Eggs from the freezer - What is social freezing all about?

Today, the doors of the world are wide open to women. As a result, many women first want to pursue a career and thus already lay the foundation for providing for their children. However, this also entails risks, especially since pregnancies become increasingly complicated and risky with increasing age. One possible way out, which has become increasingly popular in the recent past in particular, is the Social Freezing. This is a process in which younger women have their eggs frozen in order to use them at a later date for the initiation of a pregnancy. But what is social freezing in detail and how much does it cost?

This is why many women rely on social freezing

From an evolutionary biology perspective, young women reach the prime of their fertility in their mid-twenties. The problem, however, is that most modern women are either still in the middle of their studies, traveling the world or have already climbed the first rungs of the career ladder at this time. So children don't always really want to fit into the concept at this stage of life. Paradoxically, however, many women at the same time also harbor the desire to have children, especially since it becomes increasingly difficult later on from a health point of view, as the physical readiness for pregnancy declines very quickly after the age of 35. This is primarily because the eggs are also subject to a biological aging process. Accordingly, the rule of thumb is: the younger the woman, the younger the egg and the more favorable this is for pregnancy. So anyone who has some eggs frozen by social freezing in their twenties is preserving their youth, so that the prognosis for pregnancies in their mid-thirties or even early forties is also significantly improved.

What is the procedure for social freezing?

Before you decide in favor of social freezing, you should inform yourself well about the topic of social freezing and seek advice and examination from a doctor you trust as well as from a specialized specialist. This is a necessary step, as social freezing is associated with hormone therapy, which admittedly has a great influence on hormone balance and thus also on numerous processes in your body. In social freezing, hormone therapy is used to stimulate the body to produce several eggs at the same time during the monthly cycle. In a later step, these are removed with the help of an ultrasound device and a hollow needle and finally deep-frozen.

Vitrification in social freezing

The greatest challenge in social freezing is to ensure that as many eggs as possible survive the process of freezing and thawing undamaged. Thanks to the most modern method, so-called vitrification, a good 80 percent of all retrieved eggs survive social freezing and can be used for fertilization later. The secret of the method lies in the fact that the eggs are shock-frozen, so to speak, by immersion in liquid nitrogen. As a result, the oocytes cool down much faster compared to so-called slow freezing, which reduces the likelihood of expansion-related frost damage occurring. Although in theory the frozen eggs can be stored indefinitely in social freezing, it goes without saying that it is not particularly useful to wait several decades. Many clinics and science centers that offer social freezing therefore include an age limit of 50 years for fertilization in their contracts. 

Are there risks with social freezing?

Basically, it should be said that pregnancy, in whatever form, always carries a certain risk. Even oocytes retrieved by social freezing from the prime of fertility do not change this. Typical pregnancy risks that occur at an advanced age can therefore not be completely ruled out, nor can premature birth, deficiency development or the dreaded pregnancy poisoning. Complications can also arise during the removal of the eggs in social freezing, as well as due to the changes in the hormone balance. Even if, according to medical experts, no serious health risks are to be expected, social freezing can be associated with side effects such as abdominal pain and nausea. 

How much does social freezing cost?

If you decide to use this method, you must currently expect costs in the range of 1,200 to 1,500 euros in Germany. In addition to the consultation, freezing and preservation, this cost range does not include the cost of the medication necessary for the stimulation of the hormone balance. The final cost of this item depends on how quickly your body responds to the therapy.

Will social freezing become the trend of the future?

If we consider the fact that the average age of expectant parents in Germany has been increasing for years, we can certainly assume that the procedure will continue to gain in popularity. However, it is just as impossible to predict whether this will be the future of childbearing across the board as it is to predict the lottery numbers for next Saturday. In medicine, however, research is already underway into procedures that should make it possible to significantly reduce the risk of pregnancy even for women over forty. In view of the global increase in life expectancy, it is therefore possible that social freezing has not yet reached the end of the line at its current stage of development.