The Average Costs Of Freezing Your Eggs
There will be costs associated with every aspect of the egg-freezing process, including consultation appointments, medications for stimulation and treatment, doctor visits, the egg harvesting procedure, egg storage, and the eventual unfreezing. It is important to note the cost of freezing your eggs will vary depending on where you live, which clinic you use, and what type of medical insurance you have.
Samuel E. Brown, MD, and his team at Brown Fertility in Florida say the national average for an egg-freezing cycle in the U.S. can range between $8,000-$15,000. This cost may not always include additional third-party fees, such as medication expenses from the pharmacy, anesthesia, and any pre-genetic testing. Dr. Brown also adds the national average for new patient appointments can cost between $200-$500, while egg storage ranges between $500-$1000 per year.
Jenna Turocy, MD, a fertility expert at Columbia University Fertility Center, cites a narrower cost window of $6,000 to $10,000 for initial consultations, ultrasounds, bloodwork monitoring, egg retrieval surgery, and freezing. But Dr. Turocy cautions that hormonal medications may add another $2,000 to $5,000.
In order to get pregnant using the eggs, must be thawed, fertilized with sperm, and transferred into the uterus, Dr. Turocy adds. “These additional steps can cost over $10,000.
If a person chooses to undergo multiple egg-freezing cycles to increase the chance of success, the fees start over again.
Freezing Hard Boiled Eggs
What About Frozen Embryos
For prospective parents concerned about single-gene disorders or the embryo having greater or fewer than 23 chromosomes, a drawback of egg freezing is that genetic testing performed on unfertilized eggs is not predictive of the genetic makeup of the embryos they will become when fertilized. If possible, fertilizing the eggs through in vitro fertilization avoids this problem. However, IVF is an expensive procedure.
Dr. Ghadir and Dovirak agree that egg freezing is less expensive. Dr. Ghadir estimates embryo freezing is two to three times the price of egg freezing. At the Pacific Fertility Center of Los Angeles, egg freezing costs around $7,000 for a single cycle, $12,000 for two cycles, and $17,000 for three cycles, while embryo freezing is $9,000 for one cycle, $16,500 for two cycles, and $22,000 for three cycles. Embryo freezing also involves several steps not included in these prices, like preimplantation genetic screening and embryo transfer.
It is common practice for clinics to discount second and third freezing cycles.
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What Is The Success Rate Of Freezing Your Eggs
There is no guarantee that freezing your eggs will successfully result in a baby when you’re ready. And as it turns out, most women who freeze their eggs dont end up warming them and using them to attempt a pregnancy some estimates are as low as 10 percent.
Because so few women have warmed and used their frozen eggs, there isnt yet robust data on the success rate. The data available so far shows that the odds of one frozen egg resulting in a baby are about 2 to 12 percent in women under the age of 38. The data also suggests that the older you are when you freeze your eggs, the lower the chances of successful fertilization later.
There is some good news, though. Preliminary stats show that frozen eggs may be as likely as fresh eggs to be fertilized and result in a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. And so far, frozen eggs dont seem to be linked with an increased risk of pregnancy complications or birth defects.
The Costs Of Egg Freezing In California
The cost of egg freezing ranges by location. Within California, egg freezing is typically more expensive due to advanced success rates and outcomes on the West Coast.
At Pacific Fertility Center of Los Angeles, our egg freezing options cost around $7,000 for a single cycle, $12,000 for two cycles, and $17,000 for three cycles. This includes:
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Anticipating The Cost Of Egg Freezing
When it comes to the cost of egg freezing, its important to know that the final fee will vary depending on several factors.
- The amount of fertility medication needed to stimulate the ovaries to produce enough eggs varies from woman to woman. The goal is to produce and freeze as many healthy eggs as possible.
- Older women and women with a lower than average egg count may need to undergo more than one cycle to retrieve enough viable eggs. By the time a woman is age 40, on average only 1 out of 8 eggs is viable.
- Women should also keep in mind that the longer they keep their eggs frozen, the more theyll pay in storage fees.
How Much Does Freezing Your Eggs Cost
While prices vary from clinic to clinic and will also depend on how many treatment cycles are required, the cost to harvest your eggs may range from $9,000 to $20,000, including the egg retrieval and the hormonal drugs that help stimulate ovulation.
There are also costs associated with storing harvested eggs, which could run over $1,000 per year. Finally, youll want to factor in the costs of fertilizing and implanting the embryos once youre ready to get pregnant, which could add another several thousand dollars to the total cost.
Some clinics offer payment plans or loans to help defer the upfront costs of egg freezing.
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How Much Does Freezing Eggs Cost In Canada A 2022 Guide
Coming to terms with the fact that your childbearing years have an expiration date is a kick in the face. Although were all aware fertility declines with time, many women arent ready to undergo pregnancy and dive into motherhood during their prime. And with the mounting costs of raising a child, thousands think they should hold it off.
Thus, weve seen considerable growth in egg freezing worldwide. But how much does egg freezing cost in Canada? And is it as physically and emotionally taxing as they say?
Lets find out!
Additional Fees For Medications
The cost of medication is dependent on a persons dosing, which is determined by their response to medications. The estimated cost of medications is $4,500 to $8,500 per cycle. Some patients may have insurance coverage for medications.
HeartTomorrow from Ferring Pharmaceuticals provides a discounted price for MENOPUR for eligible cash-paying patients who are undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation for planned oocyte cryopreservation. This discount may be available for eligible patients with a minimum initial prescription for 25 vials of MENOPUR and a signed and submitted physician attestation form.
Terms and conditions apply. To request additional information and for full program terms and conditions, please email .
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Does Insurance Cover This Procedure
Unfortunately, women who opt for egg freezing typically pay for their fertilitytreatments out of pocket.
However, some provinces in Canada, like Ontario, offer coverage for one IVF cycle per patient, per lifetime through theOntario Fertility Program . Eligibility requirements state that you must be under the age of 43 and have an OHIP card.
New Brunswick also offers a one-time grant that covers 50% of your IVF costs, up to a maximum of $5,000, while Manitoba provides tax credits of 40% for fertility treatments, up to a maximum of $8,000 per year.
Quebec also offers tax credits to those who do not already have children and is currently attempting to bring back publicly funded IVF, making this medical procedure available to everyone.
Even though Prince Edward Island does not have any IVF clinics, it provides up to$10,000 a year to couples travelling out of the province for treatments.
Talk To Your Employer About Fertility Benefits
Check to see if your company is offering any fertility benefits. “Right now, only 30 companies in the Fortune 500 cover egg freezing , but fertility help is one of the most common perks that is being added by employers,” says Eryn Schultz, founder of financial education site Her Personal Finance. Having your company cover the cost of egg freezing can make it a lot more affordableSchultz says some insurance plans cover 90% of the costs or a flat fee.
If your health plan allows you to pay for egg freezing through your HSA or FSA accounts, loading them up with pre-tax dollars can be great way to help cover the cost if you don’t have coverage through your insurance.
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I Stored My Eggs Before 1 July 2022 What Should I Do
If you stored your eggs before 1 July 2022 for up to 10 years but would like to store for longer , you should contact your clinic to discuss whether this is possible and complete additional consent forms where necessary.
If you previously consented to store your eggs for longer than 10 years because of premature infertility or because you were going to be having medical treatment which could affect your fertility you should contact your clinic as soon as possible as consent will now have to be renewed at each 10 years. You will need to complete additional consent forms in order for your clinic to legally continue to store your eggs . Your clinic will know the date when you must complete and return the relevant consent form for storage to continue. If you do not renew your consent the eggs will be removed from storage and disposed of.
Chances Of Having A Baby At Each Age After Freezing Your Eggs
The benefits of egg freezing depend primarily on your age at the time of freezing and how long you wait before trying to conceive. Generally, the younger you are when you freeze your eggs, the more viable they’re considered.
The chart below shows how egg freezing improves the odds for women at different ages, based on an egg banking calculation tool developed by researchers at the University of North Carolina. We used a seven-year time frame, which was the longest possible in the calculator, to allow for more life possibilities, such as finding a partner or wanting siblings for children born earlier.
Example: Eggs produced at a younger age have a higher rate of leading to pregnancy. Therefore, our 37-year-old will have a 51% chance of having a baby when shes 44 because she froze her eggs. If she didn’t, her chances of having a baby would be just 22%. Shes more than doubled her chances with the procedure.
A study in the journal Fertility and Sterility found it was more cost-effective for a woman to freeze her eggs at age 35 and use them to get pregnant in her 40s, rather than try to conceive naturally at that age.
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Borrow Money Or Set Up A Payment Plan To Pay For The Rest
A cruel reality of many peoples experience with egg freezing is that you may not have the time to spend years saving up. Thats one reason that borrowing is the most common way to pay for fertility treatments, egg freezing included.
Surveys from Resolve’s community suggest credit cards are the most popular form of debt. But that might not be your best option. Loans from a company that specializes in fertility financing are typically more affordable than credit cards, which carry an average APR of about 16%, and more convenient, since they’re designed for fertility procedures in particular.
CapexMD, which partners with 260 clinics and calls itself a one stop shop for fertility financing, offers loans with interest rates ranging from 6.5% to 12.5%. Most loans are 48-month terms, though most are paid off in about half that time, CEO Jules Segal says.
CapexMD doesnt instantly deny anyone, Segal says. Instead, youll get a call from one of its loan specialists theyve all gone through IVF themselves after applying. Segal says the company ends up funding about 70% of applicants and it will lend to people with FICO scores as low as 580.
Future Family, a startup founded in 2017, offers a similar service, with a network of about 140 clinics around the country. The company can offer real-time quotes for egg freezing because it partners with the labs and clinics.
Doing Multiple Egg Freezing Cycles
The truth is that many people will need to do multiple egg freezing cycles to feel confident that the number of eggs they have stored is enough to lead to pregnancy and birth later on. Thats the case for two primary reasons:
- Many women, particularly those in their late thirties and beyond, dont make a large number of eggs even with the stimulation medications used in egg freezing.
- There is a significant loss or funnel at nearly every step in the egg freezing and IVF process.
What do we mean by a loss at every step:
- There are often more follicles seen during monitoring appointments than eggs that are actually retrieved.
- Of the eggs that are retrieved, some likely will not be mature and can not be frozen.
- Of the eggs that are frozen some likely wont survive the thaw.
- Of those that survive the thaw, some likely wont actually fertilize when combined with sperm.
- Of those that do do fertilize, some likely wont develop to the stage that most fertility clinics try to grow the embryos to in a lab before transferring them.
- Of these embryos that can be transferred, only about half of embryo transfers result in live births .
How Many Frozen Eggs Do You Need?
A tool by Brigham & Women presented in the human reproduction journal offers a great new way to look at and predict how many eggs someone should bank according to their age. Heres a glimpse inside that tool:
How Many Egg Freezing Retrievals will you Need?
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How Does Egg Freezing Work In Terms Of Medicare And Private Health Insurance
Egg freezing isn’t actually covered by health insurance. This is because it doesn’t have an MBS number, which means you won’t be able to claim a benefit through hospital insurance. However, if you want your eggs frozen, you’ll still be able to get help with a private health insurance policy that covers assisted reproductive services. This can take care of any of the associated costs as long as they have an MBS number including things like hospital admission, anaesthetist fees, consultant fees and egg collection.
So even though there’s no benefit for egg freezing, you should have significantly smaller out-of-pocket expenses if you go private because you’ll be covered for lots of other expensive parts of the treatment.
When Is The Best Age To Freeze Your Eggs
Freezing your eggs before age 35 to use in your 40s is usually the most cost-effective approach that also optimizes your chances of getting pregnant, according to experts. If you freeze your eggs in your 20s, you’ll probably pay more than you need to, and for those over age 40, the cost may not be worth it because of the lower chances of having a baby from one of the eggs.
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Any Common Side Effects
Because youre undergoing a medical procedure and subsequent surgery, you might encounter some side effects. However, theyre usually on the milder side and dont overtly interfere with your daily life.
As a result of the medication and surgery, you may experience things like:
However, call your doctor immediately if you experience:
- A high-grade fever
- Abnormal weight gain in 24 hours
- Severe abdominal pain
As with all procedures, there is always risk involved. Luckily, the egg harvesting process doesnt come with a tidal wave of contraindications.
Can You Freeze Cooked Eggs
We dont recommend freezing hard-boiled eggs because they lose their structure and weep water when they thaw. However, any iteration of scrambled eggs or frittatas will hold up quite well. Case in point: Ree Drummonds Freezer Breakfast Panini, which are built with a thick layer of scrambled eggs before going into the freezer.
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Affordable Egg Freezing $0 Down Financing Program
Texas Fertility Center is an expert in reproductive medicine. Our partner fertility lab, Ovation®, holds all required industry certifications and adheres to rigorous standards established by our internal clinical advisory committee.
However, the incredible breakthrough of egg freezing cant have a positive effect on womens lives without being accessible.
Texas Fertility Center has developed a unique egg freezing program that makes the process affordable by spreading the costs of retrieving, freezing and storing your eggs over 60 months. You can begin the process for $0 down. You make easy monthly payments* until you repay the cost of your treatment.
With this unique fertility preservation plan, there are no hidden finance charges or unnecessary fees. You just have low-interest financing to help you protect your fertility.
If you are interested in egg freezing or TFC egg freezing financing, please contact our office to schedule an appointment with one of our fertility specialists. You can ask any questions about egg freezing costs and to explore the financing options available through third-party vendors.