DL

Egg Freezing & Fertility Preservation

Fertility preservation allows individuals to take a proactive and informed approach to their reproductive future. While egg freezing is the most widely recognised form of fertility preservation, advances in reproductive medicine now provide a range of options designed to preserve fertility for women, men, and children facing both medical and personal circumstances that may impact future family building.

With Dr Daniel Lantsberg, fertility preservation is approached with careful assessment, evidence-based guidance, and highly personalised treatment planning. The focus is not only on preserving fertility, but on helping patients understand their options, optimise future reproductive potential, and make confident long-term decisions.

Dr Lantsberg has a particular interest in fertility preservation and oncofertility, providing care for patients considering elective fertility preservation, as well as those undergoing cancer treatment or managing complex medical conditions that may affect fertility.

What is Fertility Preservation?

Women are born with a finite number of eggs, and both the quantity and quality of these eggs decline with age.

Key changes include:

  • A gradual reduction in ovarian reserve (number of eggs)
  • Declining egg quality, particularly after age 35
  • Increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities
  • Higher likelihood of miscarriage
  • Reduced response to fertility treatments over time

While these changes are natural, their impact varies between individuals, which is why personalised assessment is essential.

Egg Freezing

Egg freezing, also known as oocyte cryopreservation, is the most common fertility preservation treatment for women.

The process involves:

  • Stimulating the ovaries to produce multiple eggs
  • Retrieving the eggs in a minor procedure
  • Freezing the eggs using advanced vitrification techniques
  • Storing the eggs for future IVF treatment

When you are ready to pursue pregnancy, the eggs can later be thawed, fertilised, and transferred as embryos.

Egg freezing allows women to preserve the quality of their eggs at their current age, helping reduce the impact of age-related fertility decline later in life.

Why Women Consider Egg Freezing

Many women consider egg freezing as a proactive way to preserve future reproductive options.

Common reasons include:

  • Not yet being ready to have children
  • Not having found the right partner
  • Career or personal priorities
  • Concerns about age-related fertility decline
  • Medical conditions affecting fertility

For many patients, egg freezing provides reassurance and greater flexibility around future family planning.

How Age Affects Fertility

Age is the single most important factor influencing female fertility.

Women are born with a finite number of eggs, and over time both the quantity and quality of these eggs decline.

This decline accelerates from the mid-30s onwards and may lead to:

  • Reduced ovarian reserve
  • Lower egg quality
  • Increased miscarriage risk
  • Reduced IVF success rates

Egg freezing does not improve egg quality, but it allows eggs to be preserved at their current quality, which is why timing is such an important consideration.

When is the Best Time to Freeze Eggs?

The optimal timing for egg freezing varies between individuals, but in general:

  • Early to mid-30s provides the best balance of egg quality and quantity
  • Late 30s may still provide significant benefit, though more eggs or cycles may be required
  • Over 40, outcomes become less predictable, although treatment may still be appropriate in selected situations

A personalised fertility assessment helps determine:

  • Ovarian reserve
  • Likely response to treatment
  • The expected benefit of egg freezing in your situation

The Egg Freezing Process

Egg freezing is typically completed over a period of 2–3 weeks.

Your treatment begins with a detailed consultation and fertility assessment, which may include:

  • Hormone testing, including AMH
  • Ultrasound assessment of ovarian reserve
  • Review of medical and reproductive history
  • Discussion of your future fertility goals

Hormone medications are used to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple eggs.

This phase usually lasts 10–14 days and involves:

  • Daily hormone injections
  • Blood tests and ultrasound monitoring
  • Adjustment of medications where required

Eggs are collected in a minor procedure performed under sedation.

This involves:

  • Ultrasound-guided retrieval of eggs
  • A short recovery period
  • Same-day discharge in most cases

Collected eggs are frozen using advanced vitrification techniques and stored securely until you are ready to use them.

How Many Eggs Are Needed?

The number of eggs recommended depends on several factors, including age and ovarian reserve.

In general:

  • Younger women typically require fewer eggs to achieve similar future pregnancy potential
  • Older women may require more eggs or multiple cycles
  • More eggs generally increase the likelihood of future success

Treatment planning is highly individualised and discussed carefully during consultation.

A useful calculation tool on how many eggs you may need to have frozen to achieve a live birth can be found here:

Egg Freezing Calculator

What Happens When You Use Frozen Eggs?

When you are ready to conceive:

  • Eggs are thawed
  • Fertilised using IVF (often with ICSI)
  • Embryos are cultured in the laboratory
  • An embryo is transferred into the uterus

This process is similar to a standard IVF cycle, but uses previously frozen eggs.

Egg Freezing Calculator

Other Fertility Preservation Options

Embryo freezing involves fertilising eggs with sperm through IVF before freezing the resulting embryos for future use.

This may be appropriate for:

  • Couples planning future pregnancy
  • Patients wishing to preserve embryos rather than unfertilised eggs
  • Individuals undergoing medical treatment that may affect fertility

Embryo freezing is an established and highly effective fertility preservation technique and may provide greater predictability in some situations compared to egg freezing alone.

Embryos are stored using advanced vitrification methods and can later be thawed and transferred during IVF treatment.

Sperm freezing is a simple and effective method of preserving male fertility.

This may be recommended for:

  • Men undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment
  • Patients with medical conditions affecting fertility
  • Men planning future fertility treatment
  • Patients undergoing sperm retrieval procedures

Frozen sperm can later be used in fertility treatments including IUI, IVF, and ICSI.

Ovarian tissue freezing is a specialised fertility preservation technique involving the removal and freezing of ovarian tissue containing immature eggs.

This approach may be considered for:

  • Patients requiring urgent cancer treatment
  • Younger women or girls unable to undergo egg freezing
  • Situations where treatment cannot be delayed

In selected cases, the tissue may later be re-implanted to restore hormonal and reproductive function.

This is a highly specialised area of reproductive medicine typically reserved for specific medical circumstances.

Testicular tissue freezing is an emerging fertility preservation technique used in selected male patients, particularly boys who have not yet reached puberty and are unable to produce mature sperm.

This approach may be considered prior to:

  • Chemotherapy
  • Radiation therapy
  • Other medical treatments likely to affect future fertility

The aim is to preserve future reproductive potential before treatment begins.

Cancer treatment can significantly affect fertility in both women and men. Early referral for fertility preservation is often critical before chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or surgery begins.

Dr Daniel Lantsberg has a strong interest in oncofertility and fertility preservation for patients facing cancer treatment.

He is actively involved in fertility preservation services through:

  • Melbourne IVF
  • The Royal Women’s Hospital
  • The Royal Children’s Hospital fertility preservation taskforce

This multidisciplinary approach helps ensure patients receive timely, coordinated, and evidence-based fertility preservation care during a particularly challenging period.

Success Rates and Expectations

The success of fertility preservation depends on several factors, including:

  • Age at the time of treatment
  • Egg or sperm quality
  • Number of eggs or embryos preserved
  • Underlying medical conditions

While fertility preservation significantly improves future reproductive options, it does not guarantee pregnancy.

With Dr Daniel Lantsberg, treatment planning focuses on:

  • Providing realistic expectations
  • Optimising future fertility potential
  • Tailoring treatment to your individual situation

Why Choose Dr Daniel Lantsberg

Dr Daniel Lantsberg is a highly experienced Melbourne fertility specialist with over a decade dedicated exclusively to fertility medicine. He combines advanced subspecialist training, international experience, and academic leadership with a genuinely personalised approach to care.

  • 10+ years in fertility medicine — 3,000+ IVF cycles, 2,000+ babies
  • Sub-specialist fellowship trained in reproductive endocrinology and infertility
  • Clinical Director at Melbourne IVF and Senior Lecturer at the University of Melbourne
  • Featured fertility specialist on Channel Nine's Big Miracles
  • Longer consultations, fewer patients, fully tailored treatment plans

Take the First Step

Fertility preservation offers the opportunity to take control of your reproductive future.

Understanding your fertility and your options is the first step in making an informed decision.

To explore egg freezing and develop a personalised plan, book a consultation with Dr Daniel Lantsberg.

GET IN TOUCH