Why might I want to freeze my eggs or embryos?
There are a number of reasons why women might want to freeze their eggs or embryos.
Some of these include:
- Women of reproductive age (including adolescent girls), who are preparing for medical treatment for cancer or other conditions that are likely to make them infertile.
- Young women at high risk of premature ovarian insufficiency.
- Women undergoing mitochondrial donation.
- Women who want to delay childbearing.
How long can I store my eggs or embryos for?
Eggs and embryos can be stored for up to 55 years. The need to continue storage must be reviewed at least every 10 years.
It will be your responsibility to keep in touch with us to let us know what you want to do with the embryos. If we are unable to contact you, this may result in the embryos being removed from storage. Some patients will need to pay an annual fee for the storage of embryos.
At any time, you can vary and/or withdraw your instructions about the storage of embryos (including authorisation to destroy them). To do this you must give us notice in writing.
We cannot guarantee that embryos which have been frozen and stored will be unaffected by the process. The current state of medical opinion is that we do not consider freezing and thawing of embryos causes any harm that would result in an increased risk of damage to subsequent children born.
Will I have to pay for freezing and storage?
In most situations funding is available for egg or embryo storage but in some cases e.g. delaying childbearing that is not the case and you would need to pay for all of the process. Even if the original egg or embryo freezing treatment has been NHS funded it is possible that if your situation changes you may have to pay for ongoing storage costs.
In addition funding for fertility preservation does not mean that the use of stored eggs or embryos will be funded at a later stage since this is dependent on commissioning available for fertility treatment at the time you seek future treatment.
Please ask if you want to know more about this. We can advise about how funding stands now but cannot give definite advice about future commissioning.
Ovarian reserve
We will perform a blood test and an internal (vaginal) ultrasound scan to assess your ovaries. This helps us to roughly estimate, and advise you, of the potential success of retrieving a reasonable number of oocytes. It also helps us decide on the dose of drugs that we will use. If your ovarian reserve is reduced it may not be appropriate to consider oocyte storage.
Folic acid
All women who are trying to conceive are advised to take Folic Acid 400mcgms daily to reduce the risk of a baby born with spina bifida. It is often cheaper to buy this over the counter at a chemist than on prescription. In some situations – if there is a personal or family history of spina bifida or when the woman is taking some medications e.g. some antiepileptic drugs it is advisable to take a higher dose. The known benefit is to the developing child (fetus) however we would suggest that you take folic acid prior to egg storage also.
Weight
Being overweight has serious health implications and can cause complications during pregnancy. If you are overweight we will discuss this with you during your consultation and advise you to lose weight. We may defer your treatment until you have lost weight. It is important that you maintain your weight loss throughout the time you are having treatment.
Smoking
Research suggests that women who smoke are less likely to conceive following fertility treatment. There are well known health benefits in stopping smoking. It is therefore strongly recommended to stop smoking before embarking on fertility treatment. If you would like help to stop smoking please speak to the nurses who can offer you advice or telephone the NHS Smoking Helpline 0300 123 1044.
Alcohol
The Department of Health advises that women trying to conceive should avoid drinking alcohol. If they do choose to drink, they should not drink more than one to two units of alcohol once or twice a week and should not get drunk.
Cervical smears
It is advised that you ensure that your smears are up to date prior to commencing fertility treatment so that any further assessment or treatment can be undertaken before any potential pregnancy.
Genetic problems
Please inform us if you aware of any conditions or illnesses that exist in your family. This will allow us to investigate any risks to you or any child that you may have and ensure that you receive appropriate advice and counselling. We may refer you to a genetics specialist who can offer you specialist advice and arrange further investigations.
Infections
Sexually transmitted diseases caught at any time may create further problems when trying to conceive. If you are worried about this at any time we encourage you to visit your local genitourinary medicine clinic.
Travel abroad
Travelling abroad may carry health risks for pregnant women or women who plan to get pregnant (e.g. Zika virus and Ebola). We advise any patients (male or female) who have recently travelled or are planning to travel abroad to refer to the department of health guidelines about any risks relating to pregnancy. If you are unsure about this please discuss with the clinic staff.
To minimise the risk of Zika virus transmission, female travellers (symptomatic or asymptomatic) should not try to conceive naturally, donate/store gametes or proceed with fertility treatment for 8 weeks. To minimise the risk of Ebola transmission, egg donors and female fertility patients should defer from treatment or donation for 6 months after leaving an area affected at the time by an Ebola outbreak.
Blood tests
Before treatment some standard blood tests are taken. These include:
- A full blood count, which allows us to check you are not anaemic. Any abnormality may warrant further investigation or simply a recommendation to take iron supplements.
- AMH, which allows us to estimate how well your ovaries will respond to stimulation treatment. The result may have a bearing on how we treat you and also your chances of success – the result will be discussed in the clinic.
- Screening for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. Unfortunately we are currently unable to store eggs for patients who test positive for these blood borne viruses. The screening tests for these infections will occasionally result in an equivocal or false positive result. A diagnosis of infection is not made until a formal diagnostic test confirms it.
You may require further blood tests for assessment of any fertility or medical problems prior to treatment. These tests will be explained to you as they are undertaken.
Prescriptions
Private patients will be issued a private prescription and drugs will be charged on this basis. You will be charged for the drugs when they are dispensed by the pharmacy. NHS patients will be issued a NHS prescription and will have to pay the usual NHS prescription charges.
Both private and NHS prescriptions may be obtained at the Royal Victoria Infirmary hospital pharmacy (Lloyds – New Victoria Wing). Prescriptions must be collected within one month of issue. You can collect your needles and syringes from the fertility centre.
Please ensure that you have collected your drugs before you are due to start the treatment cycle. Check the expiry dates and storage instructions on each drug as some items may need to be stored in the fridge.
Consent and photo identification
It is a regulatory requirement that we have a copy of both you and your partner’s (if storing embryos) photographic identification prior to treatment. This will be uploaded to Fertility Consent, an online platform which provides patient information and relevant consent forms. These need completing before starting treatment.
