Many of the important decisions we make in our 20s and 30s are made with the future in mind. We pursue education to create opportunities later in life. We look after our health today because it can influence our wellbeing in the years ahead. We may start saving or work towards owning a home long before we know exactly what our future will look like.

For women who hope to have children in the future but are not ready to do so now, egg freezing offers an opportunity to preserve younger eggs for possible use later. It cannot guarantee a future pregnancy, but it may provide additional reproductive options at a time when age-related changes in fertility might otherwise make conception more difficult.

The important difference is that egg freezing is time sensitive. A woman’s age at the time her eggs are frozen has an important influence on their future reproductive potential. This means that understanding your fertility and considering your options earlier can be valuable — even if having a family is still many years away.

Why Timing Matters When Considering Egg Freezing

When it comes to egg freezing, timing matters because female fertility changes with age. Women are born with a finite number of eggs, and both the number and quality of the remaining eggs decline over time.

This decline becomes more significant with increasing age, particularly from the mid-30s onwards. As egg quality declines, the proportion of eggs with chromosomal abnormalities increases, which can affect the likelihood of fertilisation, embryo development and ultimately a successful pregnancy.

Egg freezing allows eggs to be collected and frozen at the age you are now, preserving them for possible use in the future. The age at which the eggs are frozen therefore matters more than the age at which they are eventually used.

This does not mean that every woman should freeze her eggs as early as possible. Whether egg freezing is appropriate — and when to consider it — depends on your age, ovarian reserve, reproductive plans and individual circumstances.

What Egg Freezing Can Offer You

Egg freezing cannot guarantee a future pregnancy. What it can offer is an additional reproductive option:
the possibility of using eggs in the future that were collected and frozen when you were younger, rather than relying only on the eggs available at the age when you are ready to try for a family.

This is why the age at which eggs are frozen matters. As egg quality declines with age, more eggs may be needed to achieve the same estimated chance of a future live birth.

The age at which eggs are frozen can make a meaningful difference to the number of eggs that may be needed for a future chance of pregnancy. Different studies and predictive models provide slightly different estimates. Doyle et al., as cited in the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) guideline, estimated that approximately 14 mature eggs at ages 30 – 34, 15 at ages 35 – 37, and 26 at ages 38 – 40 would be needed for a 70% chance of one live birth.

The Goldman predictive model illustrates the effect of age in another way: with 20 mature eggs frozen, the estimated chance of at least one live birth was approximately 90% at age 34, 75% at age 37 and 37% at age 42. Alternatively, the model estimated that approximately 10 eggs at age 34 versus 20 eggs at age 37 would be required for a 75% chance of at least one live birth.

While the exact numbers differ between studies, the overall message is consistent:
age at the time of egg freezing and the number of mature eggs frozen both influence the likelihood of a future live birth. These figures are estimates rather than guarantees, and individual outcomes vary.

What Happens If You Wait?

Choosing not to freeze your eggs does not mean choosing not to have a family later. Many women conceive naturally in their 30s and beyond.

However, if your circumstances mean that you only begin trying to conceive later, age-related changes in fertility may make conception more difficult. Both the number and quality of a woman's eggs decline with age, and this can mean that fertility treatment is more likely to be needed or that more than one treatment cycle may be required.

Egg freezing cannot remove the effects of reproductive ageing altogether, but it provides the option of preserving eggs at a younger age for possible use later.

Freezing your eggs also does not commit you to using them. You may never need them. It simply provides another option should your circumstances or fertility look different by the time you are ready to start or grow your family.

Understanding What Egg Freezing Could Mean for You

Age-based statistics can provide useful guidance, but they cannot tell you exactly what egg freezing might look like for you.

A consultation with a fertility specialist can help you understand the process, while fertility screening can provide information about your ovarian reserve and likely response to stimulation. Your specialist can then discuss what this may mean for the number of eggs that could potentially be retrieved and whether egg freezing is an appropriate option for your circumstances.

This allows you to make an informed decision based on your own fertility, reproductive plans and priorities rather than general age-based averages.

Want to better understand your fertility and your options?

Book a consultation with an Aevitas fertility specialist to discuss your individual circumstances and whether egg freezing may be appropriate for you.

This article provides general fertility information as of August 2026 and should not be considered individual medical advice. Outcomes vary based on age and other individual factors. A fertility specialist can assess your circumstances and discuss the potential benefits and limitations of egg freezing with you.