Few Women Return to Use Frozen Eggs

TUESDAY, Oct. 7, 2025 (HealthDay News) — More women are choosing to freeze their eggs, but fewer are returning to use them, according to a study published online Aug. 29 in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Mabel B. Lee, M.D., from the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues assessed national trends in planned oocyte cryopreservation, subsequent oocyte utilization, and outcomes of oocyte warming cycles. The analysis included data from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcome Reporting System (2014 to 2021).

The researchers found that the number of patients undergoing planned oocyte cryopreservation increased exponentially, from 4,153 patients in 2014 to 16,436 in 2021. Over time, there was a decrease in the age of patients undergoing planned oocyte cryopreservation (mean age of 36.0 years in 2014 versus 34.9 years in 2021). Within five to seven years from planned oocyte cryopreservation cycles, only 5.7 percent of patients returned for subsequent utilization of cryopreserved oocytes between 2014 and 2016. Advancing patient age at the time of oocyte cryopreservation increased the likelihood of returning. Three-fourths of patients who returned for oocyte warming (78.5 percent) obtained a usable embryo. Of those with usable embryos, two-thirds (64.2 percent) had a fresh embryo transfer, 46.1 percent had embryos for cryopreservation, and 14.3 percent of patients opted for a freeze-all approach. Among the 393 patients with cryopreserved embryos, just over one-quarter (29.3 percent) returned for a frozen embryo transfer. Cumulatively, the live birth rate of all patients undergoing oocyte warming was 28.9 percent.

“This is reassuring that planned oocyte preservation can provide a good option for patients who are looking for more family planning flexibility,” Lee said in a statement.

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