What Factors Affect the Costs of Egg Freezing?
Freezing one’s eggs have become an essential part of conversations revolving around fertility. New techniques and technologies in the fields of cryopreservation have made this a useful option for women who know what they want to have children later in life.
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An average egg-freezing cycle consists of:
- Tests and monitoring appointments
Initial tests are conducted to determine the ovarian health and function to decide what dosage of fertility medication can be given.
- Egg retrieval procedure
After the follicles have matured, a trigger shot will be given, which will induce the final maturation of the eggs.
- Cryopreservation
Once the eggs are retrieved, they are taken to a lab to be frozen. This process is called oocyte cryopreservation.
Egg freezing is quite costly. It includes the cost of the procedure for retrieval of eggs & freezing those eggs, which is similar or slightly more as compared to an IVF procedure. The price may vary between Rs.50,000 to Rs.1 lakh. After the eggs are frozen, the cost of retaining them in the frozen state has a recurring annual fee which may be between Rs.25,000 to Rs.30,000 per year.
Cost involves:
- Fertility medications
- Anesthesia
- Ovum pickup
- Storage
Things to know before the treatment
Here are things you should consider before choosing a clinic for egg freezing.
- Ask the hospital for an itemized list of ‘what’s included in each cycle
- Learn about your current ovarian function
- Ask the doctor how many eggs should be frozen and how many cycles be needed
Women freezing their eggs before the age of 35, during the IVF process, mean that there’s a possibility of a much higher success rate than if someone was using eggs that have aged. An aged egg can mean fewer IVF cycles before one becomes pregnant. However, there are many factors involved, including the patient’s age at the time she froze her eggs and her age at the time she planned to become pregnant. Another critical factor is the patient’s personal medical and fertility history. All of these need to be discussed with one’s doctor before going ahead with the procedure.
