London - Women should freeze their eggs when they hit 30 as an “insurance policy” for having babies later in life, according to researchers.
Anyone who hasn’t met Mr Right – or is intent on pursuing their career – should consider paying up to £5,000 to “bank” their eggs.
Not only will their chances of having babies be higher, say researchers from the US government, they will also save money as they won’t have to pay for IVF later in life.
In Britain, the cost of removing and freezing a woman’s eggs can be as high as £5,000 in addition to an annual fee of £200 for every year they are stored.
But the academics have calculated that if women wait until they are 40 before trying for children, they may need several rounds of IVF which will cost double this amount.
And by this stage there is no guarantee they will ever become pregnant – even with IVF – as their eggs are of far poorer quality.
The researchers told the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s conference in San Diego that if these women were to freeze their eggs aged 30 and then have them re-inserted ten years later, their chances of having a baby would be five times greater.
US health department researcher Dr Kate Devine said: “So long as you freeze your eggs before 35 you have a 75 percent chance of having a live birth.”
At present few women in Britain bank their eggs unless they are about to have cancer treatment which can damage their reproductive system. Nonetheless research shows rising numbers of women are considering the option. - Daily Mail