From EMIs to egg freezing: How young women are budgeting for fertility

While an early diagnosis of a low ovarian reserve meant redrawing her personal budget to set up an egg bank fund, a Delhi lecturer had to postpone a procedure till her mid-30s in the absence of a financial buffer. And in Bengaluru, a corporate professional waited till 33 till she found a job in a tech firm that offered fertility benefits as part of a comprehensive employee scheme, covering, at least partially, egg harvesting and freezing costs. Without insurance coverage for what is seen as an elective procedure, egg freezing in urban India can cost anything between Rs 1.2 and 2 lakh per cycle with annual storage fees of around Rs 50,000. Women have to pay out of their pockets. And as these stories show, the decision is shaped as much by economics as it is by biology.

This also points to a rapid fertility dip in women, who are born with a finite number of eggs (approximately 1–2 million), which drops to roughly 300,000–400,000 by puberty, and continues to decline, with a steeper drop-off occurring after age 35. Natural ageing, lifestyle and exposure to pollutants and toxins are damaging egg health.

Building up a fund

The 26-year-old doctor, who was diagnosed with low ovarian reserve while still in medical school, knew waiting could close doors. This meant arranging several lakh rupees at a stage when her income was limited to a resident medical officer’s salary. She timed the procedure after her internship, saving steadily from her earnings and relying on parental support to manage the bulk of the cost.

She needed two egg-freezing cycles because of her declining AMH (Anti-Mullerian Hormone) levels, which measure a hormone produced by small follicles in the ovaries and act as a biomarker for a woman’s egg reserve. Her total expense was ₹4–4.5 lakh, including hormone injections, ultrasound scans, medication, tests, travel, and three years of storage costing ₹75,000. “The medicines cost me around Rs 10,000 per cycle. For my second cycle, I got a discounted storage fee at Rs 50,000 for three years. Without freezing, I could have ended up needing donor eggs. So, it felt like the right investment for my future,” she says. For her family, already familiar with assisted reproductive technology because she herself was born through it, the expense was for a necessary medical intervention.

A Delhi University lecturer’s experience illustrates how the funding equation shifts when the decision is delayed. She first learned about egg freezing in her early 30s but her income was tied up in EMIs after she bought a house for her parents, a goal shaped by years of housing instability. Spending ₹2–3 lakh on a fertility procedure felt impossible at the time.

When changes in her menstrual cycle prompted her to revisit the decision at 36, she funded the procedure entirely on her own. The cost — over ₹2 lakh for a single cycle, plus annual storage fees of around ₹30,000 — meant saving an entire month’s salary, cutting daily expenses, and cancelling travel plans. “I skipped New Year celebrations,” she says. “I felt securing my future was more important,” she says.

The Bengaluru corporate availed her office package, which covered major components of the treatment, including egg pickup and embryo transfer procedures. “The insurance covered about Rs 1.45 lakh. Only the freezing charges and genetic testing were from our pocket,” she says. Being married, her husband shared the cost of embryo-freezing. “At least we are tension-free. Whenever we are ready, financially and mentally, we can plan our child,” she says.

The fertility scheme

The insurance gap is being filled up by fertility clinics, which are increasingly offering no-cost EMI schemes, allowing payments to be spread over six months to two years. Banks and NBFCs (non-banking financial companies) provide medical loans for fertility treatment, while fintech health cards convert medical bills into instalments — options that are particularly useful for women early in their careers.

Shobhit Agarwal, CEO, Nova IVF Fertility, says with both women and men seeking egg and sperm freezing, clinics like him are partnering with corporates to offer fertility preservation and fertility screening benefits. “We also conduct comprehensive awareness sessions and fertility health check-ups for both men and women to break the stigma around reproductive health,” he adds.

At Indira IVF, fertility expert Dr Tripti Aneja says the clinic offers the EMI option. “Our cost is approximately Rs 1 lakh till the egg pick-up. The freezing charges are Rs 30,000 a year,” she adds.

A bit of advanced planning

With Agarwal noticing a three-fold jump in egg freezing queries, women are clearly planning for their reproductive health rather than keeping it to a last-minute decision.

“Most patients plan or save over time to afford the procedure,” says Dr Prabhleen Kaur, consultant, obstetrician and gynaecologist at Fortis Shalimar Bagh, Delhi. While egg freezing is medically recommended between 24 and 35, the majority of women she sees are over 30, typically in the 30–40 age group. “Women from a wide range of backgrounds come once they are able to arrange the finances,” she says.

Dr Bhawani Shekhar, IVF and Human Reproduction specialist at Sir Gangaram Hospital, says egg freezing is increasingly being taken up by working, educated women in their early 30s. “While women in their 20s rarely freeze eggs unless they are certain about delaying marriage or pregnancy, demand has increased sharply over the past five years — from one or two cases a month earlier to nearly seven or eight now. With improving technology and success rates, egg freezing is increasingly viewed as a long-term investment, prompting clinics to expand awareness through public outreach,” she says.

As for the most crucial question of return on investment, can frozen eggs have success rates comparable to fresh eggs during assisted procedures? “Although individual outcomes depend on the age, egg quality, and the fertility clinic’s expertise, frozen eggs generally lead to healthy pregnancies and live births. Some women may need multiple embryos to achieve pregnancy,” she says. All women need to do is optimise their physical and mental health about three months in advance to improve egg quality. “They must have a balanced diet rich in antioxidants, manage weight, quit smoking, reduce alcohol/caffeine intake and manage stress,” says Dr Kaur.

Now that doctors have retrieved 16 eggs from the Delhi-based lecturer, she sees it as a way to reclaim agency. “Everyone has different dreams,” she says. “Some want marriage early. I wanted stability, a home and independence.” Her next goal is to buy a house for herself. Marriage, she says, can come later, when life allows it. “The only thing I am sure about is my baby,” she says.