Egg Freezing: How It Works and Who It Is Suitable For

The decision of when to start a family is very personal. However, life circumstances – whether health-related or social – do not always align with a woman's biological possibilities. One solution to preserve the chance of biological motherhood for the future is egg freezing.

What is egg freezing?
Egg freezing (medically known as vitrification) is a process in which mature eggs are retrieved from the ovaries, rapidly frozen and then stored at extremely low temperatures until the woman decides to use them.

The advantage is that freezing can also be undertaken by a single woman who does not currently have a partner. She can decide for herself when and with whom to start a family.

The younger the woman, the higher the quality of the eggs and the more successful the process. Experts therefore recommend considering egg freezing around the age of 27, as both the number and quality of eggs naturally decline with increasing age.

When is egg freezing recommended?
We distinguish two main reasons: social and medical.

Social reasons
Many women are not yet ready for motherhood – whether due to their career, travel, searching for the right partner or other life circumstances. Egg freezing allows them to choose parenthood later, without having to risk a decline in egg quality.

Medical reasons (medical freezing)
Visiting an assisted reproduction center is also important for women who face the loss of fertility due to health problems, such as:

• cancer
• endometriosis
• premature ovarian failure
• repeated ovarian surgeries (e.g. for teratoma or endometriosis).

⚠️ For patients with cancer, egg freezing is covered by health insurance (up to the cost of one IVF cycle). In these cases, the procedure is planned urgently to preserve fertility before treatment begins.

How quickly does ovarian reserve decline?
Every woman is born with a certain number of eggs, which continuously decreases throughout life:

• at birth: approximately 1 million eggs,
• at age 25: about 300,000,
• after age 35: a sharp decline.
  
  

Egg quality is also determined by the level of AMH (Anti-Müllerian Hormone), which can be easily measured from a blood test. If the level is low, earlier egg freezing is recommended.

It is important to know that egg quality cannot be improved by exercise, a healthy diet or stress reduction. The only way to preserve young and healthy eggs is to freeze them in time.

A woman can be her own donor
The success of IVF depends largely on the age of the egg. If a woman freezes her eggs at, for example, age 30 and uses them 8 years later, her chance of getting pregnant remains the same as when she was 30.

The ability to carry a child remains high even at an older age, so it is important to know that egg quality can be preserved in this way.

How does the egg freezing process work?

1. Consultation and diagnostics – the doctor designs a stimulation protocol to promote the development of multiple eggs.
2. Stimulation and retrieval – during hormonal stimulation, several check-ups take place. The egg retrieval itself is performed under general anesthesia and takes approximately 10–15 minutes.
3. Freezing and storage – the retrieved eggs are frozen using the vitrification method and stored at -196 °C for an unlimited period of time.
   
   

Financing and options
Egg freezing can be financially demanding, which is why we also offer an installment plan, so that women can freely decide about their future without unnecessary stress.

An interesting option is also free egg freezing through donation, where a woman donates some of her eggs to other couples struggling with infertility, and in return can have her own eggs frozen for free.

If you are considering egg freezing, we will be happy to advise you and explain everything in person.
Contact us via the form, by email at: martina.kjurcijska@gyn-fiv.sk or
by phone at: 0918 598 604.