Egg Freezing Near Middletown, NJ | Damien Fertility Partners
Most patients who freeze their eggs have not yet returned to use them. A 2024 systematic review of 13,724 patients found that 10.8% had returned to thaw their eggs.
That figure reframes the decision. For many patients, egg freezing preserves an option rather than starting a pregnancy in the near term. For patients in Middletown, the useful questions are when to freeze, how quickly a cycle can begin, and how to read the success rates quoted online.
Damien Fertility Partners has provided fertility care in Monmouth County since 1989, when we began as East Coast IVF, the first successful IVF program in Monmouth and Ocean County. Our Shrewsbury office is a short drive south of Middletown and houses our on-site embryology lab. The lab is accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), the FDA, and the NJ State Department of Health, with zero deficiencies.
Request a consultation, or start with a virtual consultation with Dr. Barry Perlman.
Egg Freezing for Middletown Patients at Our Shrewsbury Office
A Short Drive South on Route 35
Our Shrewsbury office at 655 Shrewsbury Avenue is approximately 6 miles from central Middletown, roughly 10 to 15 minutes via Route 35. We see patients from Lincroft, Leonardo, Belford, Port Monmouth, Navesink, and River Plaza, along with Holmdel, Atlantic Highlands, and the rest of Monmouth County.
Scheduling Around a Commute
A cycle typically requires four to six monitoring visits over roughly two weeks. The office opens at 7:00 a.m. on weekdays. Patients who commute on the North Jersey Coast Line can usually finish a visit and still catch a mid-morning train.
Your consultation can be virtual, and injections are given at home. Our patient education resources include video injection lessons.
One Lab From Retrieval to Thaw
Eggs move directly from the procedure room to our embryology lab. If you return to use them, the same lab warms and fertilizes them.
Choosing When to Freeze
Age at Freezing Drives Outcomes
Age at freezing is the strongest predictor of success. A 2024 systematic review and meta-regression in Human Reproduction Update examined patients who returned to thaw eggs frozen for planned reasons. Their live birth rate was 52% for those who froze at 35 or younger and 19% for those who froze at 40 or older.
A 2025 review in Reproductive BioMedicine Online recommends freezing before age 38 when feasible.
Ovarian Reserve Informs the Plan
Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and antral follicle count (AFC) estimate how many eggs a cycle may produce. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) finds these tests are good predictors of egg yield but poor independent predictors of reproductive potential.
ASRM advises that the decision to freeze rest on your age and reproductive plans, not on AMH alone.
Setting an Egg Target
There is no universal number of eggs to freeze. ASRM’s 2021 practice guideline finds insufficient evidence to set an exact count. Your physician builds a target from your age, test results, and how many children you hope to have. That target may require more than one cycle.
Interpreting Egg Freezing Success Rates
Egg freezing success rates are hard to compare because each one measures a different stage of the process. No single number captures “success.”
Each Stage Has Its Own Rate
A frozen egg passes through several steps before it can become a child:
- The egg is frozen.
- The egg survives warming.
- The surviving egg is fertilized.
- The embryo develops.
- A pregnancy occurs.
- A live birth results.
A percentage quoted at one step says little about the steps that follow.
The Findings of the Largest Review
A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis in Fertility and Sterility pooled 27 studies covering 13,724 patients who froze eggs for planned reasons. Median follow-up was seven years.
Overall, 10.8% returned to thaw their eggs. Among those who returned:
- 81.4% of eggs survived warming.
- The clinical pregnancy rate was 34.2%.
- A live birth was reported for 28.9% of patients, across all age groups.
Low Return Rate Is Not a Failure
Not returning does not mean freezing failed. The review’s authors identify several reasons patients have not returned: being single, not yet being ready for a child, lack of maternity leave, and financial circumstances.
Some patients conceive without their frozen eggs. Nine studies in the review reported 131 births that occurred through natural conception, IUI, or IVF with new eggs. Return rates also tend to rise with longer follow-up, as more patients reach the point of using their eggs.
Questions to Ask of Any Statistic
ASRM states that evidence remains insufficient to precisely predict live birth rates after planned egg freezing. Before comparing any figure, check three things:
- Outcome. Which outcome is being measured: survival, fertilization, pregnancy, or live birth.
- Age. The age at which the eggs were frozen, which shifts every rate.
- Denominator. Whether the percentage is calculated per egg, per cycle, per transfer, or per patient.
The 52% figure above, for example, is per patient who returned, not per patient who froze. Our own success rates page reports IVF outcomes per new patient, which is a different measure again.
Starting Quickly Before Cancer Treatment or Surgery
Random-Start Stimulation
Patients facing chemotherapy, radiation, or ovarian surgery often cannot wait for their next menstrual cycle. ASRM’s 2026 committee opinion on fertility preservation supports starting stimulation immediately, regardless of cycle phase. ASRM reports that this approach causes negligible delays and produces outcomes similar to conventional starts.
Surgery and Endometriosis
For patients whose ovarian reserve is affected by endometriosis or ovarian cysts, Dr. Nina Seigelstein performs minimally invasive gynecologic surgery within our practice. Egg freezing and surgery can be sequenced by one team.
The Egg Freezing Cycle in Brief
Stimulation and Monitoring
After a fertility evaluation, you take injectable medications for approximately 8 to 14 days to grow multiple follicles. Monitoring visits track growth and set the timing for retrieval.
Retrieval and Vitrification
A trigger injection completes egg maturation, and retrieval follows approximately 36 hours later under sedation. Mature eggs are frozen by vitrification, a rapid-freezing method that prevents ice crystals from forming.
Recovery and Safety
Most patients return to normal activity within a day or two. ASRM reports the risk of severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) at approximately 1% to 2% per cycle. Its 2023 OHSS guideline supports a GnRH agonist trigger to reduce that risk.
Long-Term Storage and Using Your Eggs Later
Frozen Eggs and Usability
Storage time does not appear to reduce egg quality. A 2023 study in Reproductive BioMedicine Online analyzed 41,783 vitrified donor eggs. It found that storage of up to eight years did not affect survival, fertilization, pregnancy, or live birth rates.
A 2024 study in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics of 5,995 eggs reached the same conclusion. Data beyond roughly a decade remain limited, and storage fees continue for as long as eggs stay frozen.
Using Your Eggs Later
When you return, eggs are warmed and fertilized by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), in which a single sperm is injected into each egg. The process then continues as an IVF cycle.
Embryos develop in time-lapse incubators monitored by CHLOE by Fairtility, an AI system that tracks growth without disturbing the culture environment. Optional genetic testing can screen embryos before transfer; our physicians explain who may benefit from PGT-A.
We support single patients and LGBTQ+ families, including those using donor sperm. We place no BMI-based limitations on care.
Insurance and Cost for Middletown Patients
New Jersey Coverage Rules
New Jersey requires coverage for fertility preservation when a medically necessary treatment may cause infertility, under P.L.2019, c.306. Egg storage is excluded even then, according to ASRM’s summary of New Jersey law.
Planned egg freezing is generally not covered, and self-funded employer plans are usually exempt. Our bilingual Insurance Verification Specialist confirms your benefits; see our insurance and financial resources page.
Cost and Financing
Cost depends on medication dose, the number of cycles, and years of storage.
CapexMD financing offers pre-approval within 24 hours, with loans from $3,000 to $50,000.
Physicians Who Manage Your Cycle
Board-Certified Specialists
Both of our reproductive endocrinologists hold ABOG board certification in reproductive endocrinology and infertility. Dr. Miguel Damien has been named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor six times (2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2017, 2018) and is fluent in Spanish.
Dr. Barry Perlman completed his REI fellowship at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and focuses on elective egg freezing and fertility preservation.
One Physician Throughout
The same physician manages your consultation, monitoring, and retrieval. Our practice is also a recipient of the REI Protect Seal of Approval for safety, lab quality, and patient care.
In 2023, we reported an 81.8% live-birth rate per new IVF patient under 35, according to SART data. That is an IVF figure, not a frozen-egg outcome, and clinic comparisons should be made with caution.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far is the nearest egg freezing clinic from Middletown, NJ?
Our Shrewsbury office is approximately 6 miles from central Middletown, roughly 10 to 15 minutes via Route 35. Retrieval and freezing both take place on-site.
How should I interpret egg freezing success rates?
Check which outcome is measured (survival, fertilization, pregnancy, or live birth), the age at freezing, and whether the rate is per egg, cycle, transfer, or patient. These figures are not interchangeable.
How long can frozen eggs be stored?
Studies of vitrified eggs stored for up to eight years show no decline in survival, fertilization, or live birth rates. Data on storage beyond a decade are limited.
How quickly can I freeze my eggs before chemotherapy?
Stimulation can begin immediately, regardless of where you are in your menstrual cycle. ASRM reports that this causes negligible delays to treatment. Contact us for an urgent consultation.
What is the best age to freeze eggs?
Outcomes are strongest when eggs are frozen at 35 or younger. Published reviews recommend freezing before 38 when feasible.
Does New Jersey insurance cover egg freezing?
Coverage applies only when a medically necessary treatment may cause infertility, and storage is excluded. See our insurance and financial resources page.
Egg Freezing Consultations in Middletown and Northern Monmouth County
We provide egg freezing at three offices: Shrewsbury (Monmouth County), Newark (Essex County), and Jersey City (Hudson County). For Middletown patients, our Shrewsbury office handles monitoring, retrieval, and freezing about 15 minutes from home.
Dr. Damien and Dr. Perlman manage each cycle personally, and virtual consultations are available with Dr. Perlman. Spanish-language information is on our fertility preservation page in Spanish.
Request a consultation with Dr. Damien or Dr. Perlman to plan the next step in your fertility journey.