Egg freezing in Perth: What to know before you decide
Thinking about freezing your eggs?
Maybe you know you’d like children one day, but now isn’t the right time. You might not have the right partner or circumstances yet, or you may simply want more time before trying for a baby.
Egg freezing allows you to collect and store eggs now for possible use later. It doesn’t guarantee a future pregnancy, but it can give you another option if and when you’re ready.
Understanding egg freezing
Why do people freeze their eggs?
There are lots of reasons you might start thinking about egg freezing.
You might be single, focused on other parts of life, or simply not ready to start trying for a baby. For some people, there may also be a medical reason to think about fertility preservation.
Common reasons include:
- Wanting children in the future, but not being ready now
- Not having a partner or sperm donor
- Wanting to understand your options as you get older
- Having a medical condition that may affect fertility
- Preparing for treatment that could affect the ovaries
If you’re considering freezing because of chemotherapy or another cancer treatment, there are some extra things to think about. You can read more about fertility preservation before cancer treatment separately.
What to expect
What actually happens when you freeze your eggs?
The first part of egg freezing is similar to IVF. The whole process usually takes around two weeks, although every cycle is a little different.
Step 1: Ovarian stimulation
You start with hormone medication to encourage several follicles in the ovaries to grow at the same time. During this part of the cycle, we use blood tests and ultrasounds to see how your body is responding.
Step 2: Egg collection
When the follicles are ready, the eggs are collected during a short procedure under anaesthetic or deep sedation.
Step 3: Egg storage
The mature eggs are then frozen and stored until you decide whether you want to use them in the future.
When is a good time to freeze your eggs?
There isn’t one perfect age for everyone, but age is an important part of the conversation because egg quality naturally changes over time.
One of the reasons people consider egg freezing earlier is that the eggs keep the age they were when they were collected. So if you freeze eggs at 30 and use them at 39, those eggs were still collected when you were 30.
That can be valuable if having children is something you may want in the future, but the timing isn’t right now.
course, eggs are only one part of fertility. Your health and circumstances may change over time too, which is why I like to look at egg freezing as one option within a bigger fertility plan.
“How many eggs do I need?”
This is one of the questions people ask me most. The answer depends on things like your age and how your ovaries respond to stimulation, so there isn’t one magic number that suits everyone.
The number of mature eggs we are able to freeze gives us useful information and can help guide conversations about whether one cycle may be enough or whether another cycle is worth considering.
When those eggs are used later, there are several steps between thawing an egg and creating an embryo. That’s why we look at egg numbers as part of the bigger picture rather than as a guarantee of a particular outcome.
This is also where individual counselling can be really helpful. We can look at your age, your results and your goals together and talk about what the numbers may mean for you.
Is an egg-freezing calculator useful?
It can be. Egg-freezing calculators can help make the numbers easier to understand. Some show how eggs may move through the different stages from thawing to fertilisation and embryo development. Others estimate how many egg-freezing cycles someone may consider based on age and the number of eggs collected.
I find these tools most useful as part of a fertility conversation. They give us a starting point, and then we can put those estimates into context using your own age, health and circumstances.
What if you never use your frozen eggs?
You may use your frozen eggs later, or you may never need them. Both are possible. Some people go on to conceive without using their stored eggs. Others return to use them years later.
If you eventually decide you no longer want to keep your eggs in storage, there are options that can be discussed with the fertility clinic at that time, including disposal and, in some circumstances, donation.
You don’t need to know today what you’ll want in ten or fifteen years. It’s simply one of the things we talk about as part of informed egg-freezing counselling.
Egg freezing questions
What people often wonder
Here are some of the questions and worries people commonly have when thinking about egg freezing:
- “I’m single and I know I’d like children one day. I just don’t know when.”
- “Everyone keeps talking about how many eggs I should freeze. I don’t really understand what the number means.”
- “If I freeze younger eggs now, does that mean I can wait as long as I want before trying?”
- “I’m not even sure if I want children yet. I just want to understand my options.”
There isn’t one right reason to explore egg freezing, and asking questions doesn’t mean you have to go ahead with treatment.
Could egg freezing be right for you?
If having children in the future matters to you, but the timing isn’t right now, egg freezing may be an option worth exploring.
You don’t need to arrive at your first appointment knowing whether you want to go ahead. A fertility consultation is a chance to understand your ovarian reserve, talk about your age and reproductive plans, and get a clearer idea of what an egg-freezing cycle might look like for you.
Some useful questions to bring along are:
- What does my age mean for egg freezing?
- How might my ovaries respond to stimulation?
- How many eggs might we expect from a cycle?
- Could I consider more than one cycle?
- What are the costs and storage arrangements?
- What happens when I want to use the eggs later?
The goal is to give you enough information to decide whether egg freezing fits with your plans.
Egg freezing Perth
What can you do now?
If egg freezing is on your mind, start by writing down the questions you want answered and gathering any fertility tests or medical information you already have.
A fertility consultation can help you understand how your age, medical history and ovarian reserve fit into the bigger picture, and what an egg-freezing cycle might look like for you.
I’m a Gynaecologist and CREI-certified Fertility Specialist. I see patients at The Woom in West Perth and Monash IVF West Leederville. Egg-freezing treatment and procedures take place at Monash IVF West Leederville.
If you’d like to explore egg freezing, a consultation is a chance to ask questions, understand your options and decide whether it feels right for you.
Egg freezing Perth
FAQ
Is egg freezing in Perth suitable for everyone?
Egg freezing may be worth considering if you would like children in the future but are not ready to try for a pregnancy now. Whether it suits you depends on factors such as your age, medical history, ovarian reserve and personal plans. A fertility consultation with Dr Tamara Hunter can help you understand how these factors apply to you.
What is the best age for egg freezing?
Many people start exploring egg freezing in their late 20s or early 30s, especially if they know they may want children later but are not ready yet. Age matters because eggs frozen earlier are collected at a younger reproductive age, which can be an important part of future fertility planning.
How many eggs should I freeze?
There isn’t one set number. Your age and ovarian reserve can give us some clues about how your ovaries may respond, and we’ll use that information to talk through what you might expect from a cycle.
How does egg freezing in Perth work?
Egg freezing usually involves hormone medication to stimulate the ovaries, monitoring with blood tests and ultrasounds, egg collection under anaesthetic or deep sedation, and freezing mature eggs for possible future use. Dr Tamara Hunter consults at The Woom in West Perth and Monash IVF West Leederville, with egg-freezing treatment and procedures taking place at Monash IVF West Leederville.
Fertility resources
Explore more fertility treatment topics
Who can call themselves a fertility doctor?
Fertility doctor, IVF doctor, fertility specialist, reproductive endocrinologist... what’s the difference?These titles can sound interchangeable, but they don’t always mean the same training.
IVF when it’s the right next step
If IVF is recommended, I can guide you through the process from planning and stimulation through to egg collection and embryo transfer. IVF treatment takes place at Monash IVF West Leederville.
Egg freezing
Egg freezing may be an option if you want children one day but the timing isn’t right now. I can help you understand what the process involves, what your age and ovarian reserve may mean, and whether egg freezing fits your plans.