Purpose To better understand the characteristics of patients who returned to thaw their frozen eggs to attempt conception and their outcomes. Methods A retrospective analysis of clinical records for all own egg thaw patients in two UK fertility clinics across 10 years, 2008-2017. Results There were 129 patients who returned to thaw their eggs, of which 46 had originally frozen their eggs for social reasons and 83 for a variety of clinical, incidental, and ethical reasons (which we have called Bnon-social^). Women who had frozen their eggs for social reasons were single at time of freeze, with an average age of 37.7. They kept their eggs in storage for just under 5 years, returning to use them at the average age of 42.5. 43.5% were single at time of thaw, and 47.8% used donor sperm to fertilise their eggs. Women whose eggs were frozen for non-social reasons were almost all (97.6%) in a relationship at both time of freeze and thaw. They had an average age of 37.2 at first freeze and 37.6 at thaw, having kept their eggs in storage for an average of 0.4 years. Overall, there was a 20.9% success rate among women attempting conception with frozen-thawed eggs. Conclusions Despite widespread assumptions, many women attempting conception with thawed eggs had not initially frozen them for social reasons. Women who froze their eggs for social reasons presented distinctly and statistically different characteristics at both time of freeze and thaw to women whose eggs were frozen for non-social reasons.

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This article focuses on the broader political sphere as it affects superintendents and other constituents of rural districts. The current landscape of education reform focuses on accountability—particularly at the policy level of both state and federal education agencies. This article draws on the literature and an empirical study that examined how rural superintendents—“held accountable” through reform policy—articulate their experiences. The discussion of cultural and political effects of accountability policy finds insight through local superintendents’ norms, beliefs, and commonsensical understandings. Thus far, many of the examinations of No Child Left Behind have analyzed the “inputs–outputs” of accountability reform—whether through critical or empirical inquiry. Furthermore, past examinations primarily focus on either macro- (structural) or micro- (local) perspectives. Findings from this study suggest the need for a third (meso- or regional) level of analysis to understand how leaders articulate accountability experiences.

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