Social egg freezing in Austria – new opportunities for your family planning.
The desire to have children is as individual as each person's life story. Career goals, relationships or health issues mean that many women want to postpone starting a family until later in life. With social egg freezing – the precautionary freezing of unfertilised eggs – women can preserve their fertility and ensure greater flexibility for the future.
Legal change: Permitted from 2027
Until now, egg freezing in Austria was only permitted if there was a medical indication – for example, before cancer treatment or in the case of diseases that threaten fertility. In October 2025, the Austrian Constitutional Court (VfGH) lifted the previous ban. From 1 April 2027, social egg freezing will also be permitted in Austria without medical reasons. This brings Austria into line with many other European countries and gives women the opportunity to secure their fertility on their own terms. However, until this new regulation comes into force, the previous legal situation will continue to apply: egg cells may currently only be frozen for medical reasons.
How does social freezing work?
The social egg freezing procedure is medically well-proven and considered safe. First, an individual consultation and diagnosis takes place, during which hormone levels, egg reserve and general health conditions are checked. Hormonal stimulation is then used to stimulate the growth of several follicles in the ovary, and the eggs are removed by puncture. The retrieved eggs are then frozen at minus 196 °C using vitrification, a modern flash-freezing technique, and stored permanently. This ensures that their quality remains unchanged for many years and they can be thawed, fertilised and implanted at a later date as part of fertility treatment. Success depends largely on the woman's age at the time of egg retrieval: the younger the woman, the higher the chances of a subsequent pregnancy with her own previously frozen eggs.
Unresolved issues regarding financing
While the legal basis has now been established, the question of financing remains unresolved. No decision has yet been made as to whether and to what extent the costs of social egg freezing – i.e. hormonal stimulation, egg retrieval, cryopreservation and storage – will be covered by the public sector or health insurance companies in future. Politicians now need to step in to create fair conditions for women, regardless of their income or social status.
A step towards reproductive self-determination
With the ruling of the Constitutional Court, Austria will open up to a modern form of family planning from 2027 onwards. Women will thus have more freedom of choice and the opportunity to better adapt their biological fertility to their personal life plans. The Kinderwunsch Institut Schenk already supports women with medically indicated egg preservation, offering many years of experience, modern technology and individual care. As soon as the legal and financial framework for social egg freezing comes into force, patients in Austria will also have new prospects for a self-determined future.
Priv. Doz. Doctor of Medical Sciences Gregor Weiß
Photo of egg cell: AI generated