Your eggs.
Your timeline.
Your future.

Egg freezing (also known as oocyte cryopreservation) is a fertility preservation technique that involves retrieving eggs from your ovaries, freezing them, and storing them for future use. At Twig Fertility in Toronto and Vancouver, we use advanced vitrification technology to preserve your eggs until you’re ready to start your family. The process can take approximately 2 to 3 months from consult to completion. It begins with a consult and diagnostic testing, followed by a preparation month, an 8 to 12 day period of ovarian stimulation with injectable fertility medications, a short procedure to retrieve the eggs, and egg freezing and storage.

An egg freezing cycle at Twig is $8,600 in Toronto and $8,800 in Vancouver. That includes your initial egg freezing consult, dedicated care team, cycle coordination, all monitoring (bloodwork and ultrasounds), the egg retrieval procedure, egg freezing, your CHLOE™ OQ Report, and the first year of egg storage. Medications are billed separately (typically $4,000 to $7,000 depending on protocol). Ongoing cryostorage after the first year is $800/year in Toronto and $900/year in Vancouver. Ontario residents may also benefit from the Ontario Fertility Tax Credit, which covers 25% of eligible expenses. Full pricing is available on our pricing page.

From the start of stimulation medications to the egg retrieval procedure, most cycles run two to three weeks. From your initial consult to retrieval, plan for two to three months including testing and a priming month.

Egg quality and quantity decline with age, especially after 35. Many people choose to freeze their eggs in their late 20s or early/mid-30s; however, we welcome patients until age 43. Your fertility specialist will give you an individualized recommendation based on your age, AMH and history.

The egg retrieval process is done under conscious sedation, meaning that you are given pain medications through an IV for the duration of the procedure. You are also given IV medications that make you more sleepy and relaxed. These medications are not a general anesthetic, so you can expect to be aware and to feel pressure from the ultrasound during your procedure. The majority of people’s pain is very well controlled with these medications during their procedure. Afterwards, you can expect some cramping and bloating.

No. Egg freezing does not reduce your ovarian reserve or ‘use up’ any of your future eggs. The eggs that are retrieved in a cycle are those that would naturally have been lost during that menstrual cycle.

The quantity and quality of eggs decline over time, accelerating after the mid-30s. Eggs from older people have a higher chance of having chromosomal abnormalities, leading to lower pregnancy rates and higher risks of early pregnancy loss. For this reason, your fertility specialist may recommend freezing more eggs if you are older, in order to maximize your chances of achieving your future reproductive goals.

Egg freezing is for anyone who wants to preserve the option of biological children for later. Patients freeze eggs for career timing, partner timing, medical reasons (chemotherapy, surgery, gender-affirming care), or simply to keep options open. There is no single ‘right reason’ to freeze.

With modern technology, eggs can remain safely frozen for many years. Studies have shown that eggs frozen for over a decade can still result in healthy pregnancies. Your eggs are stored in our on-site cryostorage tanks with RI Witness electronic tracking and routine monitoring.

Once your eggs are retrieved, a Twig embryologist counts and then freezes them using vitrification. They are then stored in specialized tanks full of liquid nitrogen and can remain safely stored indefinitely until you are ready to use them.

Yes. Whether you have a hormonal or copper IUD, it will not interfere with your ability to freeze your eggs and it does not have to be removed. If you have a hormonal IUD and do not get periods, we will arrange for visits to the clinic to ensure you are starting your cycle at an optimal time.

The right number depends on your age and your goals, not a single target. As a general guide: under 35, 10 to 15 mature eggs make a solid starting reserve; from 35 to 37, around 15 to 20 or more gives good footing; and at 38 and older, we usually build toward 20 or more, often across more than one cycle. These are guideposts, not hard rules. Your specialist will tailor a number to your AMH, history, and goals. To estimate your own chance of a live birth by age and egg count, try our Egg Freezing Calculator, built on peer-reviewed data from Cobo (2016) and Doyle (2016).