Fertility Answers - Helping Build Families

Egg Freezing Risks

Although it is generally a safe procedure, there are some egg freezing risks

Fertility Answers strives to provide patients with the most effective and safest fertility treatments available. However, all medical procedures, including egg freezing, carry some degree of risk. The physicians at our Lafayette and Baton Rouge fertility centers want to ensure that you understand egg freezing risks before moving forward with this fertility-preserving procedure.

There are a few egg freezing risks that you should be aware of

Our Lafayette and Baton Rouge fertility centers follow the recommended procedure for egg freezing. This process includes ovulation induction with fertility medications, egg retrieval and egg vitrification. There are potential egg freezing risks associated with each step.

  • In rare cases, injectable fertility medications can cause ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), a condition that can cause your ovaries to become swollen and painful. Symptoms of the condition include abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. In severe cases, it can cause abdominal fluid buildup and shortness of breath. However, our fertility specialists can prevent this condition with regular monitoring.
  • Complications during egg retrieval can occur, but they are also rare. Since physicians use an aspirating needle during egg retrieval, there is a risk of bleeding and infection. Again, these risks are minimal and our fertility specialists take special care to mitigate them. If you are sensitive to anesthesia, you should speak to your physician before egg retrieval.
  • There are no guarantees with any medical procedure. There is no guarantee of later pregnancy success, however, the freeze and thaw rates, as well as fertilization and pregnancy success rates, are very promising.

It’s important to understand the statistics associated with egg freezing

Egg freezing research indicates that approximately 90% of eggs survive the freezing and thawing process and approximately 75% of these eggs will go on to be successfully fertilized.

Your chances for conceiving using frozen eggs vary from 30% to 60%, depending on how old you were when you froze your eggs. Our Lafayette and Baton Rouge fertility centers see the greatest rates of pregnancy success with women who froze their eggs at a younger age, and had approximately 10 eggs available for pregnancy attempt.

If you have more questions about egg freezing at Fertility Answers, please contact us today. Our fertility specialists can help you take control of your reproductive future.