Social freezing in Berlin: freezing eggs for later
Key facts at a glance
In social freezing, women without an acute medical reason have unfertilised eggs frozen in order to use them later for a pregnancy. The eggs keep the quality of the age at which they were retrieved.
The younger the woman at egg collection, the better the later chances. There is no guarantee of a child. You bear the costs yourself.
Who is social freezing suitable for?
Social freezing is an option for women who want a child but cannot or do not want to become pregnant yet, for example without a suitable partner, or because of training or career.
Ideally, egg collection takes place by the age of 35, because after that the number and quality of eggs decline markedly. It can also make sense later. Then more eggs and possibly several egg collections are needed. We advise you individually.
Beforehand we determine your ovarian reserve, including with the AMH level and an ultrasound. This allows us to estimate how many eggs a stimulation is likely to yield. Our Fertility Check also offers this.
The process in five steps
- Consultation and examination. We discuss your goals, determine your ovarian reserve and explain costs and risks.
- Hormonal stimulation. For about 7 to 11 days you inject hormones so that several eggs mature. Ultrasound and blood tests accompany the treatment.
- Egg collection. Under a short anaesthetic, we retrieve the eggs through the vagina, guided by ultrasound. The procedure takes about 15 to 20 minutes. You go home the same day, accompanied.
- Freezing (vitrification). Our IVF laboratory freezes the mature eggs, unfertilised, within seconds and stores them in liquid nitrogen.
- Later use. When you want to become pregnant, we thaw the eggs and fertilise them with ICSI, using your partner's sperm or donor sperm. This is followed by an embryo transfer as in IVF.
Chances and limits
Later chances depend mainly on two things: your age at egg collection and the number of frozen eggs. Not every egg survives thawing, is fertilised and develops into an embryo.
How many eggs we recommend at your age is something we discuss on the basis of your findings.
Social freezing is a reserve, not a guarantee. A natural pregnancy later remains possible; the frozen eggs are then simply not needed.
The risks of stimulation and egg collection are the same as in IVF, such as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), bleeding or infection.
Costs
Social freezing is a self-pay service. Health insurers do not cover it.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Stimulation cycle with egg collection and freezing | approx. €1,800 – 3,800, depending on the number of eggs |
| Medication for stimulation | approx. €800 – 1,500 |
| Anaesthesia | approx. €350 |
| Storage per year | approx. €360 – 430 |
| Later fertilisation and transfer | we give you this in the cost estimate |
For one cycle including medication and anaesthesia this comes to about €2,950 – 5,650, plus annual storage.
Medical freezing is different: if you face a treatment that can damage fertility, such as chemotherapy, statutory health insurance has in most cases covered freezing and storing eggs since 2021 (§ 27a (4) SGB V). For women this applies until their 40th birthday. As a member of the FertiPROTEKT network, we are prepared for this situation. Please contact us as early as possible, as things often need to move quickly. Hormone-dependent tumours require an adapted approach; please ask us about it.
What the law says
- Your eggs belong to you. Only you decide whether and when they are used or destroyed.
- No statutory maximum period for storing unfertilised eggs. Storage is governed by contract and renewed annually.
- Not to be passed on to other women. Egg donation is prohibited in Germany under the German Embryo Protection Act (Embryonenschutzgesetz). Frozen eggs can only be used for your own treatment.
Age limit at our practice
The age limit is a rule of our practice, not a law. From a woman's 45th birthday, the pregnancy rate with freshly retrieved eggs is so low that we do not start any new fertility treatment. The treating doctor decides individually on the use of eggs frozen earlier, retrieved at a younger age. Pregnancy risks rise markedly with age.
Frequently asked questions
How long can eggs stay frozen?
According to current knowledge, vitrified eggs do not lose quality through longer storage. What matters is the age at egg collection, not the length of storage. There is no statutory maximum period. You renew storage annually by contract.
Do I need a partner to use the eggs later?
No. The eggs can later be fertilised with a partner's sperm or with donor sperm. We also treat single women and female couples. Fertilisation only takes place when you actually want to use the eggs.
Does social freezing reduce my natural fertility?
No. Stimulation matures eggs that would otherwise have been lost in that cycle anyway. According to current knowledge, this does not use up your ovarian reserve for the future. A natural pregnancy later remains possible.
Does health insurance cover the costs?
Not for social freezing without a medical reason; you bear the costs yourself. It is different before a treatment that can damage fertility, such as chemotherapy. In that case statutory health insurance covers freezing and storing the eggs in most cases.
Your next step
In the consultation we assess your ovarian reserve and discuss whether and when social freezing makes sense for you. Book appointment online or come to our next .
Further reading: IVF in Berlin · Costs and cost coverage · Glossary