Fertility clinics ‘are selling false hope’ to the over-40s
FERTILITY clinics stand accused of selling ‘false hope’ to women over 40 who want to delay motherhood as soaring numbers freeze their eggs.
Experts put the chances of having a baby from a frozen egg at below 5 per cent, but the numbers choosing the procedure for social rather than medical reasons have almost doubled in a year.
Clinics say the rise is being fuelled by women who have not yet met Mr Right or whose partner does not want to be a parent.
But by 40, the evidence shows the vast majority have left it too late, with younger women seeing far better success rates. That is because older women have fewer viable eggs, lose many during the thawing process and are more likely to miscarry if they do fall pregnant.
The fact that so many are willing to try – spending up to £30,000 a time – shows how attractive the the procedure has become to women of all ages.
Dr Gillian Lockwood, medical director of Midland Fertility Services, which treats both NHS and private patients, said: ‘I am disappointed with colleagues who freeze tiny numbers of eggs for women in their 40s, giving them a totally false sense of security that they have a realistic chance of having their own baby.’
The fertility expert, whose clinic produced the UK’s first baby from a frozen egg in 2002, has banned the procedure for over-40s. She said: ‘The success rate for egg freezing in women over the age of 40 is probably under 5 per cent.
‘It is not just getting a positive pregnancy test, which is half as likely for women over 40 as younger women, but the risk of miscarriage is significantly increased.’
Since 2001, almost 3,700 women have frozen their eggs, but fewer than 60 babies have been born as a result. IVF pioneer Lord Robert Winston warned last year that the procedure has been ‘grossly oversold’ to women looking to put motherhood on ice.
Every clinic in the UK which stores eggs was asked for the number of over-40s using its services, but not all were able to provide a breakdown.
Despite this, snapshot statistics from fertility clinics show 71 women over 40 did it last year, up from just 37 in 2015.
The figures do not include women who froze their eggs because treatment for illnesses such as cancer would leave them infertile.
Professor Adam Balen, chairman of the British Fertility Society, said: ‘I feel this is offering women over 40 false hope. Once you get into your late 30s and early 40s, the prospects of having a baby with frozen eggs drops dramatically.’
Care Fertility, the UK’s largest private fertility provider, said just four women over 40 opted for egg freezing five years ago, but last year that figure went up to 21.
However, it also raises the question of when the women intend to have a baby, as fertility clinics say many never come back to collect and use their eggs.