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Why would I want to freeze my eggs?

LGBT+ people may wish to freeze their eggs for all sorts of reasons, for instance if:

·         You’re transgender and planning to have gender reassignment therapy or reassignment surgery.

·         You’re unable to have biological children with your same-sex partner, but for whatever reason aren’t ready for IVF treatment.

·         You have a medical condition or need treatment that will affect your fertility, such as cancer.

·         You’re worried about your fertility declining but you’re not ready to have a child or you haven’t found the right partner – this is called ‘elective egg freezing’.

Can LGT+ people freeze eggs on the NHS?

NHS funding for egg freezing is something of a postcode lottery. Local CCGs (Clinical Commissioning Groups) across England have different rules about who qualifies and who doesn’t.

For instance, fertility preservation for transgender people is NHS funded in Wales and Scotland, but only in parts of England.

NHS NICE guidelines from 2013 suggest that same sex couples should have access to fertility treatment, but this primarily refers to IVF treatment. Whether or not you will qualify depends on your circumstances, and where you live.

It’s best to consult your local CCG (contact details found here) for more information about whether you qualify for funded treatment.

Try consulting Fertility Fairness for more information.

How much control do you have over what happens to your eggs?

You will complete consent forms before you freeze your eggs setting out how you want them to be used. This includes:

How long they will be stored for (the standard time is 10 years)

What will happen to your eggs if you were to die or be unable to make decisions for yourself

Whether your eggs can be used for you only, someone else or for research if you don’t want them.

You can change or remove your consent whenever you want, either before your treatment or before the eggs are used for any other reasons. If you do this your eggs will not be used.

If funding isn’t available - how much does egg freezing cost?

The average cost of having eggs collected and frozen is between £3,500 to £4,500.

This doesn’t include the cost of storage, which can be anything between £150 and £400 per year.

Private facilities exist across the UK. If you decide to opt for paid egg freezing, then you can have the procedure in England, Scotland, Wales, or the Republic of Ireland.

For more information go to: www.hfea.gov.uk