re single or have a partner.
Sperm Freezing Treatment
The most well-known male fertility preservation is sperm freezing. This is where the sperm is frozen so that it can be used in the future for artificial insemination, other fertility treatments, or even donated.
This treatment can be beneficial for those facing medical conditions or treatments that can impact fertility in the future.
Cost of sperm freezing
The cost of our sperm freezing treatment is £699.
This includes the following:
- HFEA fee
- Nurse consultation
- Sperm preparation
- Sperm freezing and storage for 1 year
Two cycle sperm freezing package – £1,349
Testicular tissue freezing and surgical sperm retrieval
Another male fertility preservation treatment is testicular tissue freezing and surgical sperm retrieval.
If a man has no sperm in their semen (through a vasectomy or age) or if they can’t ejaculate due to an injury, then the sperm needs to be extracted surgically. Typically, the sperm removed in this procedure has poor or slow movement, so will be injected directly into the eggs so they can be fertilised.
The three different methods of sperm extraction are:
- Micro-epididymal sperm aspiration (MESA)
- Percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA)
- Micro-testicular sperm extraction (micro TESE)
We’ll discuss with you which method will be best for you when you book a consultation with our fertility expert.
Take the next step to grow your family
Will the NHS cover fertility preservation treatment?
Fertility preservation treatments can be available on the NHS, but it does vary across the UK. The eligibility criteria may differ depending on where you live. Your GP will be able to advise you on your eligibility for treatment, or may direct you to your local Integrated Care Board (ICB).
If your GP refers you to a specialist, you won’t have to pay for any testing or treatment. But if they don’t, then you may have to look at going private with a fertility clinic like IVF Matters.
Waiting lists for fertility treatments can be very long in some areas of the UK. We offer quick, accessible and affordable care that can help you get the answers you need during your fertility journey.
Contact us today
If you want to increase your fertility treatment options with the help of preservation, get in touch with our expert team at IVF Matters.
We’ll be able to advise you on what fertility treatments and preservations will work best for you — allowing you to decide your future.
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