Image: The Guardian
Scientists found out that only a quarter of women who froze their eggs between 2009-2019 came back for fertility treatment. More than 843 women were observed as part of the study.
It is seen that the number of women choosing to freeze their eggs has increased recently. Though the physical and financial cost of freezing eggs is a lot, women are still going for it. However, sadly, not all of these women are using the frozen eggs. Some of them did not even return to the facility after their eggs are frozen.
The study was conducted by a team from Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, a university hospital in Belgium, who tracked 843 women who opted to freeze their eggs between 2009 and 2019. The study reveals that the average age of these women at that time was 36 and they were mostly single.
The study further suggests that by May 2022, only 27 per cent, a quarter of the women came back for further procedure. Those who returned for fertility treatment were around 40 and were in a relationship. Around 48% of these women used their frozen eggs via insemination whole the others opted for other treatments like IVF using fresh eggs.
Though freezing eggs to have children later in life can be a good option for women of older ages, it’s an ‘expensive decision.’
Dr Ezgi Darici in her research submitted to the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in Copenhagen said: ‘Increasing numbers of women are choosing to freeze their eggs in the hope that it will enable them to have children later in life.’ She added, ‘Among those who did return for treatment, around half used their frozen eggs. These were older women on average.’
