Besides Freeze Health’s current core customer, most women can’t afford to pay for the entire procedure, or even part of it unless they have it covered by their insurance plan. The industry is trying to tackle this issue and make egg freezing services attainable to all women, so there is more equality of choice in their futures. With egg freezing in such high demand, it is no surprise that companies like Freeze Health have emerged to guide women who are considering this procedure as they compare clinic pricing in their area. Freeze Health provides women with the resources to find the information they need when deciding where to get this service done. The company website shows the pricing of each clinic and whether or not they accept insurance. Freeze Health pulls information from a database run and monitored by the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) for clinics that offer this
syndrome. The side effects of these syndromes can include fatigue, nausea, headaches, abdominal pain, irritability, and tenderness. In severe cases, it can cause blood clots, shortness of breath, dehydration, vomiting to the point of hospitalization, and death. Although women freeze their eggs for potential use later in life, they may still get pregnant naturally without using their frozen eggs. According to Lannon, women don’t often come back for their eggs. However, there is no age limit to when you must use them. Lannon explains, “As long as the womb and those parts of the body are still working, it should be good. The main reason older pregnancies have risks involved is because of the age of the eggs themselves and the risks on that egg, like Down’s Syndrome. Usually with a younger egg that isn’t the case.” After attending many conferences on the topic, Lannon recalls a story about a woman in her fifties who used frozen eggs to start a family and had a healthy baby. Each pregnancy is different, and there are always risks, but egg freezing is meant to allow other options and safer pregnancies later in life; if that is what a woman decides. Each round of egg freezing costs between $10,000 and $12,000 with the majority of women needing to undergo three rounds of egg collection. On top of that, the average annual storage rate to keep them at freezing banks is $800. As of 2016, the American egg freezing industry brought in roughly $1.9 billion alone; a number that has only increased in the last two years. Lannon says that Freeze Health’s core customers are high-earning women,18 to 42 years old, who pay out-of- pocket. Lannon also says, “These women aren’t always freezing their eggs because they have a need to be mothers. Most are just freezing in case they want to be [mothers] later, but haven’t really thought about it.”
Illustration by Sarah Ditterline
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