THE‘actress Kristen Stewart She revealed that she froze her eggs because she might want children in the future. The sisters Khloé and Kourtney Kardashian they both did it at the age of 40, to feel in control of their lives. And then there’s the actress Emma RobertsJulia’s granddaughter, who was highly recommended just before the age of 30, when she was diagnosed with endometriosis. The list of famous witnesses of oocyte cryopreservation is now very long: putting the possibility of becoming a mother in the safe for when you are ready to be one mentally or physically, for example after having overcome an illness, is increasingly common among celebrities and beyond. But what does freezing eggs involve, who can do it and how?
How oocyte cryopreservation was born
First of all, the development of oocyte preservation techniques is at least partly due to Law 40/2004 on assisted fertilization, which before the changes that occurred following various rulings of the Constitutional Court prohibited the freezing of embryos. Therefore, many fewer inseminations were carried out the Centers found themselves having to manage many “excess” eggs obtained through ovarian stimulation: starting to freeze them was necessary, at first with not very efficient methods.
Then the so-called vitrification was developed, the standard technique still in use which involves ultra-rapid freezing at -196°C in liquid nitrogenensuring excellent survival of the eggs because no ice crystals form inside them.
Social egg freezing for everyone. Because society has changed, biology has not
It has therefore begun to be offered to young women diagnosed with diseases that can compromise the ovarian reserve (see box on this page). Then, given the efficiency of the technique, even healthy girls and women have started freezing their eggs, with the so-called social egg freezing.
Because society has changed, but biology has not: the best years for having a child remain between 20 and 30, maximum 35, however today it is increasingly difficult to have the economic, work and emotional stability for such a choice before having blown out 35 candles,
when the ticking of the biological clock becomes insistent but the quality of the eggs drops drastically.
It is not a guarantee of safe pregnancy
«However, freezing eggs is not an absolute guarantee that you will be able to have a child using them: success depends on the age at which the procedure is done and how many you can get» specifies Paola Anserini, director of the Center for Physiopathology of Human Reproduction at the San Martino Hospital in Genoa and president of the Italian Fertility and Sterility Society.
«It’s certainly better to do it by the age of 35, the ideal would be perhaps 25when few people think about it. You shouldn’t think about freezing your eggs to have children whenever you want: cryopreservation is not an alternative to getting pregnant at the “right” age, it’s just an additional possibility. Using eggs “banked” when young after the age of 40 reduces the risk of the child having diseases linked to alterations of the chromosomes, but does not eliminate obstetric dangers such as diabetes or high blood pressure during pregnancy, premature birth
or low birth weight.”
How much does egg cryopreservation cost?
Having cleared the field of the false myth according to which frozen eggs are a certainty of future pregnancy, it is still a an insurance that more and more women are choosing to take out: the demand for cryopreservation not linked to medical reasons has doubled in ten years, according to the latest data discussed at the end of 2025 in the Social Affairs Committee of the Chamber.
This is despite the fact that social freezing is entirely up to those who choose it. «The cost for a complete cycle of egg freezing, which includes ovarian stimulation, retrieval and the first phase of conservation, is between two and four thousand eurosbut it can go up to seven thousand in the case of personalized drugs or additional services” explains Mauro Cozzolino, specialist in Reproductive Medicine
and director of the Ivi Clinic in Bologna. «Often, to obtain an adequate number of oocytes, more than one stimulation cycle is needed,
therefore the final expense may increase. The cost of conservation in liquid nitrogen then varies from 150 to 400 euros per year.”
Egg storage for in vitro fertilization (IVF). Tube of eggs in cryogenic (frozen) storage.
The bill to make it free, as in France
The expense is not negligible. Also for this reason, in November 2025, bill 2287 was filed to make the free cryopreservation for women between 25 and 39 years oldfollowing what happens for example in France, where from 2021
those aged between 29 and 37 can freeze their eggs for free.
Then they exist companies that offer it as a benefit to employees: the first were Apple and Facebook over ten years ago. In Italy, Diesel recently did it, sparking much controversy. As Anserini underlines, «if it is not “blackmail” to force women to work, it is an opportunity». In fact, the offer of free cryopreservation by the company you work for does not
it must be a way to distance motherhood from the years in which a woman is most productive.
The parenting project at the right time
«Cryopreservation allows you to move the parenting project to when you feel ready. It not only changes biological perspective, but redefines how a woman can imagine the future. Furthermore, it should not be discussed only as an opportunity for those without a partner: it can be a choice shared as a coupleperhaps to postpone without having to give up in cases where the two people do not have the same vision” explains Cozzolino.
«Egg freezing changes the relationship with reproductive timecan give greater serenity in making important decisions without feeling the pressure of the biological clock. However, always remembering that it is not a guarantee of pregnancy, but a way to increase future chances.”
How oocyte cryopreservation works
Furthermore, the process for freezing is not trivial, Anserini points out: «For 15 days, hormonal injections for ovarian stimulationbut also checks through blood tests and transvaginal ultrasoundswhich cannot be programmed
too early but they are used to check the progress of the procedure and decide when to collect the eggs. Some discomfort goes
taken into account, you need to be motivated».
With stimulation, estrogen increases and water retention and swelling, pelvic heaviness, breast tenderness,
mood changes. The greatest risk is excessive ovarian stimulation, especially in younger women, which can lead to pain due to overly enlarged ovaries. However, they are manageable problems “and modern protocols are designed to minimize possible side effects” says Cozzolino.
Risks and complications
«Furthermore, it is good to dispel some false myths: there is no evidence that stimulation “consumes” the ovarian reserve, nor that it increases the risk of tumors. If anything daily injections, waiting and emotional involvement can be a significant psychological burden».
Egg retrieval is a simple procedure, complications (rare) can be pain or infections. Immediately following rapid freezing is a standardized technique, but there is still the possibility that some eggs may not survive.
«Another limitation is age-related efficacy: cryopreservation does not improve the quality of the oocytes, but preserves their characteristics at the time of collection” underlines Cozzolino.
Increase reproductive awareness
For this reason, if the aim is to try to increase the chances of having a child a little later in life, it is good to think about it in advance. As Anserini adds, «talk about cryopreservation It is especially important to increase women’s reproductive awarenessso that they understand how fertility changes over time and can decide better on their own maternity plan. Many, moreover, do not use the eggs they have frozen, because they get pregnant naturally».
This was confirmed by a study by the University of Los Angeles, according to which the number of those who cryopreserve eggs is increasing, while then, on average, only 6 percent use themwith a “peak” of 8 percent in those who froze them around the age of 40.
The point of giving to others
«This is also why it would be logical to think about campaigns to encourage the donation of frozen and unused eggs» Anserini points out. «Today we live the paradox of a clack of oocytes for assisted fertilization and the excess number of oocytes for self-preservation (which remain the property of the woman who freezes them for herself, ed.): of course, many more safety tests are performed on donated gametes than those that the woman “puts in the bank” for herself, but adequate paths could be built.”
He also hopes so the proposed law 2287, which would like to guarantee the freedom to decide the destination of one’s oocytesincluding donation.
