Freezing Time

In a special bonus episode, I try to imagine going through the egg freezing process only to give them away at the end of it. To explore the ethics and motivations behind egg donation, I speak to donor expert Dr Meenakshi Choudhary who tells me about her experiences with egg donors at the Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life, as well as her futuristic work on mitochondrial donation, or 'three person babies'. I also chat to Elaine Chong, who decided to donate her eggs to a stranger after hearing about how few ethnically Chinese donors there are in the UK. She tells me about how she made the decision to donate, whether she would do it again and how she felt on hearing that one of her eggs had brought a baby boy into the world.

*This podcast is not to replace medical advice. Always speak to your doctor if you have any concerns about your fertility or treatment*

Freezing Time is written and produced by Hannah Varrall and Sophia Money-Coutts, and created by OffScript.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the days after my operation, I bloat like a water balloon and recover on my mum’s sofa while waiting for what turns out to be a mega-period (that’s the technical term, right?) I tell poor producer Hannah all about my recovery, and we head back to The Lister for a debrief with Dr James about what happened during my collection and immediately afterwards. We’re also given a very special tour around the lab, and see the very tank which is storing my eggs, which makes me think about what happens next…

*This podcast is not to replace medical advice. Always speak to your doctor if you have any concerns about your fertility or treatment*

Freezing Time is written and produced by Hannah Varrall and Sophia Money-Coutts, and created by OffScript.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The big day’s here as, after a month of drugs, I head to the Lister to have my eggs collected. After much discussion over the hospital’s lunch menu, I’m wheeled into theatre and finally discover how many eggs I've got. There’s then a slight post-operation crisis and a LOT of tears before I’m taken home by the world’s loveliest Uber driver. I also chat to Sally Nabanja about her traumatic experience post-egg collection, discuss Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome, and keep producer Hannah up to date with how I feel in the days following the operation. Plus, a chat with Rachel Crute, who froze her eggs ahead of radiotherapy and now has a very sweet three-year-old who makes a cameo appearance…

*This podcast is not to replace medical advice. Always speak to your doctor if you have any concerns about your fertility or treatment*

Freezing Time is written and produced by Hannah Varrall and Sophia Money-Coutts, and created by OffScript.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, I delve deeper into the tricky question of whether I should freeze embryos or eggs. Dr James takes me through the success rates of both and American writer Briallen Hopper tells me about how freezing embryos impacted her dating life. Meanwhile, the European director of the world’s biggest sperm bank reveals why so many British women seek sperm from Denmark, and Sally tells me about her experience with a Danish sperm bank. I also chat to a sperm donor about how the donating process actually works (and why it’s nothing like the comedy scenes in the movies). As I’m deliberating all this, I bloat like the Michelin Man and finally get to take the trigger injection which prompts my ovaries to get ready for my operation. 

*This podcast is not to replace medical advice. Always speak to your doctor if you have any concerns about your fertility or treatment*

Freezing Time is written and produced by Hannah Varrall and Sophia Money-Coutts, and created by OffScript.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I get a reality check in this episode, speaking to two women who froze their eggs and didn't end up with babies from them once they were thawed and fertilised. Both Sally Nabanja and Alice Mann talk very openly and honestly about the sadness at realising their treatment hadn’t worked, and it makes me wonder whether it’s worth the risk. Meanwhile, my hormone injections continue to make me behave in unusual ways, including eyeing up a load of local dads in the park. In other big news, I also treat myself to the world’s best sandwich.  

You can read Alice's blog, Egged On Blog, at eggedonblog.com

*This podcast is not to replace medical advice. Always speak to your doctor if you have any concerns about your fertility or treatment*

Freezing Time is written and produced by Hannah Varrall and Sophia Money-Coutts, and created by OffScript.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the hottest day of the year in the UK and the side effects of my injections kick in (hello, heart palpitations, how relaxing). Meanwhile, I investigate egg freezing in other countries, discuss fertility ‘tourism’ and the idea of visiting Thailand or Mexico for the treatment. I talk to Hong-Kong doctor Lucy Lord about a controversial egg freezing case in China, where women can only freeze their eggs if they're married. Plus, a chat with California’s ‘Egg Whisperer’, Dr Aimee Eyvazzadeh, about egg freezing parties and the Kardashians' impact on the egg freezing industry.

*This podcast is not to replace medical advice. Always speak to your doctor if you have any concerns about your fertility or treatment*

Freezing Time is written and produced by Hannah Varrall and Sophia Money-Coutts, and created by OffScript.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the first of many scans to check how my ovaries are doing, I bring the drugs home from the clinic, fight for fridge space with the spring onions and finally start my hormone injections. I also speak to two formidable women are who leading the campaign to extend the current 10-year limit on storing frozen eggs in Britain, discuss where this law came from and what impact it has on freezing, as well as on women who are facing the destruction of their eggs. Plus I let producer Hannah in on something I’ve always worried about when it comes to visiting the gynaecologist…

*This podcast is not to replace medical advice. Always speak to your doctor if you have any concerns about your fertility or treatment*

Freezing Time is written and produced by Hannah Varrall and Sophia Money-Coutts, and created by OffScript.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The emotional impact of egg freezing hits this week thanks to a counselling session that forces me to go deep into how I really feel about putting myself through this process. Brace yourself, there are tears as the therapist and I discuss past relationships, and the fact that freezing doesn’t guarantee a baby down the line. But in good news, my period finally arrives, which prompts an excited call to the fertility clinic.

'In Her Own Sweet Time: Egg Freezing and the New Frontiers of Family' by Rachel Lehmann-Haupt is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Her-Own-Sweet-Time-Frontiers/dp/0996307451/

*This podcast is not to replace medical advice. Always speak to your doctor if you have any concerns about your fertility or treatment*

Freezing Time is written and produced by Hannah Varrall and Sophia Money-Coutts, and created by OffScript.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is egg freezing 100% the right thing for me? How can I know for sure that I even want children? To help examine my feelings on the topic, I meet Lottie Gross, a 29-year-old woman who’s fighting to have her ‘tubes tied’, and Daily Mail columnist Liz Jones, who once admitted to stealing her partner’s sperm in a bid to have a baby. I also talk to my fertility doctor, the lovely Dr James Nicopoullos, about the science behind freezing and why it’s boomed in recent years, and I continue to take my nasal spray while waiting for my period to arrive.

*This podcast is not to replace medical advice. Always speak to your doctor if you have any concerns about your fertility or treatment*

Freezing Time is written and produced by Hannah Varrall and Sophia Money-Coutts, and created by OffScript.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The stigma around egg freezing is a very real thing, and something I've felt first-hand. In this episode, I talk to three women who've had very different experiences of it - Love Island's Amy Hart, Reem Mehanna who shocked her home country of Egypt when she announced she’d frozen her eggs in 2019, and Reniqua Allen-Lamphere, American author of a brilliant New York Times article entitled "Is Egg Freezing Only for White Women?" I also start the first stage of my egg freezing treatment - a nasal spray that proves tricky to get to grips with.

*This podcast is not to replace medical advice. Always speak to your doctor if you have any concerns about your fertility or treatment*

Freezing Time is written and produced by Hannah Varrall and Sophia Money-Coutts, and created by OffScript.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.