The Best Egg Freezing Services—and What to Consider Before You Start

Egg freezing is on the rise: Data shows that between 2018 and 2022, there was more than 200 percent growth in the frequency of the procedure in the US. “I expect these numbers to keep increasing,” says Fady Sharara, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist who’s been doing this work for decades. It’s partly because more women are freezing their eggs at younger ages. “I just had a 26-year-old who’s going to law school in August come in and freeze her eggs,” Sharara says. That’s the youngest patient he’s had for egg freezing so far—most of the patients who come to him for egg freezing are in their early to mid-30s.

As egg freezing services expand to meet the demand, Sharara says it’s important to do research and ask lots of questions to help maximize your investment. To start, here are some things to consider.

Hidden Fees

Egg freezing includes many processes, like menstrual cycle monitoring, ultrasounds, blood draws, hormone injections, egg extraction, anesthesia, and egg storage, among other things. Not all egg freezing services disclose the entire cost for all the procedures up front—the initial fee could exclude medications or long-term storage, for example. Getting the details about what your quoted fee includes and any additional fees that may come up later can help you discern the entire cost before starting the service.

Multiple Egg Freezing Cycles

Multiple egg freezing cycles can also increase the overall cost. “People assume that they’re going to do one cycle and be done with it,” Sharara says. “And that’s not true—it all depends on your specific situation.” Research shows that age is a key factor: The younger you are when you freeze your eggs, the more eggs you are likely to freeze.

“If you are a 30-year-old and you have 12 eggs frozen, you are nearly guaranteed to have at least one child,” Sharara says. (To have similar chances at the age of 36, you would need to freeze 25 eggs—which could require several egg freezing cycles.) Knowing the cost of each freezing cycle and talking to your fertility specialist about your chances of needing multiple egg retrieval cycles will help provide a better estimate of your total cost.

Duration of Storage

Choosing where you store your eggs can help save on cost. Some clinics give you the option of storing your eggs at their facility. Others transport your eggs to long-term storage facilities—warehouse-like locations designed to store eggs efficiently for a long period of time. (In the US, there are no laws that restrict the length of time that you can store your eggs.)

Anticipating when you’ll use your eggs (and the type of storage site you feel comfortable with) can help you make the best decision. “If you are not planning on using them for about 10 years, it may be cheaper for you to move them to a long-term storage,” says Sharara. For example, he says if you’re freezing your eggs at the age of 30 and you don’t plan to have children until you’re 40, you’ll likely save money by transferring the eggs to a long-term storage facility. “If you’re planning on using them within five or six years, then it does not make sense to move them to long-term storage,” Sharara says.

On-Site Monitoring

No matter where you store your eggs, Sharara says to ensure that the facility has 24/7 monitoring of the eggs: That way, if anything unexpected happens that could potentially affect the quality of your eggs, like a shift in temperature, it can be addressed immediately to ensure consistent proper egg storage. Any facility should be able to provide this information when you ask.

Support Team

The egg freezing process involves injecting yourself with hormones (to help prepare for egg retrieval), which is new to most people. Having support throughout this process—help with how to use the needles, best practices for injections, and ways to keep track of your medications, for example—from a medical professional or how-to videos can make the experience less daunting and go more smoothly. We chose the two egg freezing services below, in part, because they provide so much guidance through this part of the process.

KINDBODY

Locations: Many locations throughout the US, in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, Wisconsin, and Washington, DC
Membership: None; services start at $99
Insurance: Accepts some major insurance companies
On-site storage monitoring: Yes
Duration of egg storage: Indefinitely
Kindbody offers egg freezing, in addition to personalized fertility care (including hormone testing, IVF, conception care, embryo banking, fertility consultation, LGBTQ+ family building, gynecology, male fertility, surrogacy, egg donation, and coaching). Blood tests, cultures, biopsies, and medications are not included in the service fees—you’ll need to ask about those. You get access to Kindbody’s virtual guidance at your convenience, or you can visit any of its facilities across the country. (We’re biased about this one: goop partners with Kindbody to offer employees enhanced fertility and family-building benefits.)

OVA EGG FREEZING SPECIALTY CENTER

Location: Chicago
Membership: None; services start at $500
Insurance: Accepts some major insurance companies and offers a payment plan if you are paying out of pocket
On-site storage monitoring: Yes
Duration of egg storage: Indefinitely
OVA Egg Freezing Specialty Center specializes in egg freezing (and offers IVF services, too). It provides egg retrieval procedures and on-site long-term storage, which means your eggs don’t need to be transferred to another facility to be stored. OVA customizes your fertility plan and provides a personal nurse to guide you throughout the entire egg freezing process, educating you about your fertility options and even providing injection support if needed. There are two facilities in Chicago, and OVA is planning to expand nationwide soon.

Molly Johnston, PhD, a research fellow at the Monash Bioethics Centre in Australia, says it’s important to consider what will happen if you don’t use your eggs. “We know that the majority of people who freeze their eggs are unlikely to need them,” she says. Researchers estimate that in the US, only up to 12 percent of women who freeze their eggs will end up using them to try to conceive. That means there are a lot of eggs that go unused.

Many women don’t consider this prior to freezing their eggs, Johnston says, and when they do think about it, the decision gets murky. “They see these eggs as quite valuable, so they don’t really like the idea of disposing [of] or discarding them,” she says. “But then the questions around donation can be really complicated and really difficult for people.”

Every country has its own regulations for donating eggs. In the US, you must make the decision to donate your eggs before you freeze them. This is because the FDA requires egg donors (and sperm donors) to undergo a screening—at an additional cost—that includes physical evaluation, a medical questionnaire, and blood work at an FDA-approved lab prior to egg extraction. If not, your unused eggs cannot be donated, at any time, to help another woman conceive. They can be donated for research purposes or medical training, though. Talking with your fertility doctor about your donation plans and options before you freeze them is key (some clinics may not initiate the conversation).

An Egg Donating (and Freezing) Service

COFERTILITY

Locations: Many locations throughout the US
Membership: None; services start at $0
Insurance: Accepts some major insurance companies and offers a payment plan if you are paying out of pocket

Cofertility offers services that are designed to help women freeze, donate, and receive donated eggs, creating an innovative approach for sharing eggs. If you donate half your eggs, you can freeze and store them, free of charge, for up to 10 years. If not, there are other egg freezing options, too. And if you’re looking for an egg donor, Cofertility has services to help you match with one. Cofertility partners with various fertility clinics around the country to support each client’s goals. Once you connect with a clinic in your area, you can ask more about the specific guidelines.

This article is for informational purposes only, even if and regardless of whether it features the advice of physicians and medical practitioners. This article is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice. The views expressed in this article are the views of the expert and do not necessarily represent the views of goop.