What Is Egg Freezing?
Egg freezing — medically known as oocyte cryopreservation — involves stimulating your ovaries to produce multiple eggs, retrieving them, and vitrifying (flash-freezing) them for future use. When you are ready to attempt pregnancy, the eggs are thawed, fertilised with sperm, and the resulting embryo is transferred to your uterus.
The procedure does not guarantee a future pregnancy, but it does preserve your reproductive options at the age when your eggs are at their healthiest.
Who Should Consider Egg Freezing?
- Career-focused women aged 25–35 who are not ready for a family but want to keep the option open
- Women who have not yet found the right partner and do not want to feel rushed by biological timelines
- Women diagnosed with endometriosis — where the condition can progressively reduce ovarian reserve
- Women facing cancer treatment — chemotherapy and radiation can permanently damage egg quality and quantity (oncofertility)
- Women with a family history of early menopause
- Women with low AMH levels detected during a routine fertility check
Egg freezing is not for everyone, and it is not a guarantee. I always tell my patients: it is an insurance policy, not a certainty. The best outcomes are in women who freeze before 33, retrieve 15+ mature eggs, and use a well-equipped lab with experienced embryologists. These are the conversations worth having before you decide.
What Is the Right Age to Freeze?
This is the single most important factor. Egg quality peaks in the mid-20s and begins declining meaningfully after 32–33. After 37, the decline accelerates significantly.
- Under 25 — generally too early unless there is a specific medical reason
- 25–32 — the ideal window. Egg quality is high, retrieval numbers are good
- 33–35 — still worthwhile, but results become more variable
- 35+ — possible but more unpredictable. Requires honest counselling about realistic expectations
What Does the Process Involve?
The entire process from your first appointment to egg retrieval takes approximately 2–3 weeks and does not require you to take extended time off work.
- Baseline assessment — AMH blood test, antral follicle count ultrasound to assess your ovarian reserve
- Ovarian stimulation — 10–12 days of daily hormone injections, with monitoring scans every 2–3 days
- Trigger injection — given when follicles reach the right size
- Egg retrieval — a 20–30 minute procedure under mild sedation. Day procedure, no overnight stay
- Vitrification — eggs are flash-frozen within hours of retrieval and stored
What Are the Realistic Success Rates?
Success rates depend heavily on age at freezing and number of mature eggs retrieved. As a general guide:
- Women under 35 freezing 15+ mature eggs have approximately a 40–60% chance of achieving a live birth per thaw cycle
- Each additional mature egg retrieved increases cumulative success rates
- Egg quality matters more than quantity — younger eggs have lower chromosomal abnormality rates
No clinic can guarantee a live birth from frozen eggs. Be cautious of clinics that quote very high "success rates" without specifying whether they mean fertilisation rate, pregnancy rate, or live birth rate. These are very different numbers.
What Does It Cost in Pune?
Costs in Pune typically range from ₹80,000 to ₹1,50,000 for the stimulation, retrieval, and first year of storage — excluding medications, which add approximately ₹30,000–₹60,000 depending on your protocol. Annual storage fees thereafter are typically ₹15,000–₹25,000 per year.
Contact Petals Clinic for a transparent, itemised cost estimate based on your individual assessment.
What Is the First Step?
The best starting point is a fertility assessment — an AMH blood test and an antral follicle count ultrasound. This takes one appointment and gives you a clear picture of your current ovarian reserve, so you can make an informed decision about whether and when to freeze.