Freezing your eggs is one of the most proactive things you can do for your future fertility, whether you are facing a medical treatment that may affect your fertility, or simply not ready to have children yet and want to keep that option open
Dr Rozen has a special interest in fertility preservation for women, combining her academic background in oncofertility with over 10 years of hands-on clinical experience. She works with each patient to develop a preservation plan tailored to their situation, taking into account upcoming treatments, current health status, and future family goals.
Egg freezing, or oocyte cryopreservation, is an increasingly common choice for women who want to delay parenthood for personal or professional reasons, or who have not yet found the right partner. It involves stimulating the ovaries to produce multiple eggs, retrieving them, and freezing them using a technique called vitrification, a rapid freezing process that protects the eggs from damage. The eggs are stored until the woman is ready to use them, at which point they are thawed, fertilised via IVF, and the resulting embryos are transferred to the uterus.
Success rates are strongly influenced by age at the time of freezing. Women who freeze their eggs before 35 have higher success rates than those who freeze at a later age.
For women facing cancer treatment or other medical conditions that may damage fertility, egg freezing before treatment begins can be a critical step. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and some surgical procedures can affect the ovaries, disrupt hormonal signalling between the brain and the ovaries, or damage the uterus and fallopian tubes. Freezing eggs, ovarian tissue, or embryos before treatment begins can protect the possibility of biological children in the future.
Learn more about fertility preservation before cancer treatment
Ovarian tissue freezing is an option for women who cannot undergo ovarian stimulation before cancer treatment, for example, where treatment needs to begin immediately or where the patient has not yet reached puberty. It involves removing and freezing ovarian tissue before treatment begins. When the time is right, the tissue can be reimplanted to restore fertility. While this technique is still considered emerging, an Australian cohort study suggests around one in five women who had ovarian tissue frozen went on to achieve a pregnancy, though success rates vary depending on age and individual circumstances.2
Fertility medications are used to encourage the ovaries to produce multiple eggs during one menstrual cycle. Progress is closely monitored through blood tests and ultrasound throughout this phase.
Once the eggs are mature, they are retrieved through a minor procedure called transvaginal ultrasound aspiration. A fine needle guided by ultrasound is used to collect the eggs from the ovaries. The procedure is performed under sedation or anaesthesia for comfort and typically takes less than 30 minutes.
The retrieved eggs are frozen using vitrification, a rapid freezing technique that prevents ice crystals from forming, which could otherwise damage the eggs. They are then stored in liquid nitrogen until the woman is ready to use them.
When the time comes to use frozen eggs, they are thawed, fertilised with sperm via IVF, and the resulting embryos are transferred to the uterus. Success rates vary depending on the age at which the eggs were frozen and the number of eggs stored.
“Whether you’re preserving your fertility ahead of treatment or simply not ready yet, I will ensure every woman feels informed, supported and confident in whatever she decides.”
– Dr Genia Rozen, Fertility Specialist, Genea Melbourne City and Frankston
