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 – that costs Natalie £280 a year.
Away from her financial worries, Natalie says she underestimated the emotional toll.
“No little girl grows up going ‘I hope I get to freeze my eggs’. It’s something you do because of personal circumstances,” she says.
“You’re pumping your body full of hormones. I’m a scientist and I’ve worked in this area for a long time but I was shocked at how fatigued my body was and how emotional I felt.”
‘Why should I be punished?’
When Catherine Miller decided to freeze her eggs, she couldn’t have prepared herself for the outcome.
“I was only 35,” she says. “But I hadn’t imagined that my test results would be bad.”
Doctors told her she had only six months before egg collection would become near impossible and her chances of having a baby made much slimmer.
Without the money to do multiple rounds, likely needed to get enough eggs, she decided to take an “extreme step” and freeze fertilised embryos instead – giving her a better shot at motherhood later down the line.
Catherine, 38, who works as an education stakeholder manager at the British Council, spent £12,000 in total. That included £400 for initial tests, £250 for a consultation, £2,000 for medication, £1,200 for two vials of sperm and £7,000 for egg retrieval.
Catherine Miller
Knowing she had to act quickly and also aware of the number of restrictions placed on women looking to freeze their eggs on the NHS, Catherine chose to immediately seek treatment privately.
“NHS treatment for single women is not available in all areas and where it is, there are a number of restrictions,” Catherine, who pays £350 a year for embryo storage, says.
“I understand why egg freezing is becoming more popular but there is this element of it being something of a privilege and I definitely feel that. I couldn’t have done it if I didn’t have those savings.
“I have had people say to me I prioritised my career and chose to have these problems and it is very hurtful.
“There’s still that attitude in society that we did this to ourselves and therefore it is not an NHS issue, but I would counter that by saying my issues are medical. They are almost certainly caused by medical problems – why should I be punished for that?”
She’s also worried about the cost of raising a child alone.
“I hadn’t thought of becoming a single mum by choice and how that would impact my finances,” she says. “It was a big shock and it was very challenging.”
The process has also taken a toll on Catherine mentally: “I’ve done a lot of therapy over the years. It’s pretty essential when you’re dealing with the test results and needing to make very big life decisions.”
‘Small price to pay for peace of mind’
For actress Vanessa Vanderpuye, it was an endometriosis diagnosis that pushed her decision to freeze her eggs. She was 35.
“I started researching and realised the impact endometriosis can have on fertility,” she says.
In women with the disease, tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. It can cause severe pain in the pelvis and make it harder to get pregnant.
“After waiting so long to get an endometriosis diagnosis,” Vanessa, now 37, says, “I didn’t want to feel like I was constantly racing against the clock or risking my chances of having a family one day.”
Vanessa initially went through the NHS before choosing a private fertility clinic.
“There were days when I felt low, overwhelmed by the whole experience,” she says. “It felt like I was grieving the idea that having children might not be as easy as I once thought, especially seeing how easy it was for all my friends and family around me.”
Vanessa Vanderpuye
The process, which took about three weeks, cost her £3,900. She pays £350 a year to keep her eggs in storage.
“It’s a manageable cost, but it’s definitely something I had to plan for,” Vanessa says. “It’s a small price to pay for peace of mind. Knowing my eggs are there if I need them in the future gives me a sense of security that I wouldn’t trade.”
She adds: “There were moments where I thought, ‘can I afford this? Is this the right thing to do?’ but when I weighed the financial strain against the emotional and mental peace it would give me, I decided to go ahead with it.”
What more needs to be done?
More funding is needed when it comes to women’s fertility, according to Natalie.
“I think fertility is seen as an afterthought and that it’s nice to have rather than a need to have,” she says.
“Often if we can’t conceive it is an indication that something is wrong and it’s an indication that there is an underlying health issue.
“And often health conditions related to fertility are overlooked and the idea of going private is already a block.”
Amit Shah, consultant gynaecologist and co-founder of Harley Street clinic Fertility Plus, agrees that funding for female reproductive health is “certainly not enough”.
“As with so many other things with the NHS – there just isn’t enough funding,” he says.
“I work privately and it’s a business for me, but equally it is medicine and you do want people to benefit from healthcare and the advantages of modern healthcare. Why shouldn’t they?”
Dr Amit Shah from Harley Street clinic Fertility Plus
The best age to freeze eggs is from the late 20 to mid-30s, he says, but the “real test” is when you thaw the eggs before creating embryos.
“It is not all rosy and wonderful as you read in some places and it is not as disastrous as you read in some other places,” he says.
“Freezing eggs is always a plan B and you hope that you don’t have to trigger the plan. It’s almost a bit of a time travel.
“You are able to salvage something but don’t assume it will work. It may work or it may not work.”
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An NHS spokesperson told Sky News: “The NHS is rolling out women’s health hubs across the country – giving thousands more women access to specialist services for reproductive health in the community and increasing access to care for a range of conditions and issues including fertility.
“Decisions about eligibility are legally for local health commissioners to make based on the needs of their area’s population, while seeking to balance the competing demands on local NHS budgets.”