ClinicsDoctorsTreatmentsResourcesWho we areAsk PATHEgg freezing is a way of preserving your fertility for the future. It involves collecting your eggs, freezing them, and thawing them later so they can be used in fertility treatment — for example if you want the option of trying to conceive at a later stage, or before medical treatment that might affect your fertility. Before you start, you'll be tested for infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis; this doesn't affect whether you can freeze your eggs, but means any affected samples can be stored separately so they don't contaminate others. You then go through the same first stage as IVF, which usually takes around two to three weeks and involves taking medication to stimulate your ovaries so that several eggs grow and mature. When the eggs are ready, they're collected while you're under general anaesthetic or sedation. Rather than being mixed with sperm as in a full IVF cycle, the eggs are treated with a cryoprotectant (a freezing solution that protects them) and then frozen, before being stored in tanks of liquid nitrogen. Clinics now generally use vitrification (fast freezing) rather than slow cooling, because freezing the eggs rapidly helps limit the ice-crystal damage that can happen during slower freezing. The number of eggs collected varies from person to person, and tends to be lower if you have a low ovarian reserve (a lower number of eggs). When you're ready to use them, the eggs are thawed and the ones that have survived intact can be injected with your partner's or a donor's sperm as part of IVF. IVF is generally very safe, though the fertility medication can cause side effects for some people. How long eggs can be stored in the UK is set by the HFEA: under the current rules you can keep them for up to a maximum of 55 years, renewing your consent to storage every 10 years.
Nottingham, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
89.82% success rate
Eastbourne, United Kingdom
89.17% success rate
London, UK
88.4% success rate
London, United Kingdom
86.09% success rate
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
86.27% success rate
Sourced from what people genuinely ask, answered in PATH's voice — reviewed before publishing, never generated live.
Egg freezing starts with screening for infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis, then moves into a stimulation phase using medication to encourage several eggs to mature, usually over two to three weeks. Eggs are collected under general anaesthetic or sedation, then frozen quickly through vitrification rather than slow cooling, which current evidence favours, and stored in liquid nitrogen until needed. Most people have around fifteen eggs collected, though this can be fewer with a lower ovarian reserve. A clinic can talk you through what their version of this timeline looks like.
UK clinics typically quote £2,500 to £4,500 for the retrieval cycle itself, plus £300 to £600 a year for ongoing storage, and clinics often recommend one or two retrieval cycles to build a meaningful egg bank, which affects the total. Headline prices don't always include medication, which can add a meaningful amount, so ask for a full quote covering drugs, retrieval, and storage together rather than comparing retrieval fees alone between clinics.
Outcomes from frozen eggs depend heavily on age at the time of freezing, along with how many eggs are stored and the quality of the lab doing the freezing and later thaw, so there's no single ideal age that applies to everyone. This is a genuinely individual question shaped by your own fertility, family plans, and reasons for considering it, whether that's an upcoming cancer treatment, a diagnosis affecting reserve, or simply wanting the option later. The HFEA publishes clinic-level data by age band that's worth reviewing alongside a consultant's advice.
Egg freezing is generally considered safe, though some people experience side effects from the stimulation medication, and not every collected egg will survive the thaw or go on to fertilise later. Storage has time limits too: ten years is standard, though some circumstances allow storage of up to fifty-five years, so it's worth understanding your clinic's storage terms up front. How many eggs you're likely to need banked depends on your own situation, which is best discussed directly with a consultant rather than assumed from general figures.
People consider egg freezing for quite different reasons — before cancer treatment, because of an early diagnosis affecting reserve, or simply to keep options open against age-related decline — and there's no requirement to be certain you'll use the eggs before starting. It's a reasonable thing to sit with rather than rush, and worth discussing what meaningful storage looks like for your situation, since clinics often suggest one or two retrieval cycles to build a useful bank. A consultant can help weigh it against your own timeline and circumstances.
These answers are general — PATH personalizes once it knows your age, your numbers, and your story.
This article provides general information about fertility — not medical advice. Always consult your fertility specialist or another qualified clinician for decisions about your care. In an emergency, call your local emergency services.
Whether Egg Freezing fits is a question about your age, your results, and your history — not about averages. PATH can help you reason through it, or start from the clinics that offer it.
