Social egg freezing: Motivations, treatment experiences and the impact of Covid‐19 – a single‐center experience

Abstract

Introduction This study aims to assess the motivations and treatment experiences of women undergoing social egg freezing and to understand the impact of the Covid‐19 pandemic. Material and methods Between January 2011 to December 2021, 191 social egg freezing patients were recruited from the Lister Fertility Clinic, London UK. Participants completed a validated questionnaire investigating patients’ perspectives of social egg freezing. A response rate of 46.6% was achieved. Results In all, 93.9% of women expressed concern regarding age‐related fertility decline which influenced their decision to undergo social egg freezing. The majority (89.5%) of women were not in a relationship at the time of social egg freezing and considered this a motivating factor. Also, 39.0% of participants had side effects related to treatment which affected work and social life. Participants were significantly more likely to experience side effects if they underwent multiple egg freezing cycles (χ2, p < 0.01) or if they cryopreserved oocytes during the COVID‐19 pandemic (χ2, p < 0.05). Of the women, 64.0% wished to have cryopreserved oocytes at a younger age, a view significantly more likely if older than 37 years at first social egg freezing cycle (χ2, p < 0.001). Also, 82.3% of women reported their decision to undergo social egg freezing was not delayed due to concerns regarding COVID‐19 exposure during treatment; 44.1% considered the pandemic made them more willing to undergo social egg freezing. Conclusions Most participants did not regret their decision to undergo social egg freezing but the majority wished they had cryopreserved oocytes at a younger age. This highlights the importance of early education to optimize outcomes and patient choice. The egg freezing process can be stressful, women may have concerns around social egg freezing and unprecedented situations such as the COVID‐19 pandemic may alter treatment experience.

Social Egg Freezing—A Trend or Modern Reality?

“…Interestingly, in recent years, this practice of sponsored egg freezing has often been used by American companies [59,60]. This raises ethical concerns as women are encouraged to be dedicated and productive at work and, at the same time, they are indirectly obliged to postpone motherhood [31].…”

“…Also, there is a lack of financial programs for reinforcing procreation and raising children at a young age [22]. Some private insurance companies have also started to cover the cost of this procedure [31]. In order for the procedure to be cost-effective, studies showed that 49-61% of patients need to return to use their oocytes, which is very high compared to the current rates [3].…”

“…Participants that did not have a partner at the time of the SEF cycle, were significantly more likely to agree that they would consider the use of a sperm donor to conceive than were those who had a partner. Similarly, women who underwent SEF during the COVID-19 pandemic were significantly more likely to agree that they would consider using a sperm donor to conceive than were those who underwent SEF prior to the pandemic [31]. An interesting fact from a study showed that women who were older at the time of egg freezing returned sooner to use their eggs compared to those who froze their eggs at a younger age [3].…”