Elective Egg Freezing: What is the Vision of Women Around the globe?

Abstract

Aim: The interest in oocyte cryopreservation (OC) for nonmedically indicated reasons is increasing. Knowing women’s beliefs and knowledge from various geographic regions could help providers to understand the similarities and differences that could facilitate proper counseling. Materials & methods: Articles about social egg freezing published over the past 18 years were extracted from the literature. Results: We demonstrated that there are common rationales toward OC among women in the USA and other countries. The ultimate goal was to prolong fertility. The most commonly reported reasons were aging, lack of partner, career and financial status. Conclusion: The beliefs and rationales toward elective OC among women in the USA and other countries are consistent.

An Update on Planned Oocyte Cryopreservation (POC) in Italy: Medical, Epidemiological and Legal Consideration

“…In Italy, the growing activity surrounding ART is reflected by the numbers of the IARTR Executive Summaries from 2015-2018 (see Figure 2). Some have speculated that this so-called "social freezing" may be intentionally used by women as insurance against future age-related infertility, allowing them to maintain the possibility of conceiving children even after their physiological fertility decline and possibly encouraging delayed pregnancies [14]. However, it might be argued that this is a false sense of security and that egg freezing is an imperfect solution to the problem of postponing childbearing [15].…”

“…A lively debate has been triggered on so-called “social egg freezing”, or on the possibility of the use of the cryopreservation technique by healthy and currently fertile women, who wish to postpone pregnancy for nonmedical but social reasons. The choice to postpone motherhood can result from a variety of factors, such as the lack of a suitable partner, unstable financial situations, housing issues and conflicts with educational and career aspirations [ 14 , 15 ]. Looking specifically at assisted reproductive technologies, the possibility of cryopreserving oocytes with the aim of future fertilization and pregnancy today appears preferable for many women rather than the possibility of freezing embryos with a view towards preserving future fertility.…”

Welcome to Volume 7 of Future Science OA

“…Other content highlights from this year's Future Science OA include a review of over 600,000 US patients with advanced or metastatic cancer, seeking to estimate the number who are eligible for/could respond to cytotoxic chemotherapy [4]; an analysis of opinions on elective egg freezing across the globe, which resulted in some interesting conclusions and recommendations [5]; and some interesting articles on data and standardization -the proposal of a new, open access natural products database [6] and an introduction to the PRE.M.I.S.E project, which is seeking to standardize data collection following brain radiation therapy [7].…”

Usage and cost-effectiveness of elective oocyte freezing: a retrospective observational study

“…Fecundability significantly declines in women after 35 years of age [3,4]. Lack of a suitable partner or incomplete self-accomplishment are the most frequent reasons prompting reproductive-aged women to defer childbearing [5,6]. The idea of fertility preservation was primarily introduced to cancer patients, given that cancer treatment delayed the timing of conception and damaged the ovarian reserve [7].…”