Egg Freezing: How It Works, What It Costs, and Who It’s For
Your timeline for having children may not align with your body’s biological clock — and that gap is exactly what egg freezing was designed to bridge. Whether you’re focused on your career, haven’t found the right partner, or are facing a medical diagnosis that could affect your fertility, freezing your eggs gives you the ability to preserve your reproductive potential today, on your own terms.
Egg freezing has moved well beyond experimental status. Today, it is a well-established, widely performed procedure with a strong and growing body of clinical evidence behind it. At Damien Fertility Partners, New Jersey’s first successful IVF practice in Monmouth and Ocean County, we’ve helped patients take this empowering step for over 30 years — with the personalized, evidence-based care that a privately owned practice uniquely provides.
Egg Freezing
Egg freezing — medically termed oocyte cryopreservation — is the process of stimulating the ovaries to produce multiple mature eggs within a single cycle, retrieving those eggs, and preserving them at subzero temperatures for future use. The eggs are frozen before fertilization. When a patient is ready to attempt pregnancy, the eggs are thawed, fertilized with sperm in the laboratory, and any resulting embryos are transferred to the uterus.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) removed the experimental designation from oocyte cryopreservation in 2012. It is now a standard, widely performed procedure with a substantial and growing body of clinical evidence supporting its use.
Storing Frozen Eggs
Frozen eggs are stored in liquid nitrogen at approximately -196°C — a temperature at which biological aging effectively stops. There is no established expiration date for cryopreserved oocytes. Successful live births from eggs stored for more than a decade have been documented in the peer-reviewed literature.
Storage is maintained on an annual basis. Eggs remain viable as long as they are preserved in a properly maintained, certified cryopreservation facility. Our CAP-accredited laboratory meets those standards continuously, not only at the time of initial accreditation review.
The Egg Freezing Process, Step by Step
Fertility evaluation. The process begins with bloodwork to assess ovarian reserve — specifically your anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level and antral follicle count (AFC) — paired with a baseline transvaginal ultrasound. This evaluation tells our team how your ovaries are likely to respond to stimulation and allows us to design a protocol matched to your physiology, not a generic template.
Ovarian stimulation. Once cleared to proceed, you’ll begin injectable hormonal medications — typically gonadotropins — to stimulate the ovaries to develop multiple follicles simultaneously. Stimulation lasts approximately 10–14 days. During that window, you’ll attend several monitoring appointments so our team can track follicle development via ultrasound and serial blood work, adjusting medication dosing as needed.
Trigger shot and retrieval. When follicles reach optimal size, a trigger shot — typically hCG or a GnRH agonist — signals final egg maturation. Egg retrieval is scheduled approximately 36 hours later. The procedure is minimally invasive and performed under light sedation as an outpatient. Most patients return home within a few hours. Mild cramping and fatigue in the day or two following retrieval are common and typically resolve quickly.
Vitrification. Retrieved eggs are assessed by our embryologist. Mature oocytes are then vitrified — a flash-freezing technique that eliminates ice crystal formation and significantly improves post-thaw survival rates compared to older slow-freeze methods. The clinical evidence supporting vitrification over slow freezing is consistent across the literature and is the reason ASRM-member practices have moved to it as the standard.
Egg Freezing Candidates
Elective preservation. The most common candidates are women in their late 20s and early 30s who want to preserve their fertility while delaying family building for personal, professional, or relationship reasons. Age at freezing is the central variable in determining outcomes. Most specialists, including ASRM, recommend considering egg freezing before age 37 for best results, though individual ovarian reserve matters as much as chronological age.
Medical indications. Egg freezing is strongly recommended — and in some cases urgent — for patients facing circumstances that may compromise future fertility. This includes women about to begin chemotherapy or pelvic radiation for cancer treatment, patients with a documented family history of early menopause or premature ovarian insufficiency, and those with endometriosis or other conditions associated with progressive ovarian reserve decline. For these patients, fertility preservation is not elective. It is a clinical priority, and our team coordinates quickly to accommodate pre-treatment timelines.
Number of Eggs
Research on the relationship between egg count and live birth probability gives patients a concrete framework for understanding their options. Ovarian response declines with age: women around age 30 retrieve a median of approximately 15 mature eggs per cycle; by age 40, that median falls to roughly 6, according to published individual patient data analyses.
For women under 35, freezing 15–20 mature eggs is associated with approximately a 75% cumulative probability of achieving at least one live birth. Many patients in this age group reach that target in a single retrieval cycle. For women aged 38–40, research suggests that 25–30 eggs are needed to reach a comparable 70% probability — a threshold that often requires multiple cycles.
It’s important to distinguish between per-thaw success rates and cumulative success rates across all stored eggs over time. An individual patient data meta-analysis confirms that live birth rates decline steadily with age at freezing, though successful births have been reported into the early 40s with vitrified eggs. Age at freezing — not age at transfer — is the critical variable.
Egg Freezing Costs in New Jersey
A single egg freezing cycle in the United States typically ranges from $10,000 to $15,000 before medications. Medications add approximately $3,000–$6,000 depending on the stimulation protocol. Annual storage fees generally range from $500 to $1,000 per year.
Insurance coverage. New Jersey’s insurance mandate, expanded in 2024 under Governor Murphy, requires group health insurance policies covering 50 or more employees to cover up to four completed egg retrievals per lifetime. The 2024 expansion removed prior restrictions on age, relationship status, and sexual orientation. Coverage is more consistent when freezing is medically indicated — for example, prior to cancer treatment — than for elective preservation, though the mandate now extends to both in qualifying plans.
Our team can help you navigate your specific plan’s coverage and discuss financing options during your consultation. CapexMD financing is available with 24-hour pre-approval. Cost should not be the reason a patient delays a decision with long-term reproductive consequences.
Egg Freezing at Damien Fertility Partners
Led by Dr. Miguel Damien — trained at Dartmouth and Harvard, board-certified in reproductive endocrinology and infertility by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG), and named a Top Doctor in the NY Metro Area by Castle Connolly six times (2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2017, 2018) — our practice offers the full continuum of fertility preservation care under one roof.
The same physician stays with each patient through every consultation, monitoring appointment, retrieval, and — when the time comes — transfer. This is a deliberate structure, not a staffing convenience. Patients are not handed off between providers as cycles progress.
Our embryology laboratory is CAP-accredited with zero deficiencies, and our 2023 SART data (CORS report ID 2518) reflect a practice where outcomes are tracked, reported, and held to an accountable standard. Clinic-to-clinic SART comparisons should always be interpreted with caution given differences in patient populations, but the data are available for review.
For patients who need to act quickly — particularly those facing cancer treatment — our team coordinates fertility preservation appointments on a compressed timeline. We also offer no BMI-based limitations on care, and our practice provides dedicated support for LGBTQ+ patients, singles, and those pursuing reciprocal IVF or donor programs. Our offices are fully bilingual; Dr. Damien is fluent in Spanish, and a bilingual Insurance Verification Specialist is available to all patients.
Schedule your egg freezing consultation at our Shrewsbury, Newark, or Jersey City office, or request a virtual consultation with Dr. Perlman.
Frequently Asked Questions
At what age is egg freezing most effective?
Egg freezing is most effective when done in the late 20s to early 30s, when both egg quantity and quality are typically at their peak. ASRM guidelines support freezing before age 37 for optimal outcomes, though ovarian reserve — measured by AMH and antral follicle count — varies significantly among individuals at any age. A fertility evaluation gives you a specific picture of where you stand, not a projection based on age alone.
How many eggs should I aim to freeze?
For women under 35, a target of 15–20 mature eggs is associated with approximately a 75% cumulative probability of at least one live birth. That number increases with age: women in the 38–40 range typically need 25–30 eggs to reach a comparable probability. Some patients reach their target in a single cycle; others choose to do multiple retrievals. Your care team will set a target based on your ovarian reserve and your reproductive goals, not a one-size number.
Does egg freezing reduce my future natural fertility?
No. The stimulation process recruits eggs that would otherwise be absorbed by the body during that menstrual cycle. It does not deplete the ovarian reserve beyond what would have been lost naturally. Your baseline fertility is not diminished by undergoing a retrieval cycle.
How long does the process take from start to retrieval?
From initial consultation through egg retrieval, the process typically takes four to six weeks. The stimulation phase is 10–14 days, with monitoring appointments every two to three days during that window. Most patients return to normal activity within one to two days after retrieval, making the process manageable alongside work and daily life.
Is egg freezing covered by insurance in New Jersey?
It depends on your plan. The 2024 expansion of New Jersey’s insurance mandate requires group plans covering 50 or more employees to cover up to four completed egg retrievals per lifetime, with restrictions on age, orientation, and relationship status removed. Coverage for elective preservation varies by plan. Our Insurance Verification Specialist can review your specific benefits before your consultation.
Can I use my frozen eggs with donor sperm or a partner’s sperm later?
Yes. When you’re ready to use your frozen eggs, they can be fertilized with a partner’s sperm or donor sperm, depending on your circumstances at that time. Our team will guide you through the thaw, fertilization via intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and embryo transfer process when you’re ready to move forward.
Does Damien Fertility Partners offer egg freezing for medical reasons?
Yes. We support fertility preservation for both elective and medical indications, including patients facing cancer treatment, those with diminishing ovarian reserve, and women with conditions such as endometriosis that may progressively affect long-term fertility. For patients who need to act before beginning medical treatment, our team moves quickly and coordinates care on a compressed timeline.
Start the Conversation
Egg freezing is a time-sensitive decision. The eggs you freeze today — at your current age, with your current ovarian reserve — are the eggs you’ll have available when you’re ready to use them. Waiting, even by a year or two, meaningfully affects how many mature eggs can be retrieved and the probability of a successful pregnancy from those eggs.
We see patients for egg freezing consultations at three offices across New Jersey: Shrewsbury in Monmouth County, Newark in Essex County, and Jersey City in Hudson County. Dr. Miguel Damien and Dr. Barry Perlman lead fertility preservation care at our practice, with the same physician staying with you through every step of the process — evaluation, monitoring, retrieval, and eventual use of your eggs. Virtual consultations are available with Dr. Perlman for patients who prefer to start remotely.
Request a consultation with Dr. Damien or Dr. Perlman to review your ovarian reserve, set a realistic egg target, and take the first step toward preserving your reproductive options on your own timeline.