Record number of women had eggs frozen last year at UZ Brussel
“In 2022, more than two hundred women will freeze their eggs in UZ Brussel, fifty more than the year before. Such a big jump has never been seen before,” says fertility expert Michel De Vos to BRUZZ.
Michel De Vos is professor of fertility diagnostics and fertility treatments and doctors at UZ Brussel. Last year he not only saw a growth in the number of women who freeze their eggs, but also a rejuvenation of the public: “Awareness is growing, partly due to media attention, that the eggs of young women are better qualified for a pregnancy than those of women who are somewhat older.”
Last year, 322 treatments were performed, which is about 1.3 treatments per woman. This means that certain women underwent several courses, but that the total would be about 200 women.
The treatment consists of a two-week course of hormones, which runs during the period between menstruation and ovulation. Normally, at ovulation, one egg cell descends to become a fruit, but the cure activates several eggs. After the cure, the eggs are removed under local anesthesia to be frozen, an average of ten eggs.
“Women who opt for the treatment often have a desire to have children, but are not yet in the desired situation to become pregnant, for example, they do not yet have a stable relationship. Other women are not yet sure they want children, but want to open the option for the future,” says Professor De Vos.
A whole enterprise
“The treatment is quite an undertaking on a physical level, but it also has a cost of 2000 to 3000 euros. If the government does not intervene, the full amount will be charged to the patient.”
According to Professor De Vos, this is partly because there is still no evidence that the treatment leads to more children in the long term: “Many of the eggs that are frozen with us will eventually not be thawed for use, only 10 to 15 percent. Often they remain a plan B, to which women ultimately do not switch.”