The price tag for a cycle of IVF using fresh donor eggs can run anywhere between $26,000 and $44,000, depending on the local market and whether an agent has been hired to find a donor. The cost rises quickly because everyone has to get paid, Dr. Shapiro said, including the donor, the agent, and the clinic performing the procedure.
In contrast, My Egg Bank North America "sells" its cycles to its affiliate practices for $16,500, which includes all the donor costs, vitrification, and technical assistance with the thawing of the eggs. Other egg banks also advertise the availability of frozen cycles at about half the cost of fresh IVF cycles.
And many of the banks offer some type of guarantee. For instance, at My Egg Bank, recipient patients are guaranteed two high-quality embryos. About 20% of patients don’t get two high-quality embryos so they are offered another cycle at no cost if no pregnancy results, Dr. Shapiro said. My Egg Bank also offers a program called "Frozen Egg Advantage," which offers a money-back guarantee when patients pay for five cycles. Patients either go home with a baby or get full reimbursement of treatment expenses at the end of five cycles.
"People sit down and they do a simple little [math]," he said. "They quickly come to the conclusion that a couple of cycles with us gives a higher cumulative likelihood of pregnancy than one fresh cycle any place else, and it still comes out less."
Convenience is another factor. Traditionally with fresh egg donation, both the egg donor and recipient would have to synchronize their cycles so that once the eggs are retrieved, they could be immediately fertilized and transferred. "When you have the possibility to freeze the donor eggs, then basically you can disconnect the egg donation from receiving those eggs," Dr. Nagy said.
That has the potential to take some of the uncertainty and stress out of the process for patients, said Barbara Collura, president and CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. She has heard first-hand from infertile women who have had to start over when their donor dropped out of the process.
"They pick out an egg donor, and then she gets into law school and her whole life changes and she’s no longer available," Ms. Collura said. "Those things happen and they sound very trite, but when you’re 38, 39, 40 and you’ve been at this already for several years, having the ability to use a vitrified donated oocyte and to be able to use that when you’re ready, is amazing."
Frozen egg banking also may offer women greater choice when it comes to choosing an egg donor. That’s another factor that is driving the increasing popularity of this option, said Ms. Hayes of Donor Egg Bank USA.
"Cost aside, the donor is the most important factor to them," she said.
It’s not just about numbers, Ms. Hayes said, it’s also about ethnic and racial diversity. With fresh donation, it can be difficult to match recipients with donors of certain ethnic backgrounds. With frozen donation, it becomes logistically easier for egg banks to spend time building a more diverse database. At Donor Egg Bank USA, they are working with an affiliate program in Hawaii with the hopes of getting more Asian donors into the bank.
"I think culturally there are some women of ethnic background that are less likely to donate eggs," Ms. Hayes said. "These recipients, they want a baby as much as any other couple does. You want your baby to mirror your family."
Despite the growing interest in select circles, general awareness of the frozen egg donation model is fairly low. Ms. Hayes said she thinks social media will help it get into the mainstream as more women talk online about their success with frozen donor eggs.
"The more women have babies, the more they’ll talk about it, and the more people will utilize a frozen egg as an option," she said.
*Update: This article was updated 1/30/2013.