I’m writing this as both the CEO of Pollin Fertility and as someone who has lived the emotional weight of this decision firsthand. Fertility science gave me my child. It is the reason I am in this industry, the reason our entire team is in this industry, and the reason we show up every day with genuine conviction.

That conviction is also why I need to be completely honest with you.

Every week at Pollin, we see patients who wish someone had told them sooner. Women who are sitting across from a physician at 38 or 41, navigating harder options than they might have faced at 33, saying: nobody made me aware. That reality drives our commitment to education, and it is why we are publishing this guide.

But being a champion for egg freezing means being honest about what it is and what it isn’t. It is not a guarantee. It is not a pause button on biology. For the right patient, at the right time, it can be one of the most important decisions of your reproductive life. For others, it may not be the right path at all.

The information in this guide is the foundation of the conversation our doctors have with every patient in their formal medical consultations. It is worth being clear: a community information session is not a substitute for a personal medical consultation. It is an introduction. The real conversation — tailored to your age, your ovarian reserve, your medical history, and your goals — happens one on one with your physician. This guide bridges those two moments.

What Is Egg Freezing, and What Can It Realistically Do?

Egg freezing — or oocyte cryopreservation — is a process that retrieves mature eggs from the ovaries, freezes them using a rapid-cooling method called vitrification, and stores them for potential future use. 

When the time comes, eggs are thawed, fertilized with sperm in a laboratory, and the resulting embryos may be transferred to the uterus.

The technology has improved meaningfully over the past decade. Vitrification replaced older slow-freeze methods and improved egg survival rates significantly. Egg freezing was designated as a non-experimental procedure by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in 2012 and is now an established part of fertility medicine.

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What egg freezing can offer

Egg freezing gives some patients additional options if they are not yet ready to pursue pregnancy. For patients facing certain medical treatments — chemotherapy, radiation, or surgeries that may affect ovarian function — it is an established intervention that can preserve future fertility. For others pursuing elective egg freezing, it may provide a degree of additional time and reproductive optionality.

What the evidence says about use rates

This is data that every patient considering egg freezing should understand: the majority of people who freeze their eggs never return to use them. Data from the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society (CFAS) shows that approximately 96% of frozen eggs are never utilized. There are many reasons for this — patients conceive naturally, their circumstances change, or they decide not to pursue pregnancy. It is worth noting that this figure reflects a still-maturing dataset — most patients who froze their eggs within this study period have not yet reached the stage where they intended to use them. Before you invest financially and physically, it is worth honestly assessing how likely you are to use those eggs and what value that option has for you.

To learn more about Egg Freezing at Pollin click HERE.

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Understanding Success Rates: The Numbers You Actually Need

Success rates in fertility medicine are frequently misunderstood. The most important question to ask any clinic is: success at what, exactly? 

Egg survival rate, fertilization rate, clinical pregnancy rate, and live birth rate are all different metrics. Always ask which metric is being quoted, for which patient population, and over what period.

What the evidence shows

For patients who do return to use their frozen eggs, age at the time of freezing is the strongest predictor of outcome. A 2024 systematic review found a live birth rate of 28% overall among women who returned to use their eggs, and 52% for women aged 35 or younger at freezing. A 2025 national database study confirmed a cumulative live birth rate of 28.9% among those who returned.

The majority of patients — approximately 88–90% — do not return to use their eggs within 5 to 7 years of freezing. This does not make egg freezing a failure. It means the value of egg freezing is the option it creates, not the outcome it guarantees.

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Who Should Consider Egg Freezing — And Who Might Not Need To

Egg freezing is not the right choice for every patient at every stage of life. A good fertility consultation should help you understand whether it makes sense for you — and should be equally comfortable helping you conclude that it doesn’t.

Alternatives worth knowing about

A thorough consultation should include all your options: natural conception, IUI, IVF with fresh eggs, embryo freezing, adoption, donor conception, or choosing not to pursue parenthood. None of these is right or wrong. They should all be part of an informed conversation.

Medical Risks: What You Need to Know 

Egg freezing is a medical procedure. Like all medical procedures, it carries risks. We believe patients should understand these clearly before deciding to proceed.

Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS)

The most significant risk is OHSS, which occurs when the ovaries over-respond to hormonal stimulation. Symptoms range from mild bloating to, in rare cases, a serious condition requiring hospitalization. Mild OHSS affects approximately 20–33% of patients across the industry. At Pollin, our rate of severe OHSS is less than 1%, which we believe reflects our close monitoring protocols and individualized stimulation approach. Your physician will discuss your individual risk profile before beginning treatment.

Procedural risks

The egg retrieval procedure is performed under sedation and is generally well-tolerated. Risks include bleeding, infection, and injury to surrounding structures, though these are uncommon when performed by experienced reproductive specialists.

Physical and emotional demands

Patients frequently describe the process as more physically and emotionally demanding than they anticipated. The stimulation phase involves daily self-administered hormone injections over 9 to 14 days, frequent monitoring appointments, and the physical effects of elevated hormone levels. Some patients experience mood changes, fatigue, bloating, and discomfort. We encourage you to speak honestly with your care team about your capacity and support system before beginning.

No guarantee of future pregnancy

There is no guarantee that frozen eggs will result in a pregnancy. Not all eggs survive the thaw. Not all thawed eggs fertilize successfully. Not all embryos develop to the blastocyst stage. Not all transfers result in implantation. Each step carries its own statistical probability, and outcomes are individual.

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The Real Cost of Egg Freezing: A Complete Breakdown

Every patient deserves to understand the complete financial picture before they commit. 

Cost above is reflective of the pricing at Pollin at the time of publishing, subject to change.

For a full, transparent pricing list of all Pollin services, click HERE.

Employee Benefit Plans

A growing number of employer benefit plans also include fertility treatments. Check with your HR department. Financing options are available — ask our patient care team.

The Standards We Hold Ourselves To

The Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society has published a 12-point evidence-based guideline for elective egg freezing consultations. We are committed to meeting all 12 points in every patient interaction. These include:

✓ Clearly communicating that there is no guarantee frozen eggs will result in a pregnancy

✓ Providing age-specific, evidence-based success rates from published literature

✓ Discussing the full financial costs including medications, storage, and future use

✓ Providing a complete overview of medical risks, including OHSS

✓ Discussing alternative family building options

✓ Being clear about the physical and emotional demands of the process

✓ Discussing the realistic likelihood of returning to use frozen eggs

✓ Providing information about storage timelines and limitations

If you ever feel that a Pollin appointment has not met this standard, we want to know.
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VIOLET™

Pollin offers VIOLET™ as an optional, separately priced ($495) add-on to the egg freezing cycle. It is an AI-assisted tool that provides a probability score for blastocyst development and potential future pregnancy outcome.

VIOLET™ is a decision-support tool that adds an additional data dimension to the embryology assessment process. It has not yet been validated through large-scale, independent controlled research studies. 

The science is evolving and shows genuine promise — but we will not overstate it. It is always optional, always separately disclosed, and should be discussed fully with your physician before deciding to include it.

To learn more about VIOLET™ click HERE.

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The Egg Freezing Process: Step-by-Step

•   STEP 1 — Initial Consultation (OHIP covered): A comprehensive appointment to review your history, discuss your goals, and determine whether egg freezing is right for you — including an honest conversation about alternatives.

•   STEP 2 — Testing & Ovarian Reserve Assessment: Blood tests and an antral follicle count ultrasound to assess your ovarian reserve and inform your protocol.

•   STEP 3 — Ovarian Stimulation (9–14 days): Daily hormone injections with monitoring appointments every 2–3 days. This phase requires significant time commitment and physical preparation.

•   STEP 4 — Egg Retrieval (15–20 minutes, under sedation): You will need someone to drive you home and should plan to rest for 24–72 hours. Some patients experience significant cramping and bloating.

•   STEP 5 — Vitrification & Storage: Mature eggs are frozen and stored on-site. Your embryologist will confirm the number of eggs frozen the following day.

•   STEP 6 — Follow-up & Next Steps: A post-cycle appointment to review results and discuss whether additional cycles are recommended, including a realistic assessment of your chances with the eggs banked.

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Why We Champion This Science

I want to close with something personal, because I think it matters for you to understand where we are coming from.

I had a baby because of fertility science. That is not a marketing line. It is the most important thing in my life, and it is the reason I am in this industry. The women and men on our team are here for the same reasons — many of them have their own stories, or have watched people they love navigate this journey. When I say we believe in this science, I mean it with everything I have.

I also stand here today wishing I had frozen more eggs. It is a feeling I did not fully anticipate, and one that many women my age share when they are honest about it. Biology moves faster than life often allows. And while I do not want anyone to make a fear-based decision, I do want every woman to make an informed one.

The patients who walk through our doors every day include a large number of women who wish they had frozen their eggs sooner. Not because anyone failed them, but because nobody made them fully aware. That gap in awareness is something Pollin has always seen as our responsibility to close.

Pollin will continue to be a champion for education and for the extraordinary capacity of science to level the playing field — to give more people more options when it comes to one of the most fundamental experiences of a human life. We will do that honestly, with the full picture, and with the belief that an informed patient is always the best possible outcome of any conversation we have.

Thank you for reading this. I hope it helps you make the decision that is right for you.

Melody Adhami CEO, Pollin Fertility

April 2, 2026

*This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute medical advice. Individual outcomes vary. All treatment decisions should be made in consultation with a qualified fertility physician. © 2026 Pollin Fertility.