UK’s Largest Study by London Women’s Clinic Confirms Egg Freezing Matches IVF Success
The London Women’s Clinic, one of the UK’s leading IVF centres, has published a comprehensive 15-year study on the success of IVF using eggs that have been frozen and later thawed, a method previously not recommended by the HFEA.
This landmark study, now available in the peer-reviewed journal Reproductive Biomedicine Online, has definitively shown that egg freezing is a dependable option for women wishing to extend their fertility or delay pregnancy plans.
Previously considered less reliable and even deemed potentially unethical, the study found that egg freezing produced consistent and predictable results comparable to traditional methods, based on an analysis of over 2,280 patients.
‘When our results are considered alongside those from other large centres, in the USA, we have a body of evidence which is consistent in its findings and reassuring for patients,’ said Professor Nick Macklon, Medical Director of the London Women’s Clinic and an author of the study. ‘The consistency of the results suggests that the doubts still commonly expressed about the reliability of egg freezing are misplaced.’
The UK’s fertility regulator, the HFEA, highlighted a substantial increase in egg freezing in its 2022 annual report on treatment trends, noting an 81% rise in egg freezing treatments that year.
The HFEA attributed the rise in egg storage cycles to advancements in freezing techniques, particularly the vitrification process. Improved survival rates, according to the HFEA, have boosted women’s confidence in freezing eggs.
The London Women’s Clinic study revealed that among patients who had frozen and thawed their eggs, one in four had a baby, with the success rate rising to one in three when all embryo transfers were included. This rate increased to 57% for those who had stored their eggs before the age of 35. These results are comparable to those of standard IVF using fresh eggs, considering factors such as age, egg quality, and egg quantity.
‘It thus seems reasonable to conclude,’ stated Professor Macklon, ‘that based on our results and those of other studies, egg freezing and thawing can provide a very real opportunity for women to achieve pregnancy and live birth at a time of their choosing.’