Social freezing

A societal phenomenon

In recent years, the age of woman's first pregnancy has become later and later.

A societal phenomenon, years of study or life choices involving significant professional priorities, more women are turning to social freezing.

What is it?

Social freezing is a technique that makes it possible to freeze your eggs for non-medical reasons, with the aim of using them in the future.

The term 'social freezing' is used as opposed to the preservation of eggs in cases of gonadotoxic treatment (destruction of the ovarian tissue): in this case, this refers to oncofertility.

This is therefore a preventive treatment for age-related infertility, but it is not an absolute guarantee of motherhood.

How does it work?

Social freezing is undertaken in the same way as for standard in vitro fertilisation, with stimulation via dialy injections of medication under the skin, for 11 days.

The eggs are then collected vaginally, under local or general anaesthesia, during a one-day hospitalisation.

When the patient decides so, she can request her eggs to be thawed and fertilised with the sperm of her partner or the sperm of a donor.

In figures

The best chances of conceiving are before the age of 35 years old, either naturally or using in vitro fertilisation (including social freezing).

For social freezing, for example, we estimate a 5% chance of pregnancy for mature oocytes collected before the age of 35.

While not guaranteed, it is preferable to freeze around 20 eggs to facilitate a pregnancy.

However, these figures fall with age.

This is why egg freezing is not offered for patients over the age of 40.

Social freezing is currently not available via any health insurance policy.

The medically assisted reproduction laboratory fees, the cost of the stimulation medication and egg storage must therefore be covered by the patient.