January 24, 2024

6 Minutes

Freezing Eggs vs Freezing Embryos: Which is Right for You?

Written by

Navya Muralidhar

MSc Clinical Embryology & Embryologist

Amilis makes fertility digestible, accessible, and affordable to help you take charge of your reproductive health and live on your own timeline.

Preserving fertility: eggs or embryos?
Understanding the difference: egg vs embryo freezing
Egg freezing vs embryo freezing: pros and cons
Egg freezing vs embryo freezing: which is right for you?
How Amilis can help you with your fertility goals

In an eggshell...

Freezing eggs is a method to preserve your fertility, for your particular page. On the other hand, freezing embryos requires sperm, and in a way, freezes your possible future offspring
The cycle lengths, medications used, and procedure differ- for freezing eggs and embryos
The decision to either freeze eggs or embryos- is ultimately down to you, your health and personal preference!

Suppose you've scoured the internet for any terms related to fertility preservation, or procedure. In that case, you may have come across the two most common ones: egg freezing and the other, embryo freezing.

And if you've wondered: Hmm, that does sound a little similar.. you're not the first.

One of the methods is a way to preserve your fertility. Imagine you're in your 20s and you have the capability to preserve your genetics and your fertility during that particular age.

And the other method is a way to preserve your future offspring but in the form of small, living cells, frozen away until use. But if you're wondering- which one is right for you, and which procedure you should go for, this article is for you.

Read on to find out!

Preserving Fertility: Eggs or Embryos?

Here's a small, simple breakdown of the two processes, before we get down to their differences.

Egg freezing to preserve fertility

This is a common procedure, done for various medical and personal reasons, known as social or elective egg freezing¹. The entire idea here is to preserve fertility at younger ages when your genetics is also at its best!

That is because as we age, the genetics behind our fertility, and ability to conceive becomes a little more complex.

So how does egg freezing work?

In egg freezing, you will be put on a medicated cycle solely to ensure more eggs grow in that cycle. Then the growth and development are monitored, until the egg retrieval day.

On the egg retrieval day is when you’ll be under anaesthesia and the doctors get to work. With their equipment and an ultrasound probe, they puncture the follicles in the ovaries, and aspirate the eggs. These eggs then travel from the ovaries, in a tiny wire-like tube, until they’re finally settled in a laboratory tube (It’s like a fun water slide from the ovaries till the lab tube). This tube is what reaches the embryologist, who then begins their “find the egg” hunt, by pouring the fluid into dishes, and setting apart the eggs to be frozen.

After that, the embryologist checks for any mature eggs. The mature ones are then frozen in liquid nitrogen.

Embryo freezing to preserve fertility

Embryo freezing is also a common procedure but it’s done to preserve the fertilised product of an egg and sperm. In a way, this preserves you and your partner's fertility- or to be more precise, the fertilised product, a tiny ball of cells capable of growing into a baby.

How does embryo freezing work?

Embryo freezing has two steps- retrieving the sperm and egg out of the body. For the egg, an egg retrieval is done, and for the sperm, a sample is requested via ejaculation.

Then, these are fertilised via IVF or ICSI, which are procedures that co-incubate the sperm and egg together or inject a sperm inside the egg. The result? A mix of two genetic components, growing and dividing into cells to form the embryo.

At day 5-7 of embryo growth, it has to be either transferred- or frozen. This is because labs are only equipped with media that allows embryos to grow until that stage. In cases of embryo freezing, they are frozen away, either earlier during day 2-3 or on either day 5,6 or 7 until future use.

Understanding the Differences: Egg vs Embryo Freezing

👨‍🎓 Eligibility

🥚Egg freezing: People who menstruate looking to preserve their fertility, are facing infertility, have to undergo ovarian tissue freezing, or patients prior to chemotherapy, and egg donors.

🐣Embryo freezing: People undergoing fertility procedures such as IVF/ICSI.

⏰ Duration

🥚Egg freezing: 2-4 weeks, with medication and an egg-retrieval surgery. Only mature eggs are frozen.

🐣Embryo freezing: 2-6 weeks, or an extended duration depending on the growth of the embryo, the decision of the patient and the day/stage at which it is frozen

💰 Cost

🥚Egg freezing: Cost of an egg freezing cycle ranges from £5000-7000, including the cost of storage for one cycle

🐣Embryo freezing: Cost of an embryo freezing cycle depends on the clinic, but it ranges from £5000-9800.

⏭️ Next steps

🥚Egg freezing: The next step after egg freezing is ICSI (Intra cytoplasmic sperm injection) with your partner’s semen sample or donor sperm. If you are an egg donor, then the donation process is handled by the clinics.

🐣Embryo freezing: The next step after embryo freezing is a timed transfer to the uterus called Frozen embryo transfer. If you are an embryo donor, then the clinic will handle the embryo donation process.

💪 Effort

🥚Egg freezing: Honestly, it’s not just about clinics and appointments with these procedures. It requires mental and physical effort from your end. There are medications to be taken on a daily basis and the physical effort of going through the egg retrieval process.

🐣Embryo freezing: The procedure requires mental and physical effort from you and your partner's end. Specifically, on your end, there are medications and egg retrieval. From your partner's end, it's providing the semen sample.

❗Risks

🥚Egg freezing: If you have PCOS (Polycystic ovarian syndrome) or are at risk of overstimulation due to medication, you may experience OHSS (Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome). Apart from that other side effects and risks include pain at areas of injection, or egg freezing failure, which is very rare.

🐣Embryo freezing: Overstimulation, chance of the cycle being called off if there are issues from the egg retrieval or semen retrieval part.

💊 Side effects

🥚Egg freezing: Minor hormonal fluctuations due to medications, headache, bloating, slight pain at injection site, soreness

🐣Embryo freezing: Hormonal fluctuations due to medications, slight weight gain, bloating, headache, mood swings, pain at injection site

💯 Success rates

🥚Egg freezing: Cycles with frozen donor eggs are more successful than self-eggs. There are no exact statistics available on this in the UK.

🐣Embryo freezing: Hormonal fluctuations due to medications, slight weight gain, bloating, headache, mood swings, pain at injection site

👶 Live birth rates

🥚Egg freezing: 18% with self-eggs and 30% with donor eggs as per a 2015 HFEA report, but newer studies point at 34%, rising to 45% in women who had frozen their eggs before the age of 36.

🐣Embryo freezing: 27% for frozen embryo transfer cycles, as per an HFEA publication in 2021, with newer figures yet to be recorded.

🫙 Storage

🥚Egg freezing: 55 years

🐣Embryo freezing: 55 years

Egg freezing vs embryo freezing: The Pros and Cons

Egg freezing: What are the pros and cons?

The pros and cons of egg freezing

👍 Pros	👎 Cons
Provides the possibility of having a child with your own genetic material, later on in their life. Plus, you don't need a partner or semen sample for this procedure!	Risk of mild to moderate ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (although rare!)
Reduces the risk of having genetic abnormalities in the offspring later on (because you're freezing your fertility in time, and younger ages tend to produce eggs with less genetic abnormalities)	Risk of any egg-freezing failure or cycle cancellations
Allows for genetic testing of eggs, to avoid any maternal disease/syndrome carry-on and plan donor cycles (imagine knowing you have the power to stop a hereditary disease from passing onto your future child!)	Requires budget planning, and the procedure has no refunds once done

Embryo freezing: What are the pros and cons?

The pros and cons of embryo freezing

🐣 Pros	🐣 Cons
It's a way of preserving you- and your partner's fertility.	Requires partner sperm or donor sperm to create and freeze an embryo
You can genetically test and choose embryos that seem the most "healthy"/"normal" physically, and genetically	Deciding the outcome of leftover embryos post a transfer cycle can be difficult
Helps delay pregnancy and is a shorter procedure post-freezing, compared to just egg-freezing	Risk of damage to embryos during the freezing and storage process

Egg freezing vs embryo freezing: which is right for you?

Ultimately, it comes down to your choice, combined with a plan and a talk with your healthcare provider. But to help you out, here's a simple self-evaluation checklist that can help you decide:

Should I Go for Egg Freezing?

🤔 Should I go for egg freezing?

Based on your situation and goal, here are some factors to consider:

Egg freezing takes a duration of 2-4 weeks. Am I ready for that?
It requires medications on a day-to-day basis, along with constant ultrasound appointments, am I okay with that?
The final frozen egg number may vary compared to the estimates at the beginning. Has my doctor briefed me about this?
Have I planned out a budget for egg freezing?
Will I be able to handle my commute to the clinic for the duration of the cycle?
Do I have a plan on how to proceed post-egg freezing? (A solid plan isn't necessary! It's okay to plan things out slowly, and step by step)
If my plans change in the future, and I end up not using my eggs, am I okay with donating my eggs to another couple in need or for research?
Do I need emotional support, and if I do, do I have the right resources around me? And healthcare providers I can trust?

and if you're considering embryo freezing, then:

Should I Go for Embryo Freezing?

🤔 Should I go for embryo freezing?

Based on your fertility treatment, medical history, and goal, here are some factors to consider:

Embryo freezing takes a longer duration of about 4-6 weeks. Am I ready for that?
Requires medication on a day-to-day basis, and ultrasound until the egg retrieval, am I okay with that?
Post my egg retrieval, there's a wait time of 3-4 days to check which eggs have fertilised, and which haven't. Am I willing to understand that these numbers may vary compared to estimates?
Have I planned my budget out for the embryo freezing cycle?
Do I have a vague idea of how long I want to keep it frozen for?
Do I plan to have the frozen embryo transferred, or do I plan to have a child in the future?
If not, am I okay with donating the embryos to another couple in need or for research?
Do I have the right emotional support around me? And healthcare providers I can trust?

While this isn't an exhaustive checklist, this should give you a brief idea of the things to expect, in your egg or embryo freezing cycle. With this checklist, we hope you also understand the important things that you need within, and around you to partake in the process of preserving your fertility.

How Amilis can help you with your fertility goals

Be it egg freezing or embryo freezing- we understand that it's a carefully thought-out decision between you and your healthcare provider.

But once you make your decision, choosing the right support and knowing the right information can make your egg freezing cycle a lot less of a maze.

That’s why at Amilis we decided to make the egg freezing journey accessible and affordable for all. And part of it is providing the right resources and support.

In fact, when you opt to start your fertility journey with Amilis, here’s what you get:

Free consultations with top fertility clinics in the UK
Free consultations with expert doctors

With zero waiting times, you get to consult expert specialists and counselling at clinics. And if you’re just starting out your fertility journey, you also get:

The option to book an AMH test (at just £80) or a full hormone fertility test (at just £130) anytime, at your convenience
A personalised report on your hormone levels and what it could mean for your fertility
A free 1-1 call with our team to figure out the next steps (and to get any of your questions, answered!)

When you opt to use our free resources or book our tests, you also get a stellar support team (that’s us 👋) guiding you along at every step!

Figuring out where to get started? Book a free chatl, or take our personalised fertility quiz to know more!

Written by

Navya Muralidhar

MSc Clinical Embryology & Embryologist

An embryologist by degree, and an educator by heart, Navya has completed her Bachelors in Genetics, and her Masters in Embryology and now strives to deconstruct the complex, into educational and informative articles surrounding her field of interest. She's specifically focused on time-lapse technology, IVM, and pre-implantation genetics. When not writing, you can find her at her favourite or newest coffee shop in town, sketching away, or listening to a podcast.