Egg-freezing on the rise for women in Spain, but cost and lack of awareness continues to be a barrier

MORE and more women in Spain are choosing to freeze their eggs to put off having children - but numbers are still low because few are aware the procedure exists, and the cost can be prohibitive, says an IVF specialist at a Spanish hospital.

Dr Carlos Simón from Madrid's Quirón hospital says he sees between two and three women a day in his surgery who are considering egg-freezing, and stresses that it is an option women 'really should think about' if they have not had children by the age of 30.

"It's a way of disassociating biological age and reproductive age," he explains.

A very 'easy and simple' procedure with few risks which lasts around two weeks, the only 'invasive' part is the operation to extract the eggs - carried out under sedation, rather than anaesthetic, and requiring just a one-night stay in hospital for observation purposes, Dr Simón says.

Firstly, women undergo an ultrasound and a gynaecological examination before being given a tailored hormone treatment to stimulate egg production.

This involves daily injections for between seven and nine days, which are given under the skin rather than intravenously or into the muscle, meaning the woman can do these herself easily at home.

She will need to pay several visits to the clinic in the meantime for the doctor to determine exactly when the eggs will be 'ripe' for harvesting.

When the woman eventually decides to undergo IVF treatment, using either her husband's or boyfriend's sperm or that of a donor, the chances of success are around 60%.

Women are advised to have their eggs frozen, if possible, before the age of 35.

They can do so at a later age, but the number and quality of eggs produced are likely to be much lower.

Spanish women are tending to put off having children because of finances and jobs, says Dr Simón.

With the financial crisis, it often takes them years to find a secure source of income after they finish their studies, and even longer to achieve career fulfilment.

This means it is much later before they can afford to leave home and rent or buy a property of their own.

Little or no State assistance is given to parents with dependant children unless they have at least three, or one or more of them is disabled, which can mean money is even more of a barrier to having children.

Before they realise it, they are in their 40s and finding they struggle to conceive, even with IVF.

US corporate giants including Apple have announced they will pay the costs of their female staff freezing their eggs, but this has been criticised in Spain as it suggests the company is holding them to ransom and effectively warning them that they have to choose between a family and a career.

Yet Apple employees say it is a practical solution, since many women simply are not ready to start a family when their career is just taking off and freezing their eggs means they have the choice of putting it off until they are mentally prepared.

Experts in Spain criticise the fact that gynaecologists do not talk to their patients about their biological clocks or the options they have if they have not firmly decided motherhood will never be in their plans.

For this reason, few women are aware that they can freeze their eggs and have them implanted at a later age.

The cost also puts many of them off - the process is normally in region of 2,000 euros, but then an extra 1,000 euros will be required on top for the hormone injections to ensure egg production is optimum.

And when the woman eventually decides to use her eggs, the remaining part of the IVF process brings a cost with it, meaning in total it can reach around 5,000 euros.