Who might need egg freezing?

Egg freezing is usually offered to single women with medical conditions, for example;

  • before cancer treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy or pelvic radiotherapy that are likely to lead to partial or complete egg loss
  • before surgery to remove the ovaries, e.g. endometriosis or ovarian cysts
  • women with a family history of early menopause
  • due to some other rare medical conditions and drug treatments that might affect a woman’s eggs

Egg freezing is now also possible for non-medical or social reasons, in women who wish to delay having children until they are older. It is well known that fertility declines quickly as a woman gets older. Freezing eggs when a woman is young and healthy may give a much better chance of a future pregnancy.