Egg freezing in Goa: who considers it, the steps and the honest limits

Pai Hospital is registered as a Level 2 ART clinic under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 (Reg. No. GA/AC/2022/12689/L2/South Goa/02, valid to 14 January 2030).

What is egg freezing?

In egg freezing, a woman's own eggs are collected from her ovaries and frozen by a rapid method called vitrification, then stored in liquid nitrogen. Later, when she is ready for a pregnancy, the eggs are thawed and fertilised with her husband's sperm, and an embryo is placed in the womb. The eggs stay at the age at which they were frozen, even as the woman gets older. That is the whole idea: it keeps some of today's eggs for later.

Who considers egg freezing?

• A woman who wants children one day, but not yet, because of work, studies or her personal situation.
• A woman about to start cancer treatment. Chemotherapy or radiotherapy can damage the ovaries. If there is time and her cancer doctor agrees, eggs can be collected and frozen first.
• A woman who needs surgery on her ovaries, for example for cysts or endometriosis, which can lower the egg reserve.
• A woman with a low egg reserve found early, or a family history of early menopause, who is not ready for a pregnancy yet.

For a married couple who are already going through IVF, freezing embryos rather than eggs is often discussed. The doctor explains which suits you.

Why does age matter so much?

A woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have, and the reserve shrinks with time, faster from the mid to late thirties. Age also affects egg quality: as a woman gets older, more of her eggs carry chromosome errors, which slows conception and makes miscarriage more likely. Eggs frozen at a younger age generally keep a better chance than eggs frozen near forty. So, if you are thinking about it, an earlier conversation gives you more choice. Read how age affects fertility.

How many eggs can you expect?

It depends mainly on your age and your egg reserve. Before you start, an AMH blood test and an ultrasound count of the small resting follicles in each ovary (the antral follicle count, AFC) give the doctor a rough idea of how your ovaries may respond. Read what a low AMH means.

A woman with a good reserve may have several eggs collected in one cycle. With a low AMH, fewer eggs are expected, and more than one cycle may be discussed. Not every egg collected is mature enough to freeze, and not every frozen egg survives thawing, fertilises and grows into an embryo. The doctor explains what is realistic for you after your tests. Nobody can promise a number in advance.

What are the steps of egg freezing?

1. The first consultation and tests. At the hospital: a vaginal ultrasound scan with the antral follicle count, an AMH blood test, and blood tests for infections such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
2. Day 2 of your period: the baseline scan. The scan checks that the ovaries are quiet. If all is well, the first stimulation injection is given that day, and a nurse shows you how to continue at home.
3. About 8 to 12 days of injections and scans. A stimulation injection every day helps several follicles grow together, and short scan visits every day or two follow their growth. If too many follicles grow, the dose is lowered or the plan changed, because an over-response can cause ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Warning signs are tummy swelling or pain, feeling sick or vomiting, passing very little urine, or breathlessness: if any of these happen, call the hospital at once.
4. The trigger injection. When the follicles are mature, the trigger injection completes the ripening of the eggs. It is timed to the hour, because egg collection is planned for about a day and a half later.
5. Egg collection. A short day-care procedure under light anaesthesia, guided by the vaginal scan, with no cuts and no stitches, done in the hospital's operating theatre. After a few hours of observation you go home the same day.
6. Freezing. In the laboratory, the mature eggs are frozen by vitrification on the same day and stored.

These steps are the first half of an IVF cycle. Read how long IVF takes, step by step.

What happens when you want to use the eggs?

When you are ready for a pregnancy, the eggs are thawed in the laboratory and fertilised with your husband's sperm by ICSI, in which a single sperm is injected into each egg. The embryos are grown in the laboratory, and one is placed in the womb in a prepared cycle, in the same way as a frozen embryo transfer. Read what a frozen embryo transfer involves.

What are the honest limits?

• It is a chance, not a certainty. Frozen eggs keep a chance for later. Not every egg survives thawing, fertilises and becomes an embryo, and an embryo may not implant.
• The number of eggs matters. With few eggs frozen, the chance later is smaller, which is why the doctor discusses whether more than one cycle makes sense for you.
• Age at the time of pregnancy still matters. A pregnancy later in life carries higher risks, such as high blood pressure and diabetes in pregnancy, and needs closer care.

What does egg freezing cost?

The fee for egg freezing, including the medicines, the egg collection and the storage, is explained at the consultation, after your tests and before you start. The fees for IVF and the other fertility treatments are on the fertility fee list.

Getting started

Consultations are held in Panjim, Margao, Mapusa and Vasco; all the scans, the egg collection and the freezing are done at the hospital at Vaddem, Vasco-da-Gama. Call or WhatsApp us and send any reports you already have, such as an AMH result or a recent scan. This guide is by the Pai Hospital Team.

Your questions

Or call +91 95185 02773

This page is for general education and is not personal medical advice. Treatment depends on your own examination and reports, so please speak to a doctor about your situation. We do not carry out or offer sex determination of any kind.