The Stats Behind Egg Freezing And IVF Are Not Good

Even as Google and Apple promise employees egg-freezing privileges, the statistics behind in-vitro fertilization remain sobering. 75 percent of IVF attempts fail. Only 2 to 12 percent of eggs are viable after being frozen. And now, a new study published in JAMA suggests recipients of frozen eggs have significantly lower live birth rates than those using fresh eggs.

The multi-billion dollar industry’s marketing techniques have given rise to egg-freezing parties, where women convince each other over cocktails that the statistics and side-effects are exaggerated, but the findings are the latest to question modern IVF practices. After being poked, prodded and fed nausea-inducing hormones, women who donate their eggs often complain of maltreatment and neglect. Other women say the process can be so physically and emotionally agonizing that it impacts their mental health.

And that’s just for fresh eggs. When it comes to frozen eggs, the science suggests it seldom works. When physicians declared egg freezing “no longer experimental” in 2012, that exception was just for women with cancer or other serious conditions that could threaten their ability to bear children...