A survey on the awareness and knowledge about elective oocyte cryopreservation among unmarried women of reproductive age visiting a private fertility center

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the level of awareness and knowledge regarding elective oocyte cryopreservation (OC) among unmarried women of reproductive age in Korea. Methods A survey was conducted among 86 women who visited a fertility preservation clinic for counseling about elective OC between December 2016 and May 2018. Participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding their awareness and knowledge of fertility and OC. Results The questionnaire was completed by 71 women. Among them, 73% decided to undergo OC after counseling. The main reason for making this decision was that they wished to maintain their fertility in the future (70.6%). Conversely, the high cost for the procedure was the main reason given by those who chose to forego this procedure. Regarding fertility and OC, the participants' knowledge was poor. Most women expected greater financial support from the government or from their place of employment. Conclusion This study demonstrated that the awareness and knowledge about elective OC were relatively poor among the female Korean population. These findings may help clinicians in better counselling of their patients.

Financing future fertility: Women’s views on funding egg freezing

“…The discrepancy between views about public funding for medical and non-medical EF suggests that some participants do not consider them to be analogous or equally eligible for public healthcare funding. This finding is consistent with findings of earlier studies, which suggest greater acceptance for the use of public funding for medical EF than for non-medical EF ( Daniluk and Koert, 2016 , Hong et al, 2019 ). Views about when EF should be funded may reflect the public’s views about what constitutes a medically necessary intervention.…”

“…All of these studies have used the number of resultant live births to measure the success of EF. However, many of the individuals who undergo EF do so as a pre-emptive measure to safeguard their reproductive futures in the event that they are unable to conceive naturally, rather than with the intention of using these eggs to conceive ( Hong et al, 2019 , Pritchard et al, 2017 ). Furthermore, many women have suggested that the benefit of EF is the feeling of reassurance provided by taking up the opportunity to safeguard or increase the chance of having a baby in the future ( Baldwin, 2018 , Stoop et al, 2015 ), and many do not regret undergoing EF even if it proves to be unsuccessful ( Greenwood et al, 2018 , Jones et al, 2019 ).…”

“… Hodes-Wertz et al (2013) surveyed 183 women who had undergone EF, and found that 63% were willing to donate their eggs to research if they did not use them, and 11% said that they would consider donating their eggs to supply a donor programme at an infertility clinic. Another survey reported that of the 71 women surveyed, almost half indicated that they would consider donating eggs to infertile patients (34% to a friend or family member, 10% to a donor programme), and 16% indicated that they would consider donating eggs to research ( Hong et al, 2019 ). These findings, along with the present findings, support the suggestions of others ( Lockwood and Fauser, 2018 , Polyakov and Rozen, 2021 ) that eggs frozen for personal use that are not required by the individual can be of benefit in other ways, for example when they are donated to an infertile individual or couple, or used for medical research.…”

“…A Canadian survey of 500 childless women reported that support for public funding for EF varied by indication: 80.2% versus 45.5% for medical EF and non-medical EF, respectively ( Daniluk and Koert, 2016 ). Funding for EF was positively received in a recent study that surveyed 71 women of childbearing age from Hong Kong; 93% supported funding for medical EF and 77% supported funding for non-medical EF ( Hong et al, 2019 ). In Italy, a report on 930 female tertiary students indicated divided opinions on how non-medical EF should be funded; approximately half of the respondents indicated that it should be self-funded, one-third supported public healthcare funding, 13.9% supported funding via PHI, and 2.5% supported employers covering the costs of non-medical EF for their female staff ( Tozzo et al, 2019 ).…”

Planned oocyte cryopreservation (Planned OC): systematic review and meta‐analysis of cost‐efficiency and patients’ perspective

“…A total of 26 manuscripts were included in this section of the meta‐analysis 36–61 . Of the general population, 79%, and of healthcare professionals 89% had been aware of planned OC when surveyed (Figure 1).…”