Social Freezing: Preserve Your Fertility For the Future With Social Egg Freezing And Plan Your Family with Unfertilized Eggs

Life today does not always follow the same path as it did for our mothers or grandmothers. Many of us want to focus on education, career, travel or simply enjoy a few more years before starting a family. Yet, at the back of our minds, there is often the quiet thought of fertility and how long we have to make that dream of motherhood come true.

Social freezing – also called social egg freezing – is a way to preserve your fertility for the future. By freezing your fresh eggs at a younger age, when they are still healthy, you can keep an option open for later. It is not about rushing into motherhood, but about giving yourself the freedom to decide when the right time has come.

Egg freezing has become part of modern family planning. Instead of feeling pressured by age, you can freeze unfertilised eggs and know they are waiting for you. This possibility can be reassuring, especially if you want to postpone pregnancy until you have found the right partner or the right moment in life.

Social freezing and fertility

When we talk about social freezing, it is really about keeping choices open. Many women want to preserve their fertility for the future, but do not feel ready to start a family right now. Social freezing, sometimes called social egg freezing, allows you to freeze eggs while they are still healthy and use them later, when the time feels right. This way, you do not have to rush your plans or feel trapped by the ticking of the biological clock.

What social freezing really means

In simple terms, social freezing is the process of collecting unfertilised eggs and keeping them safe in storage. The eggs are frozen using cryopreservation, which cools them to very low temperatures so they remain unchanged for years. With new methods like vitrification, the egg cell does not lose quality during storage and can be thawed later when you want to conceive. It is one of the ways reproductive medicine has made it possible for women to take control of family planning and preserve fertility at a younger age.

Why more women consider social egg freezing

The reasons behind egg freezing are deeply personal. Some women want to focus on career or studies first, while others have not yet found the right partner. Doctors often recommend freezing eggs before the age of 35, because both the number of eggs and egg quality decline with age. By choosing social freezing treatment earlier, you increase the chances of a successful pregnancy later. For many, the idea of freezing your eggs brings peace of mind – knowing that healthy eggs are waiting until you decide the time has come to start a family.

Egg freezing and family planning

Egg freezing has become an important part of modern family planning. For many women, it is not about choosing career over children, but about keeping the possibility of motherhood open while life takes its own course. By deciding to freeze eggs, you give yourself more time to reach your goals, to travel, to enjoy relationships or simply to wait until you feel ready. Knowing that your unfertilised eggs are safely stored can ease the pressure that so many of us feel when we think about fertility and age.

When to freeze eggs for the best success rate

The ideal age to consider freezing your eggs is often before the age of 30, when egg quality and the number of eggs are at their highest. After 35 years of age, fertility begins to decline more quickly, which is why specialists recommend freezing earlier if possible. This does not mean that social freezing is impossible after 30, but the chances of success are higher when younger eggs are preserved. In most cases, doctors suggest retrieving many eggs in one cycle, because the more healthy eggs you have stored, the greater the chances later of a successful pregnancy.

The age of 30 and how fertility starts to decline

It is a simple fact of biology that every woman is born with a limited egg reserve. From puberty onwards, the number of follicles in the ovary decreases steadily. Around the age of 30, the decline becomes noticeable, and by the age of 35, the number of eggs are retrieved in one cycle is often much lower than in earlier years. For this reason, freezing your eggs before fertility has declined too much can make a big difference. Thinking ahead in this way does not mean you must use the frozen eggs one day – but it gives you the option to rely on them if natural conception turns out to be difficult.

“Social freezing is not about stopping the clock – it is about keeping your options open for the future.”

Nathalie Wiederkehr

How social freezing treatment works

Going through social freezing treatment may sound complicated at first, but in reality the steps are quite straightforward. The idea is simple: you prepare your body, stimulate the ovaries to grow follicles, retrieve the mature eggs and then keep them safe through freezing. Most of the procedure is routine in fertility clinics, and you are guided by doctors and nurses at every stage.

Initial consultation and checking your egg reserve

The first step is always an initial consultation at a fertility clinic. Here you discuss your personal situation, family planning goals and whether social freezing is the right option for you. A gynaecologist usually performs an ultrasound to count the number of follicles in the ovary and a blood test to measure hormone levels, especially the anti-Müllerian hormone. This shows your egg reserve and helps to estimate how many eggs may be retrieved in one cycle. Some women are advised to recommend freezing earlier because their reserve is lower than expected for their age.

Hormonal stimulation and ovarian response

If you decide to continue, the next step is hormonal stimulation. This means taking hormone injections over a period of 10 to 12 days to encourage several follicles to grow at the same time. Each follicle contains an oocyte, or egg cell, that can be collected later. The hormone treatment is carefully monitored with ultrasound scans, checking the ovarian response and making sure that the follicles are maturing well. Sometimes a single injection is used to trigger ovulation at the right moment. While most women tolerate hormone therapy well, doctors also look out for rare side effects such as hyperstimulation syndrome.

Egg retrieval and handling the egg cell

When the follicles have reached the right size, the eggs are ready to be collected. This step is called egg retrieval and is usually done in a fertility clinic under mild anaesthesia. The procedure is performed with a thin needle that passes through the vaginal wall into each follicle, gently aspirating the fluid where the oocytes are found. Doctors often call this process a follicular puncture. The retrieved eggs may then be checked in the IVF laboratory, where embryologists carefully examine each egg cell to see if it is mature enough for freezing.

In general, having 20-30 eggs stored is considered a good reserve for the chance of one baby. However, it is important to remember that not every egg will survive thawing, fertilisation and embryo development. If you dream of having more than one child, for example if you wish for siblings, then retrieving more eggs can be helpful. The number of eggs retrieved in one cycle depends on your ovarian reserve and response to stimulation – sometimes several cycles are needed to collect enough healthy eggs to preserve your fertility for the future.

Cryopreservation and vitrification

Once the eggs are collected, the next step is to make sure they can be stored safely for many years. This process is known as cryopreservation. It sounds highly technical, but the idea is simple: the eggs are cooled to extremely low temperatures so that their structure and quality are preserved. In modern reproductive medicine, vitrification has become the standard method because it prevents the formation of ice crystals that could damage the egg cell. Thanks to this technology, freezing your eggs has become a reliable option for women who want to preserve fertility and keep healthy eggs for the future.

Shock freezing versus modern vitrification methods

In the early days, eggs were kept with a technique called slow freezing or shock freezing. While it worked for some cells, unfertilised eggs are particularly sensitive to damage, and the survival rate after thaw was not always encouraging. Today, vitrification has replaced these older approaches. It is an ultra-rapid cooling process that uses cryoprotectants to protect the cell and prevent ice crystals from forming. This means that when a thawed egg is later fertilised with sperm, the chances of success are much higher compared to the older shock freezing methods.

How long unfertilised eggs can be stored

One of the most reassuring facts about social freezing is that once the eggs are vitrified, they can be stored in liquid nitrogen for decades without losing quality. In theory, a thawed egg from storage is just as healthy as it was on the day of freezing. The only limitation comes from legal regulations, which vary from country to country. Some nations allow storage for as long as you wish, while others set a limit of 5–10 years. In practice, eggs are frozen until you feel ready, whether that is after one cycle, at the age of 30, or later in life when you decide the time has come to try for a successful pregnancy.

Thaw and fertilisation

When the right moment in your life arrives, the frozen eggs are carefully thawed in the IVF laboratory. This step marks the beginning of a new phase, where your stored eggs can finally be used to help you conceive. The survival rate of thawed eggs is now very high, thanks to vitrification, and most of them are suitable for fertilisation. Once thawed, the eggs are usually combined with sperm through IVF, often using a technique called ICSI, where a single sperm is injected directly into the egg cell.

What happens to a thawed egg

Thawing is a delicate process, but with modern vitrification the majority of eggs survive it. Each thawed egg is assessed by embryologists to make sure it looks healthy and mature enough to continue. From there, the egg can be fertilised in the laboratory, creating an embryo that may later be transferred to the uterine cavity. Although not every egg will develop this far, having many eggs stored increases the chances of success.

The role of sperm and IVF in creating embryos

Once the eggs are thawed, sperm from a partner or a donor is needed. Fertilisation usually happens through ICSI, where the sperm is placed inside the egg with a fine injection. This is often more reliable than letting eggs and sperm mix on their own, especially when every mature egg is precious. After artificial insemination, the fertilised egg begins its journey of embryo development in the IVF laboratory. After a few days, the embryo can be transferred into the uterus, where it hopefully implants and leads to a successful pregnancy.

Chances and limitations

Social freezing can make a real difference, but it is not a guarantee. The chances of success depend on many factors – your age at the time of egg retrieval, the number of eggs retrieved, and how well they survive thawing and fertilisation. Fertility treatments give you the possibility of using your younger, healthier eggs later, but they cannot completely reverse the natural limits of biology.

Success rate with frozen eggs

Studies show that the success rate of social freezing is closely linked to the age at which you freeze your eggs. Women who freeze before the age of 35 usually have a better outcome, since egg quality and ovarian reserve are still high. Doctors often recommend freezing 20–30 eggs to improve the chances of at least one successful pregnancy, although retrieved eggs may sometimes be needed in greater numbers if you hope for siblings. Even so, freezing your eggs is not a guarantee – it only increases the chances of success compared to trying naturally with older eggs.

When doctors recommend freezing your eggs

Specialists often recommend freezing your eggs if you want to postpone motherhood for personal or professional reasons, or if you are at risk of premature ovarian failure. Women who have low hormone levels or a reduced egg reserve may also be advised to consider social freezing treatment earlier. Sometimes doctors suggest it if a woman is facing medical treatments, such as chemotherapy, that could affect her ovaries. While freezing eggs or sperm can be life-changing in these cases, the decision for social freezing is often simply about family planning – the wish to keep healthy eggs for later, when starting a family feels right.

Frequently asked questions

Even though social freezing has become much more common, many women still have doubts and concerns. It is natural to wonder about treatment costs, side effects or whether this step really fits your life. The truth is that social freezing is deeply personal – there is no one answer for everyone, but understanding the basics can help you feel more confident in your decision.

Costs and availability of social freezing treatment

The treatment costs for social freezing vary depending on the fertility centre and the country where you have the procedure. Prices usually include the hormone treatment, egg retrieval, freezing, and the storage of eggs in liquid nitrogen. Storage fees are often charged every year, and these can add up if you want to keep your eggs for a long time. While some countries have strict rules on how long eggs are frozen, others allow storage for decades. If you live in a country where social freezing is restricted, it is possible to travel abroad for the procedure.

Is social freezing the right option for you

Deciding on social freezing is not easy, and it depends on your personal situation. Some women choose it because they want to focus on their career, others because they have not found the right partner yet. For many, it is simply about wanting to preserve fertility and reduce the pressure of time. An initial consultation at a fertility clinic can give you clarity on your ovarian reserve, hormone levels and whether your chances of success are realistic. While it is not the right path for everyone, social freezing can offer peace of mind if you want to postpone motherhood and keep the option of a successful pregnancy in the future.

Your next step

Social freezing is not about making a quick decision, it is about giving yourself time and freedom. If you are thinking about freezing your eggs, it can help to learn more about where and how this treatment is available. Regulations, costs and success rates differ from country to country, and sometimes the options are wider than you expect.

To make this easier, we have created a guide to IVF destinations in Europe. It explains where treatments such as egg freezing, egg donation or even gender selection are possible, and includes an example of one clinic in Northern Cyprus with average prices and success rates. This is not a recommendation for a specific place – but a starting point to help you see what is possible.

If you want personal advice for your own journey, we are here to support you. Every woman’s path is different, and having clear information can make the next step feel less overwhelming.