Women reported freezing their eggs for reasons such as being single or not sure they were with the right partner.
There has been a 100% increase in the number of women wanting to freeze their eggs since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, claims a fertility nurse specialist.
Laura Hackett, of the Waterstone Clinic, told Newstalk Breakfast that in the past year they have seen a “huge increase” nationally in the numbers of women seeking the treatment.
The reasons for some women wanting to freeze their eggs include them being single or not sure they are with the right partner.
Hackett also believes the pandemic has had impact in that women are using the time they have now and the savings they may have accumulated to plan ahead.
Discussing the procedure, she explained: “What it really does is it takes that pressure off meeting someone. It’s so empowering.”
The process involves a woman being given hormones to boost their egg count.
Those eggs are then retrieved and stored in a cryo-freezer to return to when the time is right.
Hackett told the show it is more effective to have the proceedure done sooner rather than later.
She said: “If you freeze your eggs under 32 and had 20 eggs frozen, you’d have a 90% chance of having one live born baby from that. It’s a lot less if your 37, maybe a 40% chance.
“As we get up to 39, it’s less than 5%. It’s not worth freezing any more for the cost of it.”
The proceedure can cost between €3,500 and €5,500 depending on how many cycles are needed to collect 20 eggs.
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