Am I Too Young or Too Old to Freeze My Eggs?

If you want your egg quality to be like a Birkin, then when you freeze your eggs matters. You might be thinking, wait, my OBGYN didn’t say anything about this at my annual check-up. Well, they’re not being paid to handle your family planning for you.

Let’s face it ladies, the happily ever after fairytale of getting married and having kids by the time we’re 30 is a bit of an outdated concept. Your partner might not be ready, you might not actually like your partner or the swipes haven’t led to anyone you’d even consider raising a child with.

You might be 22, you might be 32, both ages are still peak fertility. Should you wait it out while Mercury seems to quite literally always be in retrograde, or take some steps sooner rather than later?

Egg freezing presses pause on our fertility when we’re young and we have not only more eggs but also healthier eggs.

Here are the best times to do it.

Optimal Age Windows for Egg-Freezing

BEST: Mid- to Late 20s (about 25 to 27)

It’s good to be young — especially when you’re an egg. Your eggs are in top shape in your 20s.

• Egg Quality: Women in their mid- to late 20s have the highest-quality eggs. The chance of genetic abnormalities is lower, making these eggs ideal candidates for freezing. This improves their chances of having a healthy pregnancy later on.
• Egg Quantity: Women in this age range tend to have a higher number of eggs available for retrieval in a single cycle, making the process potentially more successful and cost-effective.
• Good to Know: Eggs frozen before age 35 have a higher chance of resulting in successful pregnancies. Women who freeze their eggs in their 20s and early 30s often need fewer cycles to retrieve a sufficient number of healthy eggs.

NEXT BEST: Early 30s to 37

You’re more settled in work and in life. You might be married, partnered, or happily single.

Egg Quality: Egg quality starts to decline after 35, but freezing eggs in your mid-30s can still produce eggs that can result in a healthy pregnancy. This age window is a common choice for women who may not have considered egg-freezing earlier or who want to delay childbearing for a few more years. (1)

• Egg Quantity: Most women can still produce a decent number of eggs per cycle in this window, but it may take multiple cycles to retrieve the number of eggs you want.
• Good to Know: For women who aren’t quite sure about having children in the near future but still want options, their early to mid-30s is a practical time to consider egg freezing.

LAST: Late 30s to 40

It’s not too late to freeze your eggs just yet — but you’re getting closer than before. You know who you are and what you want. If being a mom is one of those things, now’s the time to pull the trigger.

• Egg Quality: By age 40, egg quality decreases way more dramatically, bumping up chances of genetic abnormalities.
• Egg Quantity: Fewer eggs are typically retrieved per cycle the older we get.
• Good to Know: Freezing eggs after 40 can be possible, but success rates decline. For women approaching 40, some fertility specialists may recommend freezing embryos instead of just eggs—especially if they have a partner or are open to using donor sperm. This can increase the chances of a future pregnancy since embryos (especially ones that have undergone genetic testing) have higher success rates than eggs. (2)

Whatever your age and stage, Lushi is here to guide you every step of the way. Schedule a consultation with a Lushi specialist today.