Doctors caution shortcomings of UK egg freezing study

Doctors from the Queensland Fertility Group have reviewed an egg freezing study presented at this week’s Fertility 2020 conference in Edinburgh and warn of the papers methodological shortcomings in relation to patient age.

A/Prof Anusch Yazdani, Medical Director of Queensland Fertility Group said the study design did not explore all age groups.

“The majority of patients in the study were aged over 35 years and used variable freezing techniques, which limits the interpretation the study results. Caution must be taken when reviewing the findings of this study.

“The Queensland Fertility Group is part of Virtus Health which is the leading provider of fertility treatment and egg freezing in Australia.

“Virtus Health, which Queensland Fertility Group, IFVAustralia, Melbourne IVF and TasIVF are part of, is well placed to provide this fertility preservation technology.

“In fact our Queensland Fertility Group clinic was the first in the world to publish a medical journal to report of a social egg freezing pregnancy in 2005 and Melbourne IVF has made a major contribution to the development of egg freezing internationally over many years.

A/Prof Anusch Yazdani explains the importance of egg freezing: “Many life events, such as higher education, career advancement or partner and lifestyle choice, can interfere or postpone family plans.  This may expose some women to the risk of reduced fertility associated with increasing age, particularly into their 30s. So, it is important for women to be aware of their reproductive options.

“Women wanting a future pregnancy in their long-term planning, may wish to consider any or all of a personalised risk assessment and discussion of age-related fertility, ovarian reserve testing  or oocyte cryopreservation (“egg freezing”).

“All of these options have their benefits and limitations but may be worth considering for women wishing to understand any risk to their reproductive lifespan.

“Like many technologies in assisted reproduction, egg freezing has evolved, but the paper presented at the Fertility 2020 conference in Edinburgh highlights the fact that egg freezing is not the panacea for all women wishing to delay pregnancy, nor does this procedure guarantee a later pregnancy.  

“Emphasis must be placed on the need for awareness and consultation with a fertility specialist for an individualised approach to reproductive options,“ said A/Prof Yazdani.

A/Prof Yazdani said Virtus Health is at the forefront of research and our egg freezing technology is available across all fertility clinics in the Virtus Health Group.

For more information, or to talk to one of our fertility specialists, please contact 1800 111 483.