Social freezing is intended to help people to postpone child planning without biological pressure. Here you can find out more about the scientific background as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the practice.
Social freezing, also known as egg vitrification, is a process in which a child’s ovaries are stimulated to produce larger numbers of eggs. These are then removed and cryopreserved, i.e. frozen. The frozen egg cells can be thawed later and used for fertilization if necessary to bring about a pregnancy. Social freezing can give people with uteri the opportunity to preserve their fertility if they plan to have children later in life.
Social freezing is allowed in Germany. So there are no legal obstacles that would stand in the way of practice. Nevertheless, it is also criticized.
Social Freezing: More equality?
In order to be able to mature several egg cells, people of childbearing age must undergo hormone treatment during social freezing. Ideally, about 30 egg cells should mature in this way. These are removed from the vagina and then shock frozen. The technology is said to bring two main advantages for people of childbearing age:
-
Relief for cancer patients: According to Deutschlandfunk, social freezing can be a great relief, especially for cancer patients. Because chemotherapy in particular can greatly reduce the fertility of those affected or even lead to infertility altogether. In such cases, people of childbearing potential could have their eggs frozen before starting treatment. If they survived the disease, they could still have children afterwards. This also applies to other diseases, such as rheumatological diseases.
-
More autonomy and self-determination: According to a scientific article from 2021, social freezing could contribute to gender equality. People of child-bearing age no longer have to align their lives with the “biological clock” if they want to have children, but also have the option of having children later in life. They are then freer in their life planning and can, for example, devote themselves longer to their self-realization, career planning or other life goals.
Social Freezing: Risks and Disadvantages
(Photo: CC0 / Pixabay / JuliaFiedler)
At first glance, social freezing offers people a lot of new freedom when planning children and life. But the technology is controversial and has some risks and disadvantages:
-
No Guarantee: According to Canadian scientists, social freezing does not guarantee a successful pregnancy or live birth. The older the person concerned, the lower the probability of becoming pregnant with social freezing. It is 90 percent for people of child-bearing age aged 34, but only 37 percent for 42-year-olds. According to ScienceDaily, the odds are significantly lower: they would be about 40 percent for people under 35 and just 15 percent for people over 40.
-
Side effects of hormone therapy: The hormonal stimulation that is necessary for the maturation of the egg cells can sometimes have serious side effects, as the Canadian researchers report. These include but are not limited to tiredness and fatigue, abdominal pain, confusion and irritability, and chest pain. In the worst case, the so-called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome can occur, which manifests itself in vomiting, blood clots and dehydration, among other things, and can even be life-threatening.
-
Cost: Social freezing is an expensive process. According to Deutschlandfunk, the cost of removing and freezing the egg cells in 2019 was around 4,000 euros. However, health insurance companies now cover part of these costs for patients with cancer. Healthy people must pay the amounts themselves. This could reinforce social inequalities. After all, the advantages of technology, such as more autonomy and self-determination, are reserved for only the upper class of society who can afford the practice.
-
Ethical issues: Social freezing is also controversial from an ethical point of view. According to a 2021 scientific article, there are fears that the technology will become more commercialized and that the free postponement of child planning will become a marketing strategy intended to increase the sales of individual companies. In addition, the technology could empower people, children only later to get in life. But even with social freezing, the probability of pregnancy decreases with age. It should also not be forgotten that late pregnancy entails higher health risks for both parent and child.
Whether social freezing makes sense in individual cases or not must always be decided individually. Get comprehensive advice in advance and weigh all the advantages and disadvantages based on this knowledge.
Read more on Techzle.com:
- Vegan diet and pregnancy – is that possible?
- Increase fertility: is it possible with home remedies?
- Cycle-based training: That’s what’s behind it