Maya froze her eggs during a major life transition, knowing she wanted children but not yet knowing when. When she eventually met her partner and decided to start a family, they returned to Illume Fertility and used those frozen eggs. This is her story, from the initial decision to pursue egg freezing all the way to that longed-for positive pregnancy test.
In this article:
Note: Names have been changed to protect patient privacy.
Many fertility stories end after one chapter: egg freezing or the journey to pregnancy. Maya's story tells both — the courageous decision she made for her future self, and what happened when that future finally arrived.
In 2023, Maya found herself at a crossroads. As her long-term relationship was ending, she was in her late 30s and clear-eyed about what she wanted next. "I’d always wanted kids," she says. "But the circumstances were never quite right, and I knew that I wanted to give myself the option to have kids later on."
For her, egg freezing became a decision rooted in self-awareness rather than fear.
She started researching her options and discovered that her employer’s fertility benefits included Illume Fertility as an in-network provider. She reached out to Illume, booked an initial consultation with Dr. Alexander Kucherov, and set the process in motion.
Egg freezing (also known as oocyte cryopreservation) is a process that allows a person to preserve their eggs at their current age for potential use in the future. Because egg quality and quantity naturally decline over time, freezing eggs earlier in life can improve the chances of a successful pregnancy later on.
An egg freezing cycle typically begins with ovarian stimulation: for around 10 to 14 days, the patient self-administers hormone injections to encourage the ovaries to produce multiple mature eggs – rather than the single egg usually released during a natural menstrual cycle.
During this time, the patient's care team monitors their progress through regular blood draws and ultrasounds.
Once the eggs are mature, a short outpatient retrieval procedure is performed under anesthesia, and the eggs are then flash-frozen using a specialized technique called vitrification, which prevents ice crystals from forming and preserves the eggs' integrity.
For Maya, initial fertility testing revealed a low ovarian reserve, meaning her body had a smaller supply of eggs than average for her age. This made the decision to freeze them sooner rather than later all the more important.
After discussing these findings with Dr. Kucherov, she completed two egg retrievals in 2023, ultimately freezing seven eggs across both cycles.
What is ovarian reserve?
Ovarian reserve refers to the quantity and quality of eggs remaining in the ovaries. It is typically assessed through an antral follicle count (AFC) via ultrasound and a blood test measuring anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH).
A lower ovarian reserve doesn't make pregnancy impossible, but it does mean that each retrieval may yield fewer eggs, which is why some patients choose to do multiple cycles.
It's one of the first questions people ask after learning about egg freezing, and one of the hardest to get a straight answer on. The honest answer is: it depends — mostly on age.
Most reproductive endocrinologists recommend aiming for 8–15 mature eggs to give yourself the best chance at one live birth. But that range isn't one-size-fits-all.
Research published in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics found that women under 35 need roughly 9 mature eggs to achieve a 70% chance of at least one live birth — and that women in their mid-to-late 30s may need roughly double that number for the same odds.
Here's why the numbers shift with age: egg quality declines over time, meaning a higher percentage of eggs retrieved from older patients may not survive the thaw, fertilize successfully, or develop into viable embryos. Retrieving more eggs earlier gives you a larger pool to work with when you're ready to use them.
At Illume Fertility, your care team will walk you through what a realistic target looks like for you specifically, based on your age, your antral follicle count, and your family-building goals — before you start, not after.
The egg freezing process isn't just a medical undertaking.
For many people, the hormone fluctuations, the uncertainty, and the emotional weight of it can feel like a lot to carry. Knowing this, Maya was deliberate about building a support system around her that addressed the whole picture, not just the clinical side.
Some of the things she found most helpful:
She worked with a fertility-focused acupuncturist at Illume during both retrieval cycles, a practice she found grounding amid the physical and emotional demands of her hormone protocol.
To reduce stress levels during her egg freezing cycles, Maya turned to the Mindful IVF app, which offers guided meditations tailored to each stage of the fertility journey. She continued using the app throughout treatment, finding it especially useful during the anxiety-filled periods of waiting involved in both the egg freezing and IVF process.
Note: Illume Fertility also offers a referral network of fertility-focused mental health professionals for those interested in ongoing support.
The cost of egg freezing was another reality she had to face head-on. Fertility medications alone can run into thousands of dollars, and that is before accounting for monitoring appointments and the retrieval procedure itself.
Maya discovered Future Family, a lending program that offers low- to no-interest loans specifically for people pursuing elective egg freezing, covering both treatment and medications.
This is the kind of resource that doesn't always come up in the initial conversations about fertility preservation, but for many people, it's what makes the decision financially possible.
Explore your financing options for fertility treatment on our Finance Hub.
Maya also credits Illume Fertility's 360-degree care model as a key reason the experience felt manageable (rather than overwhelming):
"You have your nurse to guide you on the medical protocol, a patient navigator to book appointments, and a financial coordinator to keep track of insurance and payments," she says. "It made the whole process very straightforward and easy to navigate."
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When Maya met her partner, Adam, the two knew fairly early on that they wanted to start a family together. They tried to conceive on their own for about a year. When that wasn't successful, they made the decision to utilize Maya's previously frozen eggs.
It was exactly the scenario egg freezing is designed for: circumstances change, time passes, and having those eggs in reserve meant Maya and Adam had a real option available to them. They returned to Illume and to Dr. Kucherov to take their next step.
Of the seven frozen eggs, six were successfully thawed and fertilized through in vitro fertilization (IVF). Two resulting embryos were biopsied, with microscopic samples sent out for preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), a process that screens embryos for chromosomal abnormalities before transfer.
Only one embryo was deemed chromosomally "normal." But as the couple would soon learn, a single healthy embryo is sometimes all it takes!
When using previously frozen eggs, the IVF process picks up where retrieval left off.
The thawed eggs are fertilized with sperm in the lab through a procedure called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), where a single sperm is injected directly into each egg. The resulting embryos are monitored over several days as they develop.
Why do frozen eggs require ICSI?
The freezing and thawing process hardens the outer shell (zona pellucida) of the egg, making it difficult for sperm to penetrate the egg on their own. Because ICSI bypasses the obstacle of that tougher outer shell, it typically leads to higher fertilization rates.
Yes! Embryos can be tested through preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) to identify chromosomally normal ones, which improves the likelihood of a successful transfer and reduces the risk of miscarriage.
A frozen embryo transfer (FET) then places a single embryo into the uterus, typically after the recipient has been primed with hormone medications to support optimal implantation.
"I knew that with my age and the number of eggs retrieved, the odds were against me," Maya admits. She went into the transfer process well aware of the statistics but equally committed to doing everything within her control to support a good outcome.
When embryo transfer day arrived, Maya was glad she'd scheduled laser acupuncture (both before and after the procedure). "It was very cool," she says. "It helped me relax!" As she learned throughout her fertility journey, all the seemingly small things add up when you're trying to stay grounded in moments that carry a great deal of weight.
In September 2025, Maya had her first embryo transfer. Around 9-10 days later, she got the best news: the transfer of that one precious embryo had worked! She was finally pregnant.
Maya and Adam are now expecting their first baby at the end of May 2026. The couple have chosen to keep the baby's gender a surprise, and they are looking forward to meeting their little one when the time comes.
Reflecting on her journey, Maya is candid about the moments of doubt, the financial planning required, and the patience it took to wait years between freezing her eggs and eventually using them. But she is equally clear about how she feels about all of it now.
"I'm so glad I chose to freeze my eggs," she says. "And I'm very grateful to everyone at Illume for where I am now. Dr. Kucherov has been such a delight to work with, and I can’t recommend him and Illume enough."
Maya’s story is a reminder that egg freezing isn't simply a medical procedure performed in isolation. It can be the first chapter of a much larger story: a decision made in one season of life that quietly holds open a door for the next.