For people looking to preserve fertility, egg freezing is growing in popularity and affordability.
According to a study from Mercer Consulting Group, 16% of large companies cover elective egg freezing.
But the promise comes with pitfalls.
A 2022 study out of NYU's Langone Fertility Center showed 70% of frozen egg procedures yielded a live birth.
However, the success rate drastically decreased when a patient was older than 38 or yielded fewer than 20 eggs during retrieval.
"You feel like you have zero control of anything," Kjirsten Becker, of Richfield, said.
Becker and her husband struggled to conceive for years. In 2020, they turned to egg and embryo freezing as their last option for starting a family.
"It's really hard because you're like, 'I just want to be a parent,'" Becker said. "Some people just get pregnant for free. I just didn't want to be heartbroken again."
Becker said her previous employer covered the cost of egg retrieval, but storing her eggs and embryos was a different story. Paying $500 for the first year, Becker said prices have more than doubled since 2020.
"Last year we paid $700," Becker said. "And then this year, they increased the price to $1,250 per year."
"If you don't pay the fee to continue to freeze them every year, the clinic's going to take them back and save them or discard them," fertility lawyer Molly O'Brien said.
O'Brien, who also froze her eggs, now helps patients through the legal aspects of the procedure. From consent forms, to egg and sperm donation contracts, O'Brien said there's a lot for a patient to consider both before and after the procedure.
"Any of your genetic material that is frozen inevitably becomes part of your estate," O'Brien said.
She said many patients end up with leftover eggs and embryos they don't plan to use.
"You have to make a choice," O'Brien said. "If you want to give them to somebody, donate them. Do you want to donate them to science?"
O'Brien said some patients limit the number of eggs they choose to store, either as eggs alone or fertilized as embryos.
"You need to understand for yourself what may or may not be ethical concerns regarding that," O'Brien said.
Despite the lack of guaranteed success, both women recommend the procedure for those considering children in the less-immediate future.
"Knowing that I have that insurance policy made me feel very, very comfortable with my decision ultimately not to have children," O'Brien said.
Becker went on to have two children from frozen embryos. Her second daughter was born earlier this year, completing the family Becker set out to start in 2020.
"You'll never regret going through it and trying one more time," Becker said. "It's possible that you'll regret not having tried."
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist: