Sometimes we have spare embryos to freeze though this is not guaranteed. In fact, most patients do not have spare embryos to freeze.
The likelihood of not having embryos to freeze increases with female age, so women aged 32 would be more likely to have spare embryos to freeze than a women aged 38. We will let you know if you have spare embryos to freeze.
We understand that there are different ways to think about your embryos whilst they are in the embryology laboratory and at this very stressful time in your treatment, it may be very difficult to decide whether or not to freeze embryos. The embryologist will discuss the quality and the suitability of your embryos for freezing with you at the time of the embryo transfer. We hope that the information below will help you with this choice.
How does the embryologist decide which embryos are of good quality?
There is no absolute test that tells us whether or not an individual embryo can make a baby. The embryologist will look at the embryos and assess how quickly each embryo is dividing and whether all the cells are dividing evenly. We always transfer the best quality embryos to give the best chance of a pregnancy.
How do we decide whether to offer you embryo freezing?
This decision is based on our experience of how embryos survive freezing.
Freezing and thawing is stressful to the cells of an embryo. For some embryos, all of the cells remain intact, while in others, all the cells break up and are no longer viable. Only the best quality embryos are suitable for freezing. Poor quality embryos very rarely survive this thawing process. Thus, we only recommend freezing good quality embryos.
How many people have embryos frozen?
In the UK, no more than 1 in 4 couples will have embryos frozen. This is because not many couples have good-quality embryos remaining after embryo transfer. The most likely outcome for you therefore is that you will not have embryos to freeze.
What is the chance that a frozen embryo will make a baby?
We have analysed our results by looking at all the embryos that were frozen. If your embryos survive thawing and are transferred, there is about a 30% chance of pregnancy.
There is no evidence that any babies resulting from thawed embryos have an increased risk of harm or abnormality.
Do we have to pay for freezing?
If you are an NHS patient, the cost of freezing is often included in your treatment if freezing is recommended.
If you decide to freeze against our recommendations, you may have to pay. The NHS usually funds storage of embryos for one year. Self-funded patients need to pay for embryo freezing. This is an additional charge to your treatment.
Ongoing costs
If you have a successful pregnancy, you will then need to pay for embryos to be thawed for further treatment. There is an annual fee for ongoing storage.
The costs of freezing and storage are available in our self-funded patient information.
So should we have embryos frozen?
The decision is yours and will usually depend on how you view your embryos. We hope that the information above has helped you make this decision.
The embryologist will talk to you about the quality of your embryos on the day of embryo transfer, and you will need to decide then. If you want to talk to anyone about this before then, please let us know.
What do we do if we want embryos frozen?
You will need to agree to embryo freezing on your consent forms.
What happens to the embryos is they are not frozen?
Embryos that are not suitable for freezing are put into a solution that stops them growing then they are discarded.
Your embryos will not be given to another patient/couple.
Embryos may be donated to research or training but only with your written consent.
What do we have to decide later about the frozen embryos?
If you have embryos frozen, we will contact you each year to ask for your decision about ongoing freezing. If you wish to have the embryos transferred, we will see you both in the clinic to discuss this.
38% of couples decide not to use their frozen embryos. This can be a difficult decision and we would be happy to talk to you about this at any time.
If you wish to know more about our research, we would be happy to discuss this with you when you come to the clinic.
Contact
If you have any questions or concerns throughout your treatment, you can email the fertility nurses.
We do our best to answer your call as soon as possible, but we are a very busy service, so we may not always have someone available to speak with you immediately. If the line is engaged, please try again later or use the nurse email address above. The telephone line is often quieter in the afternoon.
Outside of these hours, there is an on-call doctor available to speak to in emergencies only on 0191 256 8240. The on-call doctor is not able to change clinic appointments or to answer general queries that are not urgent. These types of calls must be made during clinic opening hours.
For more urgent queries, our telephone line is open 8am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday
Patient feedback
We welcome your opinions and feedback on areas you feel have gone well or suggestions you may have to help us improve our service.
If you have any problems during your treatment or are unhappy with the care you are receiving please contact the Senior Sister (Stacey Turnbull) on 0191 213 8213.
Fertility treatment is sometimes upsetting and frustrating particularly when things do not go quite to plan or you do not get the outcome you had hoped for. Sometimes having a chat with us will help relieve some of the tension and frustrations you may be feeling. We are always willing to listen.
