Egg freezing? DF or SG?

[Anonymous]

I'm 37 and considering freezing my eggs. I have no idea how many I should freeze that would better my chances at having a baby a few years down the road or the costs. I read that it's usually 10k for retrieval and that it's very painful? I also read that it costs up to 500 a year for storage and that to actually retrieve the eggs and continue IVF would cost up to 25k? Right now I am tight on money but I also worry about missing a chance. I am also a virgin (was waiting for marriage) and wondering just how painful the process would be. I am seeing someone (LTR) but his job is taking him to another state and I am deciding if I should go with him or not. I am also thinking of switching careers so I have all these thoughts in my head but I would like a baby at some point.

[Anonymous]

I froze my eggs at 36 and am probably going to thaw and use them shortly. The process is not particularly painful once you get used to the shots. You are under anesthesia for the egg retrieval so you don’t feel anything. The cost on the front end is much higher - about 10K for retrieval and I’ve been paying $500/yr for storage. The cost for FET (transferring any fertilized embryos) is much less, around 5k. There are some centers that do it for less but you want to go somewhere that has a good record of freezing and thawing/fertilizing. The number of eggs you want depends on the number of kids you want and how confortable you are with the fact that egg freezing is ultimately no guarantee of a child. You are at a good age to freeze; get your Day 3 hormone levels checked and go from there.

[Anonymous]

Freeze as many as you can afford.

[Anonymous]

I would do a couple cycles depending on what you can afford. Count on half the eggs possibly not surviving the freeze so the more you have the better.

[Anonymous]

Do it. ASAP and as many rounds as you can afford. I'd aim for a minimum of 20 eggs.

I'm trying to get pregnant now at 40 and am so grateful for my frozen eggs since my body isn't producing many normal eggs at this point.

One thing I wish I'd done: If you get a lot of eggs, make some of them into embryos with donor sperm. You have no idea if your eggs are good or not until you try fertilizing them. Fertilizing some of them will give you some indication.

Oh and I'd go to Shady Grove. You want a lab that has done a high-volume of egg freezing, so is very experienced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do it. ASAP and as many rounds as you can afford. I'd aim for a minimum of 20 eggs.

I'm trying to get pregnant now at 40 and am so grateful for my frozen eggs since my body isn't producing many normal eggs at this point.

One thing I wish I'd done: If you get a lot of eggs, make some of them into embryos with donor sperm. You have no idea if your eggs are good or not until you try fertilizing them. Fertilizing some of them will give you some indication.

Oh and I'd go to Shady Grove. You want a lab that has done a high-volume of egg freezing, so is very experienced.

When did you freeze and are you thawing them now?

[Anonymous]

Also, the conservative estimate is 15-20 eggs per child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do it. ASAP and as many rounds as you can afford. I'd aim for a minimum of 20 eggs.

I'm trying to get pregnant now at 40 and am so grateful for my frozen eggs since my body isn't producing many normal eggs at this point.

One thing I wish I'd done: If you get a lot of eggs, make some of them into embryos with donor sperm. You have no idea if your eggs are good or not until you try fertilizing them. Fertilizing some of them will give you some indication.

Oh and I'd go to Shady Grove. You want a lab that has done a high-volume of egg freezing, so is very experienced.

+1, although I think there are a number of places you could go that are good: Dominion, SG or CCRM I think are the best.

At 37 quality may be an issue (not that all will be abnormal, but you'll have fewer normal eggs than someone in their early 30s or younger). Embryos freeze better than eggs, so if you try a sperm donor round, you will likely get a couple good embryos and if you do the testing, you'll get a sense of the quality of your eggs. Then you'll have a sense of how many eggs you'll want/need given how many are good quality and the typical loss rate. I'd do it as the first round if you can afford it. I would have had a kid on my own, if I had to and I have friends that did, but obv if it would be a waste of $ for you, it's not worth it. Then, I think freeze as many eggs as possible.