Women freeze eggs to wait for 'Mr Right'
By Emma Wilkinson,
BBC News
| 06. 28. 2010
A study of women at a Belgian clinic found half wanted to freeze their eggs to take the pressure off finding a partner, a fertility conference heard.
A third were also having eggs frozen as an "insurance policy" against infertility.
Many students would also consider the procedure to focus on a career before motherhood, a separate UK survey found.
The study of nearly 200 students showed eight in 10 doing a medical degree would freeze their eggs to delay starting a family.
Among sports and education students half said they would consider it.
Egg freezing is still a relatively new technology, which enables a woman to save eggs for future IVF treatment if needed.
The chance of success is better with younger, healthier eggs, yet most women currently choosing the procedure are in their late 30s and opting for egg freezing as a "last resort".
The average cost of egg freezing is around £3,000 per attempt and some women may have to undergo up to three cycles in order to preserve a good number of eggs.
Speaking at the European...
Related Articles
By Matthew Herper, Stat | 07.01.2026
Researchers have created what they say may count as the first synthetic cell, and have started a public benefit corporation to share the technology with other scientists. It’s a piece of science that generates as many questions as answers. They...
By Tory Shepherd, The Guardian | 07.17.2026
Over eight years, Ethan and his wife went through nine rounds of IVF in Melbourne.
They travelled to Spain for two more, without success.
“I thought maybe the universe had decided we’re not supposed to have kids,” says Ethan, who...
By Oscar Lopez, The Guardian | 07.19.2026
Diogo Amaro met his future husband, Loup, in Paris and from the first date, he made one thing clear: he wanted to have children.
“Right off the bat, I was like: ‘If I’m going to be in a relationship with...
By Carissa Wong, New Scientist | 07.08.2026
Healthy lambs have been born via an experimental form of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) that coaxes highly immature eggs to become mature ones in the lab. This is the first time the approach has been demonstrated in a large animal...
