Egg freezing

This method involves removing mature eggs from the ovaries and freezing them. This process can be known as ‘egg banking’. When the young woman is ready to become pregnant, the stored eggs are then fertilised with sperm and put back into the womb.

Who is it for?

Young women who want to preserve their fertility and have gone through puberty. They may also:

• Not want to use partner or donor sperm
• Do not want to choose embryo freezing because of their beliefs
• Have time to go through a cycle of fertility treatment before starting cancer treatment

It may NOT be suitable for young women who have cancer in the pelvis because of the chance of spreading the cancer.

What does it involve?

You will need hormone injections to stimulate the ovaries (ovarian stimulation) for about 2 weeks. Eggs are then collected from the ovaries using a fine needle. This is done under sedation and you may be able to go home a few hours later.

This process only involves the young woman, so you do not need partner consent to use these stored eggs in the future. Frozen eggs can be stored for 10 years (and sometimes longer in certain situations).

What is the chance of having a baby after egg freezing?

There are not many cancer patients who have used frozen eggs so it is difficult to know how likely it is that egg freezing will result in a successful pregnancy. Most of the data that shows how successful egg freezing can be focuses on young women without cancer that have used their frozen eggs to have a baby.

The chance of having a baby after egg freezing depends on a number of factors including:

• Your age when your eggs are collected (young women who are under 35 years old will have a higher chance).
• The number of eggs collected (young women who have more collected have a higher chance).
• The fertility clinic where egg freezing was carried out.
• Whether or not vitrification was used (vitrification has a higher success rate).

Overall, if a young woman under 35 has 10 eggs stored, these will give her a 4 in 10 (40%) chance of having a baby. Some young women may not be able to freeze as many as 10 eggs, which will lower the chances of having a baby. You may also see success rates elsewhere that appear lower. These lower success rates may be based upon one cycle of IVF treatment using fewer frozen eggs.

You can find more information on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) website (www.hfea.gov.uk) about the number of average success rates and the number of live births for each licensed fertility clinic.

Will this option affect the health of the baby?

No, data suggests that the health of a baby will not be affected.

Are there any side effects of the fertility treatment used in egg freezing?

The fertility drugs used to stimulate the ovaries can cause side effects (e.g., headaches, mood changes and hot flushes). These drugs can also stimulate the ovaries too much which could lead to a condition called Ovarian Hyper-Stimulation Syndrome (OHSS). Once you begin treatment ask your fertility care team about OHSS symptoms and how to get in touch with them if you need to.

When the ovaries are stimulated to produce lots of eggs, the hormone oestrogen increases. This could be a risk for young women who have an oestrogen sensitive breast cancer. These young women can be given a drug called Letrozole which lowers the oestrogen level in the bloodstream.

When the eggs are collected, there is a chance of bleeding, infection and puncture to the bowel but this is rare.
There may be concern for young women with pelvic cancers because cancer cells could spill from the ovary into the abdomen after egg collection.

Will this option delay the start of my cancer treatment?

It takes approximately 2 weeks from starting ovarian stimulation to the time of egg collection. This may mean some delay in starting your cancer treatment.

Egg freezing may not be an option for young women with certain cancers (e.g., leukaemia) because they may need to begin cancer treatment straight away. If you experience OHSS, this could delay the start of cancer treatment.

Will this option affect my chances of the cancer coming back?

There is no data to suggest that egg freezing affects the chance of cancers growing or returning.