Egg freezing, also known as mature oocyte cryopreservation, is a method used to save women's ability to get pregnant in the future.

Eggs harvested from your ovaries are frozen unfertilized and stored for later use. A frozen egg can be thawed, combined with sperm in a lab and implanted in your uterus (in vitro fertilization).

Your doctor can help you understand how egg freezing works, the potential risks and whether this method of fertility preservation is right for you based on your needs and reproductive history.

Why it's done

Egg freezing might be an option if you're not ready to become pregnant now but want to try to make sure you can get pregnant later.

Unlike with fertilized egg freezing (embryo cryopreservation), egg freezing doesn't require sperm because the eggs aren't fertilized before they're frozen. Just as with embryo freezing, however, you'll need to use fertility drugs to make you ovulate so that you'll produce multiple eggs for retrieval.

You might consider egg freezing if:

• You have a condition or circumstance that can affect your fertility. These might include sickle cell anemia, autoimmune diseases such as lupus, and gender diversity, such as being transgender.
• You need treatment for cancer or another illness that can affect your ability to get pregnant. Certain medical treatments — such as radiation or chemotherapy — can harm your fertility. Egg freezing before treatment might enable you to have biological children later.
• You're undergoing in vitro fertilization. When undergoing in vitro fertilization, some people prefer egg freezing to embryo freezing for religious or ethical reasons.
• You wish to preserve younger eggs now for future use. Freezing eggs at a younger age might help you get pregnant when you're ready.

You can use your frozen eggs to try to conceive a child with sperm from a partner or a sperm donor. A donor can be known or anonymous. The embryo can also be implanted in the uterus of another person to carry the pregnancy (gestational carrier).