Egg-Freezing a Risky Way to Go

Low success rate makes it a 'gamble' for women wanting to delay motherhood
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 1, 2009 4:35 PM CST
Egg-Freezing a Risky Way to Go
Official figures show that 78 women froze their eggs for non-medical reasons in 2007, more than double the 33 who did so the year before, and that their average age was 37.   (Shutter Stock)

British doctors are warning women in their 20s and 30s against freezing their eggs to have children later in life, the Telegraph reports. "The central issue is that it doesn't work very well," one doctor said. "The chance of a baby from a frozen egg with vitrification is less than 6 per cent per egg." He also questioned the ethics of women who delay motherhood for "lifestyle reasons."

He did support egg fertilization for cancer patients who freeze eggs before chemotherapy, which can damage their potential to have children. The process, which costs about $7,000, “should not be used for women who want to guarantee a family in the future," one professor said. "Your best chance of having a baby is doing it naturally when you are under 35.”
(More women stories.)

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