‘It takes the pressure off’: Why more single women are freezing their eggs

A woman who froze her eggs because she was struggling to find a partner is among a surging number of single women taking action to safeguard their fertility.

Hannah, 34, who did not want her real name used, told The Independent said she had been single since 2018 but felt “very relieved” since freezing her eggs in August 2021 as she no longer feels she has to “rush” the dating process.

It comes as new figures reveal the number of women opting to freeze their eggs in the UK has hit record levels, while more single people are choosing to undergo IVF.

Research from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HEFA) found more than 4,000 patients chose to freeze their eggs in 2021 – a substantial rise from around 2,500 in 2019. The rise means egg and embryo freezing is now the most rapidly growing fertility treatment in the UK.

Egg freezing and thawing costs an average of between £7,000 and £8,000, while a single cycle of IVF can cost over £5,000, making it out of reach for many.

PhD student Hannah, who has undergone three rounds of egg collections, opted to do the “freeze and share” programme at London Egg Bank. This meant she only paid £160 to get her eggs frozen in exchange for her donating some of her eggs.

She said while she could have afforded to pay the full cost of treatment herself, it would have wiped out her life savings, so egg-sharing was the more viable option.

Hannah said freezing her eggs made her feel like she has given herself “another five years to find someone” she wants to have children with or to make sure she’s in a more financially secure situation.

“It makes the dating process more enjoyable. I can go on a date when I’m up for dating, rather than feeling I have this pressure,” she said.

“It feels like you are taking a bit more control than what you get through Bumble or another dating app. It is giving me more time and more options to meet the right man. I’ve had some bad experiences with men.”

She has so far frozen 20 eggs and donated 18, which will go to women who can’t use their own for IVF, and she is considering donating more.

Hannah said it “didn’t bother” her that her eggs would be used to conceive children for other people, explaining: “It seemed like a nice thing to do if anything.”

She said she hadn’t had many side effects in terms of her physical or mental health from the egg-freezing process.

“One day I was quite sad, the next day I was quite horny,” Hannah recalled.

Julia Chain, chair of the HFEA, said of the rise in donors: “Overall, the new HFEA report paints a promising picture. It shows treatment numbers are back at pre-pandemic levels and thanks to improved clinical and laboratory practice, over time pregnancy rates are increasing.

“Despite the pandemic being declared officially over, the aftershocks are still being felt as delays across other areas of healthcare prevent some patients accessing fertility services.”

Dr Kamal Ahuja, the scientific director of London egg bank, told The Independent: “The long-running freeze and share programme is regulated and applicable for women who wish to help someone else who needs eggs to achieve a pregnancy while at the same time benefiting from the free storage of their own eggs.”

*Name changed to protect her identity