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Updated: Oct 16, 2026
Fertility Preservation Through Oocyte Vitrification: Clinical and Laboratory Perspectives
Published on: September 16, 2021
Patient perception versus calculated live birth probability following oocyte cryopreservation
Judith Sitbon1, Anat Hershko-Klement2, Netanella Miller1
1IVF Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, Israel; Gray Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Research Question:
How do patients' perceptions of the probability of live birth after oocyte cryopreservation compare with calculated live birth rates derived from published evidence?
Design:
Cross-sectional survey with linked chart review of 113 women who underwent oocyte cryopreservation at a university-affiliated medical centre between September 2019 and December 2021. Patient-estimated probabilities were compared with calculated probabilities based on published cumulative live birth data, and classified as underestimation, overestimation, or accurate estimation.
Results:
Eighty-five percent (96/113) of the study participants underwent oocyte cryopreservation for social indications, and 15% (17/113) for medical indications. Mean ± SD age was 34.3 ± 3.2 years at oocyte retrieval and 39.0 ± 3.0 years at questionnaire completion, with a mean ± SD interval of 4.8 ± 1.6 years between the two events. Participants underwent a mean ± SD of 1.8 ± 0.9 stimulation cycles and cryopreserved a mean ± SD of 15.1 ± 7.7 mature oocytes. Compared with calculated probabilities, 43.8% (49/112) of women underestimated their chance of success, 31.3% (35/112) overestimated their chance of success, and 25.0% (28/112) accurately estimated their chance of success. Inaccurate estimates were common across all levels of self-reported understanding of personal probability of live birth after treatment. Women who underestimated their probability of live birth had a significantly higher mean number of mature oocytes than those who overestimated their probability of live birth (mean ± SD 17.4 ± 6.9 versus 11.8 ± 7.4; P = 0.002). No significant differences in age, time since retrieval, relationship status, or parity were observed between the underestimation, accurate estimation, and overestimation groups.
Conclusions:
Patient perceptions of the probability of live birth after oocyte cryopreservation may not align with evidence-based estimates. These findings highlight the need for improved counselling strategies to support accurate understanding and informed decision-making.
