Elective Oocyte Cryopreservation: What Patients Understand and What They Need to Understand

Abstract

Life circumstances, including not having a partner, may prevent women from having children during their most fertile years. To avoid age-related infertility women who plan to have children at an age when their fertility is likely to have declined can freeze their eggs when they are younger and use them in an assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedure when the time for childbearing is right for them. Research shows that a significant proportion of young women would consider safeguarding their reproductive potential or are at least open to the idea of oocyte freezing. To make informed decisions about fertility preservation women need accurate and realistic information about the likelihood of a live birth considering their circumstances; the cost of retrieval, storage, and later use of the eggs; the known and potential risks of the procedure for the woman herself and any future children; and the potential emotional risks of elective oocyte cryopreservation. In this presentation I will suggest how clinics can ensure women have all the information they need to make the best possible decision they can about if and when to freeze their eggs.