Most women who freeze eggs for non-medical reasons never use them

Most women who freeze their eggs for non-medical reasons never actually use them. That is the central finding of the largest study of egg freezing in Australia and New Zealand, published this week in the journal Human Reproduction — and it is the kind of result that cuts through the “insurance policy” framing that has surrounded this procedure for more than a decade.

The study, led by Oisin Fitzgerald from UNSW Sydney, followed 20,209 Australian and New Zealand women who froze eggs for non-medical reasons between 2009 and 2023. By five years after freezing, 22% had returned to use their eggs. By ten years, 28%. Of the women who did return, approximately one in three had a live birth.

These numbers are not a condemnation of the procedure. They are a clearer picture of the decision.

What the numbers mean

Egg freezing has grown dramatically in Australia and New Zealand. In 2009, 55 women froze eggs for social reasons. In 2023, 4,919 did — a near-ninetyfold increase across fourteen years. The marketing has kept pace: “future-proof your fertility,” “keep your options open,” “buy yourself time.”

The 28% return rate over ten years doesn’t mean the other 72% made a mistake. Many women who froze their eggs conceived naturally, decided they didn’t want children, found a partner sooner than expected, or changed their circumstances in ways that made the banked eggs unnecessary. Not using the eggs is not inherently a failed outcome — it can mean circumstances changed in the direction that made freezing them unnecessary.

What the data does challenge is the “insurance policy” metaphor. Insurance pays out when something goes wrong. Frozen eggs remain in storage unless a specific combination of factors aligns: a decision to pursue parenthood, a viable partner or donor, eggs that survive thaw, and embryos that form and implant. Most of the time, something else resolves the situation first — which is exactly what you’d hope for, but which is structurally different from insurance.

Dr Sherine Sandhu from the University of Melbourne, who developed an egg freezing decision aid, found that more than three in four women she spoke with reported “high uncertainty” about their decision. A realistic return rate and outcome figure gives that uncertainty something concrete to work with.

The success side of the ledger

Among women who did return to use their frozen eggs in this cohort, approximately one in three had a live birth, and about half used donor sperm. Lead researcher Fitzgerald noted that outcomes depend heavily on the age at which eggs were frozen: egg age is a stronger predictor of pregnancy success than a woman’s age at the time of thaw. The number of eggs retrieved and the proportion that survive thaw also matter significantly.

This aligns with existing evidence on IVF outcomes. Eggs frozen in the early 30s generally produce better embryos than those frozen at 38 or 39. The corollary is that waiting for what feels like the right moment to freeze can work against the biological purpose of doing so.

Brisbane-based reproductive endocrinologist Devini Ameratunga noted that the clinical assumption she had been working with — approximately 10% return rate — was lower than the 28% now reported in this Australian and New Zealand cohort. Actual return rates may be meaningfully higher than what many clinicians have been communicating to patients.

Both-and

The case for egg freezing as a reproductive option is real. For women who are not currently partnered, who have career or personal reasons to delay childbearing, or who simply want a biological option to remain available, the procedure offers a scientifically sound preservation pathway. Frozen eggs retain the biological age at which they were collected, which matters. That is genuinely useful if the circumstances arise to use them.

The case against a pure insurance framing is also real. A 28% chance of returning to use the eggs, multiplied by approximately one in three odds of a live birth among those who do — those numbers describe a meaningful but uncertain possibility, not a guarantee. Combined with costs of $7,000–$12,000 for the initial cycle plus annual storage fees, egg freezing is a financially and emotionally significant decision being made under genuine uncertainty about future circumstances.

The procedure is clinically established. What this study adds is a clearer picture of the population-level outcome — which is different from individual-level prediction, but is the best available basis for informed decision-making when individual circumstances are unknown.

2 cents

If this is a live decision for you, the research published this week is worth reading in full. Not to be discouraged, but to be clear-eyed about what the “insurance” framing means in practice. The updated 28% return rate within ten years replaces a lower clinical assumption many practitioners were using. That is meaningfully better information.

A conversation with a reproductive endocrinologist about your specific situation — your age now, likely egg yield, what outcomes at your current age realistically look like — is more useful than either the optimistic marketing or the population-level statistics. Individual prediction is hard; individual assessment is possible.

One thing the research confirms clearly: age at freezing matters. If egg freezing is under serious consideration, earlier in the reproductive window generally produces better outcomes. That doesn’t mean rushing an unprepared decision — it means the timing dimension is real and worth factoring in explicitly.

Verdict: maybe — important context for a decision that affects a growing number of Australian women, but not a directive in either direction.

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Sources cited

1. Elective egg freezing costs thousands, but most women never use them — ABC News
2. Egg freezing outcomes in Australia and New Zealand — Human Reproduction (Fitzgerald et al., 2026)