A photo posted by Sam Oh (@iamsamoh) on Oct 6, 2016 at 7:17pm PDT

MANILA – Egg freezing for fertility preservation has become increasingly popular among women aged 30 and above, particularly those who are single or in key stages in their careers.

But how exactly is it done, and how much does it cost?

Korean TV host Sam Oh recently had her eggs frozen at a clinic in Makati, and she shared a detailed story of her experience in her blog.

Explaining why she decided to do it, she wrote: “I’m 36, single, childless. It’s not a bad place to be but I’m starting to feel a little anxious about the baby situation because, while there’s encouraging literature out there that says data on the rapid decline in fertility rates among women in their 30s is questionable, I also didn’t know when my baby daddy was gonna show up and I wasn’t gonna sit around twiddling my thumbs.”

“I love children and I know that I want my own one day. Plus, I didn’t know what challenges I faced having never been pregnant before. It just felt right to cover as many bases as I can.”

Oh said it took 11 days to complete the process of harvesting nine eggs from her and storing them in a freezer until she is ready to have children.

She said the procedure cost her P130,600, which includes the one-year storage fee of P20,000. The annual storage fee for succeeding years is P11,200.

STEP BY STEP

Oh said the first step involves getting a blood test and a transvaginal ultrasound to check for sexually transmitted diseases as well as the state of her follicles and hormone levels.

She noted that the recommended time to do this is during the second day of the menstrual cycle.

After the tests, Oh said she was sent home with hormone injections and an ovulatory stimulant in pill form, which she had to take over the next four days.

She returned to the clinic on Day 5 for another transvaginal ultrasound to check how her body is responding to the injections and stimulant. Her doctor gave her a new hormone shot to be taken over the next three days.

Come Day 9, Oh had her third set of tests and scheduled their egg retrieval procedure. Two days later, she underwent the procedure, which took around 15 minutes.

A photo posted by Sam Oh (@iamsamoh) on Oct 1, 2016 at 7:22pm PDT

Recalling her experience, she wrote: “It felt like a much more intense transvaginal ultrasound in that it uses a similar probe but with a needle attached to it. I thought the local anesthesia (which was injected inside me at the retrieval site) would be the most painful part but I barely felt it. The retrieval itself was quite uncomfortable and there was some dull pain at times but it was nothing unbearable.”

“It sure gives me peace of mind to know that these eggs will be available to me if ever I’ll need them,” she ended.