Australian Women’s Knowledge of and Attitudes towards Non-Medical Oocyte Cryopreservation

Abstract

Aims: Infertility is a global public health issue, with one in six couples worldwide facing fertility issues. One technique to potentially combat this issue and preserve fertility is oocyte cryopreservation (egg freezing), which has previously been heavily researched among cancer patients. The present study focused on egg freezing for non-medical indications and aimed to determine which factors are associated with the decision to freeze eggs. Method: 514 participants aged between 18-44 years completed an online survey exploring knowledge of fertility, reproductive intentions and attitudes towards non-medical egg freezing. All factors were analysed descriptively. T-tests and Chi-Square analyses were also used to check for significant differences. Eighteen variables, identified as significant predictors of egg freezing in prior literature, were entered into a binary multiple logistic regression. Results: Overall, participants had poor knowledge of fertility with a mean score of 2.35/7 (SD= 1.31) on the adapted Swedish Fertility Awareness Questionnaire. Attitudes towards non-medical egg freezing were generally positive, with 61.3% of participants (N= 315) positively endorsing the procedure. Five variables were identified as predictors for the choice to undergo non-medical egg freezing: age, health of offspring, the importance of having children, having had a prior fertility consultation, and Medicare subsidisation. Conclusions: This study demonstrated an increasingly pressing need for targeted and effective fertility information. Future research, specifically examining the impacts of age and cost on the decision to undergo non-medical egg freezing in an Australian sample would be beneficial to determine if the results are replicable or the result of individual differences.