Eggs are frozen for thousands of euros, but often remain unused

Freezing healthy eggs costs women at least 3,000 euros per treatment. Yet only 10% ever returned to warm up frozen eggs for pregnancy, according to a visit to NU.nl. “The gel feels like insurance for women.”

For example, women freeze their eggs when they are undergoing chemotherapy or are old but not yet ready to start a family. Most are single.

NU.nl toured various hospitals and a private clinic. This shows that for both groups of women, about 10 percent have started using their frozen eggs so far.

UMC Groningen only treats women whose eggs have been frozen due to medical conditions. This hospital also sees a 10% return. Private clinic TFP Medisch Centrum Kinderwens accepts women without a medical indication and has frozen eggs from 394 women. Again, just under 10%, 35 females returned to warm up the eggs.

Reproductive physician Nicole Beckers works at TFP Medical Center Child Desire and has an important comment on the subject. This option is relatively new and it takes women years to need their frozen eggs. “The proportion of women who have the eggs warmed up is increasing,” says Beckers. He thinks a quarter of the women he helps use preserved eggs.

A woman can use eggs for up to 50 years

Women can come to Erasmus MC for medical and ‘social’ reasons, such as their age, to store their eggs. There too, professor of reproductive science Joop Laven has so far seen a return of around 10%. It states that the percentage therefore gives a “limited picture”.

This percentage should therefore increase in the coming years. Eva Balkenende, a gynaecologist by training, is doing her PhD on clinical fertility preservation in women and sees that 10% can still rise. Studies abroad show that this is 12-15%.

“Women who freeze eggs in our Amsterdam UMC because of their age are on average 36.8 years old,” says Balkenende. They are allowed to use frozen eggs until they are 50. More than thirteen years passed in this way. Only 11 years ago, women were allowed to freeze their eggs for no medical reason.

still naturally pregnant

10%, 15% or 25% – participation rate remains relatively low compared to the high treatment costs. Gynecologist Balkenende has two explanations for this. “Many women already conceive naturally. For them, the frozen egg acted as a kind of insurance if it didn’t work.” In her study of women treated at the UMC in Amsterdam, more than three quarters became pregnant without the help of frozen eggs.

For another segment of women, reproduction is no longer on the agenda. “Perhaps the desired partner never came. For example, there are many women who first have to undergo chemotherapy.” For them, survival is paramount.

Women who freeze their eggs in the Netherlands can roughly be divided into two groups. Firstly, there are women whose egg production is at risk, for example due to chemotherapy or ovarian surgery. They fix their eggs before the medical procedure. Health insurance covers the costs because the eggs are frozen for medical reasons.

Since 2011, it has been possible for another group of women, namely those who want to become pregnant later, to freeze eggs. Usually they still expect a partner, but from their thirties they notice that the quality of their eggs is deteriorating. They can freeze their eggs up to the age of 40. Erasmus MC receives approximately four requests per week for this treatment. UMC Utrecht has a recording stop.

Parking problem for a while, time out

It comes with a price tag. A treatment in which several eggs are removed from the ovary costs at least 3,000 euros. Some women undergo different treatments to get more eggs, so their chances are better later on. Storing eggs in the freezer also costs more than a hundred to several hundred euros per year.

Despite the low recurrence percentage, according to Balkenende, egg treatment is not necessary. “Studies show that very few women regret it. We age as humans, but the years we are fertile do not change. It is a great relief for many women that women can put this problem aside for a while.” said the doctor-investigator.