Allow women to freeze their eggs as long as they wish, say doctors
WOMEN should be allowed to freeze their eggs indefinitely because the current 10-year limit hinders chances of starting a family, leading fertility doctors have said.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) today calls for the Government to scrap the “arbitrary” window on the basis that technology has improved so much that eggs no longer deteriorate in storage.
Under the current rules, women who opt to freeze their eggs during their early 20s, the period of maximum fertility, face having any unused eggs destroyed in their early 30s.
The RCOG says many aspiring mothers are not ready to start a family at this stage, forcing them to choose between parenthood or their career.
Data from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority show there were 1,310 egg-freezing cycles in the UK in 2016, and numbers are believed to be increasing.
Women who elect to freeze their eggs for “social” rather than medical reasons have to do so privately, with the process costing £7,000 to £8,000.
The Department of Health and Social Care launched a public consultation on lifting the time limit last month, suggesting attitudes are shifting.
Prof Adam Balen, from the RCOG, said: “Currently, the 10-year limit is too restrictive and not fit for purpose because it means women are either forced to initiate a pregnancy they may not be ready for or have their eggs destroyed.
“We fully support calls to remove this restriction and will work with the Government and other key partners to find a solution to any storage issues that would be better for women.
“It seems likely that the future will see increasing numbers of women storing eggs, mostly because they are not in a relationship. But there remains a need for societal changes that support women in the workplace to have their family at a biologically optimal age, if they so choose, without compromising their career prospects.”
The RCOG warned women considering social freezing to be realistic about the chances of success. Latest data show just 18 per cent of IVF treatments using a woman’s own frozen eggs were successful. By contrast, the live birth rate for fresh eggs was 26 per cent.
Today’s intervention accompanies publication of an RCOG “scientific impact paper”, which concludes that frozen eggs can now be stored indefinitely without deterioration, due to a new freezing technique called vitrification.
The technique was used in the case of the first baby born from a cancer patient’s immature eggs, which were matured and frozen in a laboratory, which The Daily Telegraph reported last week.