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Review article: Biomedical intelligence

Vol. 143 No. 0910 (2013)

Social freezing in Switzerland and worldwide – a blessing for women today?

  • Dorothea Wunder
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4414/smw.2013.13746
Cite this as:
Swiss Med Wkly. 2013;143:w13746
Published
24.02.2013

Summary

This is a critical review of the medical, ethical, judicial and financial aspects of the so called “social freezing”, the cryopreservation of a woman’s oocytes for non-medical purposes. The possibility of storing the eggs of fertile women in order to prevent age-related fertility decline is being widely promoted by fertility centres and the lay press throughout the world.

Research data has shown that social freezing should ideally be performed on women around 25 years of age in order to increase their chances of a future pregnancy. In reality, it is mostly performed after the age of 35.

Unfortunately, social freezing is in general not a solution for the underlying societal problems to fit in with professionally active women and having children. It only delays the existing problems. Furthermore, it creates a lot of potential new problems. A great deal more should be undertaken to offer real solutions to the underlying societal problems which are in part: pre-school education, care in the event of childhood illness, and the many weeks of school holidays, acceptance of professionally active women having children, and more job offers with a workload <100%.). Furthermore, society should be informed about the decreasing chances of pregnancy with increasing maternal (and paternal) age as well as the increasing risks of miscarriage and obstetric/neonatal complications.

Detailed information for woman considering social freezing is crucial. Every doctor, proposing social freezing to his patients, should be up to date with all these details. Follow-up studies on the outcome of these children are needed.

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