First came extended maternity and paternity leave. Then the gym, the university fee, discount cards and even massage sessions in the office were added. Companies seek to retain their talents and in that search they have now added a new benefit:
egg freezing
.
It is in line with a trend that has already been widely written about:
more and more women are freezing their eggs
. The reasons are several. Historically, the main one was to dedicate time to building a professional career and, in the meantime, postpone motherhood. There are also cases of women who must undergo cancer treatment and previously choose to preserve their fertility. But, say specialists in assisted fertilization,
the leading cause now is something else
.
“I was recently giving a talk at a conference in Chile. I finish speaking and a doctor who was sitting in the auditorium tells me 'Doctor, you are wrong: women preserve fertility because
there are no men who want to have children with us
,' says Fernando Neuspiller, director of WeFIV.
This fertility center recently conducted a survey:
78% of women who freeze do so for lack of a partner
, and only 13% cite work reasons.
This context is what makes more and more companies
help their employees finance treatments
. “For several years the company has been helping its employees develop, not only professionally but in their overall lives. Among the benefits we have a
family pillar
that includes the vitrification of eggs,” they explain at Cervecería y Maltería Quilmes, where they reimburse their collaborators 70% of the initial cost of freezing and give them 10 days of paid leave when they carry out the fertilization. . In two years, 15 women have already used the benefit.
Globant started in January 2022 with the reimbursement of the costs of freezing eggs and sperm and 41 people have already taken it. “We thought about making the process as easy as possible and it is also confidential and without a minimum or age limit. We know that they are paths with
a lot of emotional charge
,” admits María Belén Ibar, People Benefits manager of the company.
At Mercado Libre they were national and regional pioneers in this policy six years ago, also covering 70% of the cost. In 2023 alone, more than 60 employees took this option,
triple the number in 2022
. “Six years ago, we set the standard by offering this distinctive benefit for women who want or need to extend their fertile cycle. The adoption of this practice has been growing throughout the region and Argentina is
the country with the largest number of beneficiaries
,” details Natalia Mileo, senior director of People & Culture.
The decision to freeze eggs, in first person
“There are several companies that in one way or another provide support. There are support models with a financial amount that allows the patient to choose where and how to carry out the treatment. Others directly approach us seeking to provide these benefits for their employees,” says Liliana Blanco, director of Procrearte and Maternity Bank.
At WeFIV they agree on the increase in
business interest
and say that they are just putting together an agreement with a major bank to offer this benefit. And that they themselves give their employees the possibility of covering egg freezing.
Hazel is one of them.
Marketing Director, in your case the reasons for the decision do not fit with those of the majority of women, but with what should be, according to specialists, the reason why a woman decides to freeze: doing it at
the exact moment to guarantee the best quality of your eggs
if you later decide to do in vitro fertilization.
Today he is 40 years old and froze almost a decade ago. “I have worked in the clinic since 2013, and in the
on boarding
when I joined I learned a lot about the treatments and also the causes of infertility. And one of the most common is that
from the age of 35 the number of oocytes decreases significantly
. I was in a relationship, but I didn't want to be a mother,” she recalls.
In December of that year, his partner received a cancer diagnosis. The focus became on the treatment of Maximiliano, whom Hazel urged to freeze semen samples. That decision that she had been maturing accelerated and she froze 18 oocytes.
He recovered, but had a second diagnosis in late 2018 and died a year later. Her husband's samples were discarded after her death. But she knows that if she ever wants to be a mother, she has her eggs. “I am grateful for having made that decision.
You take control of your fertility and it really gives you decision-making power over your own motherhood
. If I want to be a single mother in five or six years, I will be able to go to a bank and get treatment. Science gives you many options. The important thing is to make the decision on time,” she encourages other women.
At what age to freeze eggs and how much does it cost?
The point of time is taken up by another expert, Sergio Pasqualini, who with his Halitus center holds the Guinness record for successful fertilization with an egg frozen for 14 years.
“The evolution of vitrification techniques has made the survival of the eggs when thawed very good. If you freeze a good egg and do it properly, the chances are as if you had not frozen it,” he analyzes the advances in science.
But what science has not yet been able to change is women's fertility.
“There are women who are going to preserve their eggs and would not qualify as donors. Age is the most important limitation: it would be ideal for
freezing to be done before the age of 32
,” she explains.
He also agrees that
there were reasons for postponing motherhood
: work, lack of a partner, having to continue living with parents, thinking about emigrating...
“We see women in their 40s in consultations who tell us that they never wanted to have children, but they met a partner and that changed. If you want to prolong motherhood, freeze your eggs. And if you don't want to have children, freeze too.
It is like life insurance: it is better to have it, but not use it
,” Pasqualini compares.
How much does a treatment cost?
Prices vary, but you pay an amount for extraction and then maintenance. The costs are between 1,500 and 2,000 dollars to perform the procedure plus between 200 and 370 dollars per year for maintenance, plus medication. An in vitro fertilization costs about $3,000, plus medications.
In medical centers they point out that the economic situation
did not negatively impact demand
. At Procrearte, for example, fertility preservation had a growth of 30% between 2022 and 2023. In 2019, almost 10 years after Maternity Bank was founded, 280 cases were carried out and in 2023 there were 900: an average of more than two per day.
ACE