When Natalie Getreu was 31, single and focused on her career, she decided to freeze her eggs.
She was able to save money on the process through her job – but it still set her back £5,300.
Natalie has joined the growing number of women who spend thousands of pounds to delay pregnancy by freezing their eggs – the fastest growing fertility treatment in the UK, according to the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority.
Its figures show that 4,657 women froze their eggs in 2022, up from 2,571 three years earlier – an increase of 81%.
The procedure – which involves collecting a woman’s eggs, freezing them and thawing them at a later stage so they can be used in fertility treatment – is not usually available on the NHS, unless you’re having treatment that affects fertility, such as chemotherapy or gender reassignment.
With limited NHS options, the chances of conceiving naturally falling with age, and women having children later in life, more are turning to private treatment – and facing hefty price tags and no guarantee of a successful pregnancy.
‘£2,000 on wasted medication’
The procedure didn’t go according to plan for Natalie, chief executive of the women’s health company Hertility.
Her first egg retrieval was hit by complications when her clinician called her panicked to tell her to stop hormone injections as scans showed her ovaries were overstimulated, putting her at risk of developing blood clots – or in rare cases, ovarian cysts.
“This meant I had spent £2,000 on medication that went to a wasted cycle,” Natalie, 34, from London, says.
“I had budgeted exactly for the round to go according to plan. But they don’t always go to plan.”
Without a spare £2,000 her options were limited, she says, but her parents were able to loan her the money: “I’m very aware how fortunate that was.”
Natalie Getreu
On top of the treatment costs, there is a fee for egg storage…
