Egg freezing in the US
Want to Take the Pressure Off? Consider Freezing Your Eggs.
Deciding to have a baby can be a scary position to be in, particularly if you have no significant other with which to conceive. Co-parenting is your answer to finding a partner with whom to raise your child, but what if you can’t find the right person who will share your values and your ideals for parenting?
It is no secret that a woman’s fertility has a biological clock, and if you are a just a little too late then you might have missed your chance. This is why so many women across the world are taking to freezing their eggs, so that they can thaw them and attempt to get pregnant when they are ready and the timing is right.
Practically, freezing eggs gives women the time that they need to enjoy a career, find the right person with whom to share a child, and achieve other goals in their lives. A 2013 study of 183 women who had frozen their eggs showed that 19% would have had children earlier if their workplace had been more flexible, but instead they resorted to freezing their eggs.
Emotionally, freezing your eggs gives you more breathing space. You might feel bad for yourself that you haven’t had kids already, and freezing eggs takes this weight off your shoulders and allows you to buy yourself some time until you are ready and have found the right person.
Freezing your eggs in preparation for co-parenting will allow you the time that you need to get things in order, while ensuring that your eggs will still be viable once you have found your co-parent and drawn up a co-parenting agreement that suits both of you. While freezing your eggs is definitely costly, you will be buying yourself a gift of time, more breathing space and an overall more enjoyable process.
Interest in egg freezing is on the increase amongst women, whilst the average age of first-time moms in the US continues to climb steadily higher. Giving birth to a baby in one’s late thirties or forties is now far from uncommon.
However, as the chances of conceiving plummet with age, fertility preservation options offer a solution to those who are not yet ready to have a baby but who don’t want to give up on their dream of becoming a mother.
The number one reason that leads women to freeze their eggs is not having found the right partner yet. Extensive studies or a demanding career may also make it difficult to find the time for becoming pregnant and raising a child. Many people may also prefer to wait until they are more financially secure, in order to ensure the welfare of their child.
Freezing one’s eggs is therefore a solution for those who want to focus on their personal projects first, as well as for those who want to make sure that they are in the best position to offer their future children everything they’ll need.
What is egg freezing and how does it work?
Egg freezing is a process in which a woman’s eggs are retrieved, frozen and stored in order to be used for a future pregnancy, all the while retaining the fecundity potential of a younger woman.
If you wish to freeze your eggs, the first thing to do is to consult a doctor. Blood tests will help to check your ovarian reserve and, in some cases, you will have to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound.
The next step is to take fertility drugs (a hormone injection) to stimulate the ovaries and boost the production of eggs. This process is similar to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and can last between 7 to 14 days depending on how you respond to the medication.
Once the eggs are mature enough, a doctor will extract the mature eggs using an ultrasound-guided needle. You’ll be under anesthesia to ensure that you won’t feel any pain. This process can last for 15 to 30 minutes. When it’s done, you’ll then be able to go and rest at home. Immediately after the retrieval, your eggs will be frozen using a technique called vitrification, which is a flash-freezing technique used to prevent ice crystal formation that could destroy the eggs.
When you’re ready to have a baby, your eggs will be thawed, fertilized with sperm and then the resultant embryo will be implanted into your uterus.
Is egg freezing for me?
More and more women today are tempted to freeze their eggs in order to preserve their fertility for the future. The advantages are multiple: this allows them some more time to find the right partner to raise a child with; they can focus more on their career, studies or other personal projects; they have more time to get themselves into a financially secure position.
As fertility drops considerably after 35, the chances of conceiving from this point onwards becomes harder and harder every year. The risk of miscarriage or chromosomal abnormalities also increases with age.
Freezing their eggs allows women to postpone pregnancy, to have more time to prepare themselves for becoming a mother, whether this is to allow them to find Mr. Right or to have more financial stability.
Egg freezing can also be chosen for medical reasons. Women who have a condition that can affect their fertility, for instance, severe endometriosis or Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), may consider oocyte cryopreservation. Egg freezing is also recommended in case of a medical treatment such as chemotherapy that could damage the eggs and therefore chances of conception.
How much does egg freezing cost in the US?
Freezing your eggs can cost you between $5,000 and $15,000 depending on the clinic. The ovarian stimulation fees are not always included and are estimated at around $2,000 to $6,000.
The cost of IVF treatments should also be factored in, as these will be necessary when the woman will be ready to use her eggs to become pregnant.
Moreover, most of the clinics offer financial solutions for those who may have concerns related to the costs of the fertility treatments.
California
The Fertility Institutes
Price: not indicated
Address: 16030 Ventura Blvd
Suite 404
Encino, CA 914306
Phone: 818 728 4600
Other centers in New York and Utah.
http://www.fertility-docs.com/
USC Fertility
Price: not indicate
Address: 1127 Wilshire Blvd #1400
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Phone: 213 975 9990
https://www.havingbabies.com/
Florida
The Center for Reproductive Medicine
Price: not indicated
Address in Orlando: 3435 Pinehurst Avenue
Orlando, Florida 32804
Phone: 407 740 0909
https://ivforlando.com
Georgia
Atlanta Fertility Clinic GA
Price: not indicated
Address: Atlanta-Perimeter
5909 Peachtree Dunwoody Rd.
Ste. 720
Atlanta, GA 30328
Phone: 770 928 2276
Other clinics in Buckhead, Johns Creek, and Marietta.
https://www.atlantainfertility.com
Illinois
Fertility Centers of Illinois
Price: not indicated
Address in Chicago: 900 N. Kingsbury
Suite RW6
Chicago, IL 60610
Phone: 312 222 8230
Other centers in Buffalo Grove, Chicago, Glenview, Hinsdale, Highland Park, and Hoffman Estates.
https://fcionline.com/
Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago
Price for egg freezing: $8,050 for one cycle, including ovarian stimulation monitoring, anesthesia, egg retrieval, egg freezing, first year of storage. The price does not include medication costs: usually $2,000-4,000.
Address in Chicago: 4920 N Central Ave
Suite 2C
Chicago, IL 60630
Phone: 847 662 1818
Other centers in Gurnee, Cook, Lake and McHenry Counties.
http://www.advancedfertility.com
Louisiana
Fertility Answers
Price: not indicated
Address in Lafayette: 206 E Farrel Rd
Lafayette, LA 70508
Phone: 337 989-8795
Other clinic in Baton Rouge.
http://www.fertilityanswers.com
Massachusetts
Boston IVF
Price for discount program: $6,500 for first cycle, $6,000 for 2nd cycle, $5,500 for 3rd cycle, $5,000 for 4th cycle including storage for the first year. Eggstend20 program: $12,000 (up to 4 cycles of egg freezing or 20 eggs). Eggstend30: $17,500 (up to 5 cycles of egg freezing or 30 eggs). Storage fee after the first year: $70 per month.
Address in Boston: Tufts Medical Center
N. Building
800 Washington Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02111
Phone: 888 440 2483
Other centers in Massachusetts, New England, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, Indiana, Arizona, and New York State.
https://www.bostonivf.com/
http://www.fertilitytrust.com/
New York
EggBanxx
Price for egg freezing: $6,750-$8,300 depending on the clinics, including one year of storage. The price doesn’t include fertility drugs.
Address: Progyny, Inc
99 Hudson Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10013
Phone: 212 888 3124
[email protected]
https://www.eggbanxx.com/
Extend Fertility
Price: $4,990 for a minimum of 12 frozen eggs, in up to 4 cycles (including fertility assessment visit, baseline sonogram, consultation, counselling, blood tests and ultrasounds, eggs collection, anesthesia, vitrification, the first six months of storage). Price excludes medication costs. Storage fee for additional years: 1 Year at $450; 5 Years at $400 per year; 10 Years at $350 per year.
Address: 200 West 57th Street
Suite 1101
New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212 810 2828
https://extendfertility.com/
NYU Langone Fertility Center
Price for egg cryopreservation: $9,200 for one cycle. Anesthesia: $1,100-$1,500. Storage fee after first year of storage: $1,000 per year. Prerequisite blood testing and screening: $800-$1,500. Ultrasound (transvaginal or abdominal): $295. Drug cost: $2,000-$8,000, depending on the pharmacy and treatment needed.
Address: 660 1st Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Phone: 212 263 8990
http://nyulangone.org/
New York Reproductive
Price: not indicated
Address: 133 East 58th Street
Suite 1002
New York, NY 10022
Phone: 212 317 8700
http://drkarpenko.com/
Texas
Fertility Specialists of Texas
Price: not indicated
Address in Dallas Office: 8230 Walnut Hill Lane
Bldg. 3, Suite 512
Dallas, TX 75231
Phone: 214-750-5500
Other clinics in Frisco, Grapevine, Southlake, and Tyler.
http://fertilitytexas.com
Washington (State)
Price: not indicated
Address in Seattle: 1505 Westlake Ave North
Suite 400
Seattle, WA 98109
Phone: 206 301 5000
Other clinics in Bellevue, Tacoma, Kirkland, and Spokane.
https://seattlefertility.com
Washington D.C.
Shady Grove Fertility
Price: $7,500 for one cycle including monitoring appointments, egg retrieval, cryopreservation and the first year of storage. The cost of medications: between $4,500 to $8,500 per cycle. Annual egg storage fee after the first year: $530.
Address in Washington D.C.: 2021 K Street NW
Suites 101 and 701
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202 296 2595
Other clinics in Washington D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
https://www.shadygrovefertility.com/
