What are fertility preservation options?

Fertility preservation is about protecting options for the future. These services collect and store eggs or embryos while egg quality is higher, or use medical strategies that reduce the impact of illness or treatment on fertility. The aim is simple: give you more choices later, when timing, partnership, health, or life circumstances are a better fit.

What preservation can include

Egg freezing stores unfertilized eggs for future use. It mirrors the first part of IVF: stimulation, egg retrieval, and freezing.

Embryo freezing creates embryos with a partner’s or donor sperm and freezes them for later transfer.

Ovarian tissue freezing stores small pieces of ovarian tissue for reimplantation in select situations, often considered when time is short before medical treatment.

Protective strategies during treatment include moving the ovaries out of a radiation field or using medications chosen by oncology and fertility teams to help reduce treatment impact on ovarian function.

Sperm freezing is often part of family planning for male partners, especially before medical treatments.

When people consider preservation

Many choose it because they are not ready to try now but want a plan for later. Others are preparing for chemotherapy or pelvic radiation, planning surgeries that could affect ovarian reserve, managing endometriosis, or have a strong family history of earlier menopause. Preservation is also part of gender-affirming care for many people planning hormone therapy.

What to expect

Egg and embryo freezing are usually completed over two to three weeks. You will have several monitoring visits, a short outpatient egg retrieval under light anesthesia, and then storage of eggs or embryos. Clinics often use an antral follicle count ultrasound with hormone testing to estimate how many eggs you may retrieve in a cycle and how many cycles you might need to reach your target. Preservation increases the chance you will have usable eggs or embryos later, but it does not guarantee a future pregnancy. Age at freezing and the number banked are two of the biggest drivers of later success.

How to decide what is right for you

A brief consult with a clinic helps set expectations around targets, timelines, cost, and support during the process. Online calculators can offer ballpark ranges for eggs needed, but your plan should reflect your own data and how you respond to medication. Think of preservation as an options tool, not a promise.

Where Strawberry fits

Before you decide when to preserve fertility or how many cycles to plan, it helps to understand your starting point. Strawberry’s at-home panels give you lab-grade context without the clinic runaround, and every member receives a Personalized Fertility Timeline that turns results into next steps. Collection is simple with our virtually painless upper-arm device. Day 3 testing is easy because you collect at home, with no last-minute drives to a lab when you are tired and menstruating.

Choose the panel that fits your goal

Ovarian Reserve Blood Test (AMH) for a quick read on egg quantity and a clearer conversation about targets and timing.

Fertility Blood Test (AMH, FSH, estradiol) for early cycle context when deciding how aggressively to bank and whether to plan more than one cycle.

Women’s Health Panel for a broader hormone view when you want fertility insight alongside day to day energy, sleep, mood, training, and symptoms.

Bottom line

Fertility preservation services exist to protect options, not to pressure a timeline. If having a younger batch of eggs or embryos in storage would lower stress or better fit your plans, it is worth exploring. Start with a focused baseline, review your Personalized Fertility Timeline, and take a few clear questions to a clinic. With a data-informed plan, you can choose the path that fits your life today and your goals for tomorrow.