Fertility Preservation: Egg and Embryo Freezing in Turkey
Fertility preservation — freezing eggs or embryos for future use — has moved from a niche option for cancer patients to a mainstream reproductive choice for women and couples who wish to protect their future fertility. Turkey’s leading IVF centres offer fertility preservation services for international patients using the most advanced vitrification technology, at costs significantly lower than in Western Europe.
Why Consider Fertility Preservation?
Elective egg freezing (social freezing): Women who are not ready for pregnancy but wish to preserve their fertility before age-related egg quality decline. The optimal window for egg freezing is before age 35, when egg quality and quantity are generally at their best. Egg freezing provides a future option, not a guarantee.
Oncofertility: Cancer patients facing treatments (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgical removal of ovaries) that may impair future fertility should be offered fertility preservation before treatment begins. This is a time-sensitive, medically urgent application. Turkey’s IVF centres can often accommodate urgent oncofertility cases rapidly.
Embryo freezing: Couples undergoing IVF who produce surplus embryos of good quality can freeze these for future transfer. Frozen embryo transfer cycles have, in many studies, shown outcomes comparable or superior to fresh transfers — partly because the uterine environment is undisturbed by stimulation hormones in a frozen cycle.
The Egg Freezing Process
Egg freezing follows the same stimulation and retrieval process as IVF, without fertilisation. Ovarian stimulation with daily hormone injections over ten to fourteen days is followed by egg retrieval under sedation. Mature eggs are immediately vitrified — a rapid freezing technique that prevents ice crystal formation and maintains egg viability. Vitrification has dramatically improved post-thaw survival rates, now exceeding 90 percent at leading centres.
How Long Can Eggs Be Stored?
Eggs can be stored for many years. Regulations on storage duration vary by country. Turkey permits long-term storage with annual storage fees. Patients should confirm storage policies and fees before proceeding.
Success with Frozen Eggs
The likelihood of a live birth from frozen eggs depends primarily on the woman’s age at freezing and the number of eggs stored. A woman freezing ten mature eggs before age 35 has an estimated 40 to 60 percent chance of achieving a live birth from those eggs. Freezing more eggs improves cumulative success probability.
Costs in Turkey
Egg freezing (stimulation, retrieval, vitrification) in Turkey costs €1,500–€2,800 per cycle, compared to €3,000–€6,000 in Western Europe. Annual storage fees are typically €200–€400. Find a verified fertility centre at drvisor.com.