Freezing my Eggs and why it could be beneficial

Why age matters You are born with a finite number of eggs, and both the number and quality of those eggs decline with age. The decline becomes more noticeable in the mid-30s and accelerates during the 40s. Importantly, egg quality refers partly to the likelihood that an egg will have the correct number of chromosomes when fertilized. This creates an important distinction: Freezing an egg at 35 essentially preserves an egg with the biological age of 35. It doesn't make the egg "younger" later — it preserves it at that age. That is the main potential benefit. What egg freezing could give you If you freeze eggs now and decide to use them later, you may have the option of using eggs that were retrieved when you were younger rather than relying entirely on eggs you produce at 39, 40, 41 or later. For example, someone might: Age 36: freeze eggs ↓ Age 40: still doesn't have a partner or isn't ready for children ↓ Age 40–42: decides to try for a baby ↓ The frozen eggs can potentially be thawed, fertilized with sperm through IVF/ICSI, developed into embryos and transferred. The important point is that the eggs retain the biological age they had when frozen. ASRM notes that age at egg freezing and the number of eggs frozen are important predictors of future success. Why late 30s makes the decision more time-sensitive Egg freezing can still be done in the late 30s, but the situation becomes less favourable with increasing age. ASRM's evidence review found that outcomes were better in women who froze eggs before 38 than at 38 or older, although there isn't a single age at which egg freezing suddenly becomes ineffective. This is why 36–37 versus 39–40 can potentially make a meaningful difference. It also means that if you're already in your late 30s, I wouldn't interpret that as "it's too late." Rather, it's a reason to get your fertility assessed sooner rather than later if preserving fertility is important to you. How many eggs should you freeze? This is one of the most important questions to discuss with a fertility specialist. There isn't a universal number that guarantees a baby. The number needed depends heavily on your age when freezing, egg quality, laboratory performance and how many eggs survive thawing and subsequently develop into usable embryos. ASRM cites research suggesting that at around age 38, approximately 25–30 cryopreserved eggs may be needed to have a reasonable chance of one child—but this is an estimate, not a guarantee or a target that every person needs to achieve. Multiple stimulation cycles may be required to collect that number. This is also why the conversation shouldn't simply be: "How many eggs do I have?" It should be: "Given my age and ovarian reserve, how many mature eggs might I reasonably expect to retrieve, and what would that mean for my estimated chance of a future live birth?" What happens during egg freezing? The process is essentially the first part of IVF:

  • Ovarian assessment – ultrasound and blood tests.
  • Ovarian stimulation – usually daily hormone injections for roughly 1–2 weeks.
  • Monitoring – ultrasounds and blood tests track follicle development.
  • Egg retrieval – eggs are collected through a short procedure under sedation/anaesthesia.
  • Vitrification – mature eggs are rapidly frozen.
  • Storage – the eggs remain cryopreserved until you decide whether to use them.
  • Future use – eggs are thawed and typically fertilized using ICSI, then resulting embryos can be transferred through IVF. One really important misconception Egg freezing is not fertility insurance. It gives you an additional option, but it doesn't guarantee that you'll have a baby. There are several stages where things can be lost: Eggs retrieved → mature eggs → eggs survive freezing/thawing → fertilization → embryo development → implantation → live birth That's why reputable fertility clinics should give you their own age-specific thaw, fertilization, embryo and live-birth statistics, rather than simply saying "egg freezing is very successful." ASRM specifically recommends counselling patients about the uncertainties and clinic-specific outcomes. What I would consider doing in your late 30s If you're seriously considering preserving your fertility, I'd suggest having a fertility assessment even if you aren't ready to freeze immediately. Typically, this might include:
  • AMH blood test – gives an indication of ovarian reserve.
  • Antral follicle count (AFC) – ultrasound estimate of the number of recruitable follicles.
  • Other reproductive hormone tests where appropriate.
  • Pelvic ultrasound.
  • Discussion of your menstrual history and reproductive plans. AMH/AFC are useful for estimating how your ovaries might respond to stimulation, but they cannot tell you precisely whether you'll have a baby from frozen eggs. ACOG describes ovarian-reserve testing such as AMH as useful but imperfect.

The bigger picture There are really two different questions: 1. "Can I get pregnant now?" and 2. "Do I want to preserve the possibility of having genetically related children later?" Egg freezing primarily addresses the second question. And if you're approaching 38–40, the timing becomes more relevant because natural fertility is declining at the same time that egg quality is declining. At the same time, you don't need to freeze your eggs simply because you're approaching 35 or 40. HFEA specifically cautions that egg freezing isn't a guarantee and that people shouldn't feel compelled to do it without considering their individual circumstances. In short: if having a biological child in the future is important to you but you're not ready now, late 30s is a very reasonable time to have a fertility specialist consultation. The consultation can tell you how many follicles/eggs you appear to have, what you might realistically retrieve in one cycle, whether multiple cycles might be worthwhile, and—most importantly—whether freezing makes sense for you. If you are deciding whether to freeze eggs, I'd think about the ages roughly like this:

  • Age 35 — very good time; aim for roughly 15+ mature eggs; the strongest of these four options
  • Age 37 — still worthwhile; roughly 15–20+ mature eggs; increasingly time-sensitive
  • Age 39 — more challenging; roughly 20–30+ mature eggs; often worth assessing promptly
  • Age 40 — more challenging again; roughly 25–30+ or more mature eggs; individual assessment becomes especially important

*These are not guarantees or universally recommended targets. They are approximate numbers derived from modelling/observational data, and individual ovarian response varies considerably. ASRM specifically says there isn't enough evidence to prescribe one exact number of eggs for every woman. One frequently cited ASRM model estimated that 14 mature eggs at 30–34, 15 at 35–37, and 26 at 38–40 would correspond to roughly a 70% modelled chance of at least one live birth. Again, this is a model, not a guarantee from a clinical trial.

35 vs 37 vs 39 vs 40 🟢 Age 35 This is probably the most favourable point of the four. At 35, you still have a reasonable opportunity to retrieve a useful number of eggs, and the eggs are generally less likely to have age-related chromosomal abnormalities than eggs retrieved later. A clinic may retrieve something like 7–14 eggs in a cycle, although this varies enormously. HFEA reports that most patients under 38 have around 7–14 eggs collected, while South African clinics report higher numbers in some patients. If you were 35 and considering freezing, I'd want to know: "Can I realistically freeze around 15 mature eggs, and would that require one cycle or two?" If you could obtain 15–20 mature eggs at 35, that would give you a meaningful reproductive option later.

🟢 Age 37 Still a very reasonable age to freeze, but I would be less inclined to postpone the decision for several more years. ASRM's review found a noticeable difference around age 38: one study found better clinical pregnancy rates when eggs were frozen before 38 compared with 38 or older. The same ASRM review estimated around 15 mature eggs for women aged 35–37 to achieve a modelled 70% probability of one live birth. So if you were 37 and told: "Your AMH and AFC suggest you'll probably get 8 mature eggs this cycle." I'd be asking whether doing two cycles makes sense rather than simply accepting 8 eggs.

🟠 Age 39 This is where I'd become much more proactive. The issue isn't simply that you have fewer eggs. The proportion of eggs with chromosomal abnormalities also increases with age. Consequently, you may retrieve 10 eggs at 39, but you cannot treat those 10 eggs as equivalent to 10 eggs retrieved at 30 or 35. ASRM's modelling estimated approximately 26 mature eggs for women aged 38–40 to reach a modelled 70% chance of one live birth. That doesn't mean you need 26 eggs. It means that if you're 39, the clinic may discuss whether multiple retrieval cycles are appropriate if your goal is to maximise the probability of eventually having a baby from the frozen eggs. And importantly, you may not be able to retrieve 26 eggs, even after multiple cycles. Your AMH and AFC become particularly useful here because they help estimate your likely egg yield.

🟠 Age 40 Egg freezing can absolutely still be considered at 40, but expectations need to be realistic. The challenge becomes both: quantity ↓ and egg quality ↓ A 40-year-old with an excellent AMH and AFC may still retrieve a substantial number of eggs. Conversely, a 35-year-old with very low ovarian reserve may retrieve very few. But even if a 40-year-old retrieves 15 eggs, those eggs have the biological characteristics of eggs retrieved at 40. That's why egg quantity cannot compensate indefinitely for age-related egg-quality decline. If someone were 40 and seriously considering egg freezing, I'd recommend getting the assessment and having the conversation now rather than waiting another year.

What does AMH actually tell you? This is one of the most misunderstood fertility tests. AMH = Anti-Müllerian Hormone. It's produced by small ovarian follicles and gives an indication of your ovarian reserve — essentially the approximate size of the remaining follicle pool. Think of it like this: AMH → "How many eggs might my ovaries be able to produce in a stimulation cycle?" It does not reliably answer: "Will I have a baby?" That's a crucial distinction. ASRM states that AMH and AFC are useful predictors of egg yield, but are poor predictors of reproductive potential independently of age. Very roughly, one way AMH results are sometimes categorised:

  • Very low — potentially low ovarian reserve / lower expected egg yield
  • Low-normal — may produce fewer eggs than average
  • Average — expected response may be reasonable
  • High — potentially higher egg yield
  • Very high — can occur with PCOS and may increase risk of excessive response/OHSS

There isn't one universal "normal AMH" number because laboratories use different assays and reference ranges. For example, recent ASRM material describes one research classification as <1.1 ng/mL low, 1.1–4 ng/mL normal, and >4 ng/mL high, but this should not be interpreted as a universal clinical cutoff for every woman. Here's the really important part: A low AMH doesn't necessarily mean you can't get pregnant. And: A high AMH doesn't mean you have excellent egg quality. AMH mainly tells your doctor about quantity/response, not the genetic quality of your eggs.

What is AFC? AFC = Antral Follicle Count. It's an ultrasound in which the fertility specialist counts the small follicles visible in your ovaries, usually early in the menstrual cycle. For example: Left ovary: 6 follicles Right ovary: 7 follicles AFC = 13 Those follicles are not literally 13 mature eggs. They're small follicles containing immature eggs that may respond to stimulation. AFC is useful because it gives the doctor another estimate of how many follicles you might recruit during an egg-freezing cycle. ASRM considers AMH and AFC the two most sensitive/reliable ovarian-reserve markers currently used for this purpose.

AMH + AFC together are much more useful Imagine two 38-year-olds: Woman A AMH: 3.0 ng/mL AFC: 15 She might be expected to respond reasonably well to stimulation and potentially retrieve a relatively good number of eggs. Woman B AMH: 0.5 ng/mL AFC: 4 She may be expected to produce substantially fewer eggs per cycle. But both women are 38, so the age-related egg-quality issue remains. This is why fertility specialists don't look at AMH alone. They combine: Age + AMH + AFC + medical history + previous ovarian response to estimate what is realistically achievable.

One of the most important distinctions: quantity vs quality Think about your eggs as a basket. AMH/AFC tell you approximately: "How many eggs might be in the basket?" Age tells you much more about: **"**How likely are those eggs to be chromosomally normal?" That's why a 40-year-old with an AMH of 3.0 isn't necessarily in the same position as a 30-year-old with an AMH of 3.0. The AMH may be similar. The eggs aren't. ASRM specifically states that age is a much stronger predictor of reproductive success than ovarian-reserve testing.

What does a typical egg-freezing cycle actually look like? Usually about 2–3 weeks from starting the IVF-type process through retrieval. Step 1 — Assessment Usually:

  • AMH
  • AFC ultrasound
  • other hormone tests as appropriate
  • infectious-disease screening
  • medical/reproductive history Step 2 — Stimulation You inject fertility hormones for approximately 8–12 days, depending on your protocol. The objective isn't to make one egg. It's to recruit multiple follicles simultaneously. Step 3 — Monitoring You have several ultrasounds and blood tests. The doctor monitors follicle growth and hormone levels. Step 4 — Trigger When the follicles are ready, you receive a final injection that causes the eggs to complete maturation. Step 5 — Egg retrieval A needle is guided through the vagina into the ovaries under ultrasound guidance. The eggs are collected while you're sedated. Step 6 — Vitrification The mature eggs are rapidly frozen using vitrification, a fast-freezing technique that substantially improved egg survival compared with older slow-freezing methods. Step 7 — Storage The eggs remain frozen until you're ready to use them.

What happens when you eventually want to use them? This is something people sometimes overlook. You don't simply "thaw an egg and become pregnant." The process is approximately: Frozen egg ↓ thawing surviving egg ↓ ICSI fertilized egg ↓ embryo development blastocyst ↓ possibly genetic testing, depending on circumstances embryo ↓ transfer pregnancy ↓ live birth There is attrition at every step. That's why having 15 frozen eggs doesn't mean you have 15 chances of having a baby.