Teenage and young adult cancers fertility preservation - egg freezing: patient information

What is involved in egg freezing?

Egg freezing is a method of preserving your fertility by storing your eggs before cancer treatment starts. Egg freezing involves a few steps:

• You’ll get hormone injections to help your body produce multiple eggs.
• Your progress will be monitored with ultrasound scans and blood tests.
• When the eggs are ready, they’ll be collected during a short surgical procedure where you will receive medication that will make you drowsy and keep you calm.
• The mature eggs are then frozen and stored.

Are there any side effects?

Young women’s ovaries often respond well to the hormone injections, which can increase the small risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). OHSS is a potentially serious reaction to the hormone injections where overstimulated ovaries enlarge and release chemicals that can cause blood vessels to leak.

This risk is reduced by carefully selecting the type and dose of hormone injections. Around one-third of individuals experience mild OHSS, which can usually be managed at home with pain relief and prescribed medication for a few days.

How long will I be in hospital for?

You can normally go home one to two hours after the egg collection procedure. Some light bleeding is normal, and any stomach pain usually goes away within 12 hours with pain relief.