Human Eggs Can Stay Fresh For Decades – So, Is Egg Freezing A Waste Of Money?

New Barcelona-based investigation released connected July 17, 2025, reveals why female reproductive cells past truthful long. This article discusses whether spending thousands connected freezing eggs is really worthy it.

A study published successful The EMBO Journal and reported by ScienceDaily connected July 17, 2025, has revealed that quality eggs deliberately slow down their soul “waste disposal” systems to enactment patient for decades. This energy-saving instrumentality appears to protect them from ageing and could alteration really we attack fertility treatments for illustration IVF.

“By looking astatine much than a 100 freshly donated eggs, nan largest dataset of its kind, we recovered a amazingly minimalist strategy that helps nan cells enactment pristine for galore years,” said Dr Elvan Böke, Group Leader astatine nan Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) successful Barcelona and lead writer of nan study.

The study collected complete 100 eggs from 21 patient donors aged 19-34 astatine Dexeus Mujer, a Barcelona fertility clinic, 70 of which were fertilisation-ready eggs and 30 still-immature oocytes. The investigation is nan largest-scale study of patient quality eggs collected straight from women.

Using unrecorded imaging and fluorescent probes, researchers discovered that mitochondria, proteasomes and lysosomes – nan cells’ “housekeeping” machinery – activity astatine 50 per cent of their normal rate. This reduced metabolic activity apt lowers nan accumulation of reactive oxygen type (ROS), which are known to harm DNA complete time.

This “standby mode” not only conserves power but appears to beryllium a earthy longevity hack. Eggs moreover eject lysosomes into nan surrounding fluid conscionable earlier ovulation, for illustration a “spring cleaning” to enactment fresh, said first writer Dr Gabriele Zaffagnini.

What astir ovum freezing?

Some ovum freezing cycles tin costs thousands of euros. But is it worthy it?

A abstracted study from nan Progress Educational Trust (PET), published successful 2022, asks precisely that. Egg freezing has been heavy marketed successful caller years arsenic an “insurance policy” for women wanting to hold pregnancy. But moreover salient fertility experts pass against over-promising results.

In nan report, Professor Robert Winston is cited slamming immoderate fertility clinics arsenic being “highly exploitative,” informing that nan thought of freezing eggs “is a scam” because it “almost ne'er leads to a successful birth.”

The study highlights these concerns, particularly fixed that freezing often happens later successful life erstwhile ovum value is already compromised. Some UK clinics person moreover launched “freeze and share” schemes wherever women tin get discounted freezing successful speech for donating eggs to others – a move seen by immoderate arsenic unethical.

While occurrence rates person improved since nan American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) removed nan “experimental” explanation successful 2012, they still stay comparatively low, particularly for women complete 35.

In 2015, nan Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology decided not to urge ovum freezing for patient women owed to wellness risks and debased gestation rates.

IVF supplements 

The caller Barcelona study whitethorn besides situation 1 of IVF’s astir communal practices – nan pushing of supplements to amended ovum health.

“Fertility patients are routinely advised to return random supplements to amended ovum metabolism, but grounds for immoderate use for pregnant outcomes is patchy,” said Dr Böke. “By looking astatine freshly-donated eggs we’ve recovered grounds to propose nan other attack – maintaining nan egg’s people quiet metabolism – could beryllium a amended thought for preserving quality.”

The researchers now scheme to analyse eggs from older donors and grounded IVF cycles to spot if these cellular energy-saving procedures weaken pinch age.

This find opens caller possibilities successful reproductive science, but it besides raises uncomfortable questions: If eggs tin enactment viable connected their own, are women being sold mendacious dream done costly ovum freezing? Should clinics beryllium legally required to people their occurrence rates clearly? And are women really being empowered, aliases conscionable emotionally marketed to?

A increasing number of women are turning to ovum freezing complete 40, erstwhile occurrence rates are known to beryllium lowest.

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View each articles by Letara Draghia.