Egg Freezing Success Rates at Santa Monica Fertility Clinic

When choosing a fertility specialist to freeze your eggs, you should be aware that approximately 90% of clinics offering egg freezing have never published birth rates from frozen eggs and likely have no live births or only a some from egg donors who are women in their early 20’s and not the best reference for the average woman freezing eggs who is typically in her late 30’s.

At EFC, our published live birth rate from vitrified eggs is over 45% per embryo transfer. This rate is among the highest in the country. Our results are regularly submitted for peer-reviewed publications and have been awarded research prizes at major scientific conferences.

The following should be considered when comparing the success rates of fertility centers offering egg freezing services:

How many live births from frozen eggs does the clinic have? Are these from egg donor eggs or from women in their 30’s? Were the births from eggs frozen at the clinic or elsewhere?

As noted above, many fertility clinics are offering egg freezing without any demonstration that live births have resulted from eggs frozen at their facility. Until recently, egg freezing was considered experimental an even today there are less than 500 births from frozen eggs retrieved from women over 35. You should ask how many babies have been born at that particular clinic and whether the births were from donor eggs or women in their 30’s. You should ask to see the actual publication to verify – be a smart patient and consumer.

Is the success rate a clinical pregnancy rate or a live birth rate?

Clinical pregnancies are early pregnancies that can be miscarried at a rate of 15% or more. The live birth rate is defined as the birth of at least one live infant—the desired goal of egg freezing—and is not subject to miscarriage adjustment. Thus the live birth rate per embryo transfer is the most meaningful rate of comparison.

How many embryos are being transferred per pregnancy attempt?

The more embryos transferred, the higher the chance of pregnancy. However, transferring an excessively high number of embryos (more than four) can also lead to triplets and quadruplets, which are considered high-risk pregnancies. Most leading centers in the field transfer an average of 2-3 embryos per procedure.

Are the reported pregnancy rates derived from frozen donor eggs or from the patient’s own eggs?

Pregnancy rates from donor eggs represent the highest possible rates, because the eggs come from women in their twenties. Reporting pregnancy rates based on egg donors falsely overestimates the rates of women in their thirties or forties using their own eggs.

Be informed about success rates. Ask the right questions.