Frozen Eggs Are Hot

Scott LaFee
Tue, 18 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0800
Lifestyle

More American women than ever are freezing their eggs in anticipation of future use, but very few ever return to thaw those eggs in hopes of getting pregnant.

The number of planned elective oocyte cryopreservation, or egg-freezing, cycles across the country nearly quadrupled between 2014 and 2021, from 4,153 to 16,436, reports Rewire News Group, but only 5.7% of those women returned to use their frozen eggs for in vitro fertilization within the study's follow-up period of five to seven years.

The peer-reviewed study out of the University of California, Los Angeles, published in American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, also reported that women are starting to freeze their eggs younger. The average age of elective oocyte retrieval patients declined from 36 years in 2014 to 34.9 years in 2021. Return rates for use were highest among patients who were older when they froze their eggs. Among people who froze their eggs between ages 38 and 42, roughly 8% returned to use them.
Updated: Wed Nov 19, 2025

More American women than ever are freezing their eggs in anticipation of future use, but very few ever return to thaw those eggs in hopes of getting pregnant.

The number of planned elective oocyte cryopreservation, or egg-freezing, cycles across the country nearly quadrupled between 2014 and 2021, from 4,153 to 16,436, reports Rewire News Group, but only 5.7% of those women returned to use their frozen eggs for in vitro fertilization within the study's follow-up period of five to seven years.

The peer-reviewed study out of the University of California, Los Angeles, published in American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, also reported that women are starting to freeze their eggs younger. The average age of elective oocyte retrieval patients declined from 36 years in 2014 to 34.9 years in 2021. Return rates for use were highest among patients who were older when they froze their eggs. Among people who froze their eggs between ages 38 and 42, roughly 8% returned to use them.

The average age a woman in the U.S. gets pregnant for the first time is 27 years old, with the overall average age for all births at 29.6 years. The average age for a woman getting pregnant through IVF is 36.4 years old.

Body of Knowledge

Up to 50% of a hand's grip strength is due to the pinky finger. It's not so much about direct force as the pinky finger's contribution to stabilization and balance, working with the thumb and index finger to maximize grip lock.

Get Me That, Stat!

Food insecurity — the condition of not having access to sufficient food or food of adequate quality — is growing in the U.S. The most recent data from 2023 shows that nearly 13.8% of Americans experience food insecurity, up from 12.8% in 2022.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently canceled its annual food insecurity survey, which tracked how many Americans are struggling to put food on the table. It called the 30-year-old survey "redundant, costly, politicized and extraneous."

Counts

27,000: The cost of a family plan on employer-provided health insurance in 2025, in dollars, after premiums spiked at more than double the rate of inflation (Source: Kaiser Family Foundation)

Stories for the Waiting Room

A measles outbreak earlier this year in West Texas and surrounding states sickened more than 760 people and killed two young children. Ninety-three percent of those who became infected were unvaccinated.

Doc Talk

Keratosis pilaris: A common and harmless skin condition characterized by small, rough bumps on the skin. It's caused by an overgrowth of the protein keratin, which blocks hair follicles and leads to the formation of bumps. Informally, the condition is sometimes known as "chicken skin" — presumably the plucked version, since the presence of feathers would signify an entirely different dermatological problem.

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Best Medicine

Personal trainer to a small group of newcomers: "Welcome to Joe's Gym. Let's start by saying why each of us is here today."

First person: "I'm here to lift weights and become stronger."

Secon person: "I'm here to lose weight and become thinner."

Third person: "I'm here to eat pizza later and become happier."

Observation

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Medical History

This week in 1979, artificial blood was first used in a patient by transfusion at the University of Minnesota hospital. The patient was a Jehovah's Witness, who had refused a transfusion of real blood because of his religious beliefs.

Ig Nobel Apprised

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Self-Exam

Q: Which is the largest gland in the human body?

A) Thyroid

B) Liver

C) Pineal

D) Pancreas

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Epitaphs

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