Women Electing Oocyte Cryopreservation: Characteristics, Information Sources, and Oocyte Disposition: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Introduction:Recently, there is a growing interest in cryopreservation for nonmedical reasons, widely known as planned oocyte cryopreservation. This review aims to summarize and understand the characteristics of women who undergo or consider planned oocyte cryopreservation, identify their initial sources of information, and describe the oocyte disposition. This information should assist health professionals with shared decisionmaking.Methods: A systematic review was performed and reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) recommendations. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched from inception to January 2021 without any limitation on publication date. Studies were included if they were in English and examined the characteristics of users or potential users of planned oocyte cryopreservation, initial information sources, and the oocyte disposition. Extracted data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The methodological quality of the recruited studies was assessed with the QualSyst criteria.Results: Of 1074 initially retrieved records, 29 met the inclusion criteria, including 12 qualitative and 17 quantitative studies. Response rates of surveys ranged between 38% and 85%. Most of the users or potential users of planned oocyte cryopreservation were single, highly educated, and employed and had a mean age of 37 years. Media and friends were the most common sources of initial knowledge about planned oocyte cryopreservation, and health professionals were a less common source. The majority of planned oocyte cryopreservation users did not attempt pregnancy with their frozen oocytes, yet they did not regret having undergone the procedure. The results regarding the disposition intentions of unused frozen oocytes are inconsistent.Discussion: Most of the users or potential users of planned oocyte cryopreservation have specific demographic characteristics and do not ultimately use their cryopreserved oocytes. Unused oocytes can be discarded or donated to other women or to research. By understanding the main characteristics of potential users of planned oocyte cryopreservation, health professionals can provide proper counseling and support effective decision-making.

Eggsurance? A randomized controlled trial of a decision aid for elective egg freezing

“…Most of our participants were highly educated, and some had received health-related training. Whilst these characteristics are consistent with women who consider EEF ( Inhorn et al , 2018 ; Giannopapa et al , 2022 ; Sandhu et al , 2023a ), they may influence the capacity for knowledge gain from the Decision Aid. In fact, at baseline, both cohorts showed a moderate understanding of EEF and age-related infertility, which could explain why no group differences were observed.…”

“…Similarly, there was a 120% rise in egg freezing across other European countries between 2016–2019 ( Wyns et al , 2020 ; Smeenk et al , 2023 ). Increased utilization of EEF coincides with greater availability and public awareness coupled with considerable media attention ( Ethics Committee of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, 2018 ; Platts et al , 2021 ; Giannopapa et al , 2022 ). In addition, regulatory changes to gamete storage time limits in the UK, and the introduction of EEF in France and Singapore ( De Proost and Johnston, 2022 ; UK Government, 2022 ; Chin et al , 2023 ), means that more women are considering the option.…”

Understanding the Strengths and Limitations of Online Oocyte Cryopreservation Calculators

“…Most patients who decide to proceed with OC and are included in these studies are highly educated and have high household incomes. 46 This may limit the generalizability of these results to the entire U.S. population. For example, one cross-sectional survey of 1,000 women that assessed attitudes toward elective OC found that Asian race, single status, holding employment, household income greater than or equal to $125,000, and a history of infertility were associated with an increased likelihood of considering OC.…”