I Went to Spain to Freeze My Eggs—Here’s Why

Last year, I found myself walking through the Ciutadella Park in Barcelona, Spain, stopping after just a few minutes out of exhaustion. This was my fourth time visiting this beautiful city, but unlike previous trips I'd taken in my early twenties, dancing the night away at beachside discotecas, I was here for a much different purpose. I was here to freeze my eggs—and I hoped that it'd be worth it.

For ten days straight, I injected myself with hormones (to prime my ovaries for egg retrieval) while abstaining from Spanish red wine and having an emotional breakdown or two between landmarks like Park Güell and La Rambla. This process was all in hopes that one day, in the not-so-distant future, I'd be ready to have a baby and have healthy eggs to do so.

Turns out, I'm not alone in traveling abroad to seek this type of reproductive care: It's a phenomenon called fertility tourism, and it's grown in popularity in recent years. People travel all over the world to freeze their eggs or receive other forms of fertility treatment (like in vitro fertilization, or IVF) for various reasons, including lower costs.

As I sat in the park and watched a group of kids play nearby, blowing iridescent soap bubbles into the air, I hoped this treatment would provide me with some options for the future. Read on for more about my fertility tourism experience, why I chose Spain to get this procedure, and the pros and cons of freezing your eggs in another country.

What is fertility tourism?

Fertility tourism is a concept where people seek reproductive treatment in other countries to avoid laws, restrictions, or waiting lists in their home country.¹ This is a form of medical tourism (i.e., traveling to another country for medical care) that's expected to grow by 30 percent in the next seven years. Egg freezing, in particular, has become more popular for women who want the option of getting pregnant in the future.

"While it's not a guarantee, I view egg freezing as an investment in your future infertility, ultimately giving you more control over your reproductive choices," says Natalie Crawford, MD, a double-board-certified OB/GYN and reproductive endocrinology and infertility expert.

There are a few reasons why interest in fertility tourism has grown. One is the increase in infertility rates, which affects about 11 percent of women of reproductive age in the U.S. in some capacity.² (For context, infertility is defined as the inability to conceive after having unprotected sex for one year if you're under age 35, or after six months if you're over age 35.)

Another reason is the barriers many people face in accessing quality reproductive care. Factors like age, certain medical conditions (such as endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome), and financial constraints can make fertility treatments inaccessible or too costly to pursue. However, in other countries, the guidelines and requirements surrounding egg freezing might look different, which can be promising for people facing certain barriers.

Why I decided to freeze my eggs abroad

At age 34, it was looking like I'd be waiting until my late thirties to try for a baby. And that worried me. What if I found out too late that I have a medical condition (like endometriosis or diminished ovarian reserve) that would make conceiving difficult or even impossible? At this point, freezing my eggs felt like giving myself options for the future, even if I didn't know exactly what that future looked like yet.

"If you're starting your family at age 35, more than half of your eggs are already genetically abnormal," says Dr. Crawford. "Both egg quality and quantity decrease with age, leading to an overall drop in your ability to conceive. Although we see a noticeable decline at age 35, a more profound drop occurs after age 37," she adds.

While this is not to say someone can't get pregnant naturally after age 35, freezing your eggs before that point may help increase your chances of having a healthy pregnancy and baby using other assisted fertilization options. Here are some of the main reasons why I opted to go abroad.

It was much cheaper

When I called fertility clinics where I live in Los Angeles, I was overwhelmed. The average cost for just one round of egg freezing was between $7,000 and $15,000, plus even more for the medication that helps you produce multiple eggs during each cycle. On top of that, some clinics charge an additional annual or monthly storage fee to keep your eggs at their facility. So that's when I thought, why not try abroad?

Because I was familiar with Spain, I started researching fertility clinics there. The entire process seemed significantly cheaper—$2,400 for one round of egg freezing and ultrasounds, appointments, and four years of storage—plus an additional $1,000 for the medication. This price difference made egg freezing feel much more accessible to me, and with recent uncertainty surrounding reproductive rights in the U.S., I felt called to act sooner rather than later.

"Especially in this political moment, we have to see egg freezing as a tool of independence for women," says Federica Moffa, a gynecologist, medical director at Fertilab Barcelona (the clinic I chose to freeze with), and one of Europe's leading experts in fertility preservation.

The fertility treatment standards are high

Spain, in particular, is known for its high standards in fertility preservation ³, with assisted reproduction techniques (like IVF) accounting for about 12 percent of all births in the country⁴. People who freeze their eggs in Spain have the flexibility to fertilize them later with a partner or sperm donor and have access to preimplantation genetic testing (PGT-A), which screen embryos (i.e., fertilized eggs) for any genetic abnormalities. Female couples also have access to fertilization options, as well.

Essentially, “having your eggs frozen in Spain means that when the day you eventually want to thaw them and fertilize, you have all the different options open,” Dr. Moffa adds.

I was comfortable with the city and language

Beyond the above factors, I've also been to Spain a few times before and know my way around Barcelona enough to feel comfortable. I could work remotely during my time there, and despite the language barrier, most of Fertilab's team spoke fluent English, which made the whole experience smoother. (FWIW, I can speak some Spanish, but when it comes to anything health-related, I wanted to use English so nothing got lost in translation during my treatment.)

This sense of comfort, especially with the language and surroundings, is an important factor to consider when spending any length of time in another country, especially while recovering from a medical procedure.

The egg survival rate is high

Lastly, before I made my final decision, I researched the survival rate of thawed eggs in Spain, which would be important if I were to use my eggs later on in life. “In a good setting (that is, properly stored and kept at the ideal temperature), we should expect a 95 percent survival rate of the eggs,” says Dr. Moffa. This is on par with the rates at leading fertility clinics in the U.S.⁵,⁶

What my egg-freezing experience was like

Before I even stepped foot on a flight to Spain, I had a video call with some of the healthcare providers at Fertilab, who were able to answer all my questions and explain what the egg-freezing process looked like for international clients like me.

Typically, the "egg freezing process involves the use of injectable hormones to stimulate the ovaries for 10 to 12 days to result in the development of multiple eggs. Then, the egg retrieval procedure would be scheduled to collect those eggs," says Zain Al-Safi, MD, an associate clinical professor of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Because I was coming from so far away, I would complete the entire stimulation process in Spain, though if I had come from a neighboring country like France or Italy, I would've started the hormone injections at home and then traveled the day before the actual retrieval, Dr. Moffa says.

The next step was getting a transvaginal ultrasound (a screening test that takes images from inside your vagina) and blood tests to check my levels of certain reproductive hormones like anti-müllerian hormone (AMH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and vitamin D, all of which can help determine the health of your ovaries and eggs. Fortunately, I was in Barcelona a few months before the procedure, so I was able to get both done at the clinic. However, most people can get both done in their home country first.

Once my test results looked good, I booked my flights and accommodation—extra costs to consider if you're freezing eggs abroad. Because I had an intrauterine device (IUD), my fertility specialist said I could start the egg-freezing process at any time in my menstrual cycle, which made booking my flights easier since I didn’t have to schedule a trip at the start of my period (i.e., the typical recommendation for egg freezing). In total, my trip came out to $5,300—still thousands cheaper than egg freezing in the U.S.

At my first Fertilab appointment, my provider shared my personalized stimulation plan with me, took another ultrasound, and showed me how to self-administer the hormone injections, which I'd be taking for the next 10 days. My boyfriend helped me with the first shot that night, and overall, it wasn't too bad, but the next day, I had intense uterine cramps and a headache—common side effects from the hormones. By the ninth day, my cramps were gone, but my stomach felt full, like there were a bunch of mini balloons floating around in my belly. (I was really glad I’d packed my stretchy pants for this journey.)

Finally, it was time for my last ultrasound to see how big each follicle (the sacs in the ovaries that hold eggs) had grown from the hormones, and for my provider to estimate how many eggs were ready for retrieval. Research shows that the more eggs are retrieved and frozen, the greater the chance of success.⁷ But more specifically, Dr. Al-Safi notes that "having around 12 to 15 eggs frozen for those in their mid-to-late 30s should have a probability of 50 percent or higher to have a least one live birth in the future."

I barely slept the night before my egg retrieval procedure. I was super nervous, but felt better surrounded by a medical team of all women (and one man anesthesiologist, who still radiated good vibes). Once I was put under anesthesia, the procedure itself took 15 to 20 minutes—I was done before I knew it. I didn't feel anything during that time, but I did wake up feeling groggy and with some light cramping.

From there, my recovery time was surprisingly fast. My provider advised me to take it slow (some people may feel a bit of cramping or soreness in the days after retrieval), but I felt great. I even took a day trip to a nearby town called Girona to sightsee. And the best part? I had nine days left of my trip, so naturally, I celebrated with Galician oysters and a glass of sparkling wine, toasting to what I'd just accomplished.

So, what happens next?

Now that my eggs are stored and frozen in Spain, if I decide to use them, I'll need to make a trip back to Fertilab in Barcelona to get pregnant through IVF. (Although there is an option to have your eggs shipped to another clinic or even internationally if I prefer.) Ideally, I'd try to conceive with my partner first, but if that isn't possible (i.e., I find out later that my chances of natural conception are low), I have peace of mind knowing my younger eggs are frozen. Or, I could ultimately decide that having a child isn't in the cards for me.

“If a patient doesn’t use their frozen eggs, they have three options: discard them, donate them for research, or donate them to another person,” says Dr. Moffa. In Spain, women who freeze eggs before age 35 can donate them later if they choose, but that can vary by country. For example, you may have to sign certain consent forms if you choose to discard or donate eggs in the U.S.

While anyone can freeze their eggs, you may feel more inclined to start the process if you are in your 30s, have an underlying medical condition that could affect your ability to get pregnant naturally, are in a same-sex relationship and know you want to get pregnant, or know that you want to go through the pregnancy process on your own (i.e., with just a sperm donor). Additionally, if you've received fertility testing and you know your chances of natural conception are low, you may consider freezing your eggs as an option for the future.

My final thoughts

By the time I flew back home to LA, I felt accomplished. I’d protected my fertility and done something big for myself. Going abroad to freeze my eggs worked for me, but it might not be a fit for everyone. 

“Traveling for fertility treatments isn’t just a financial decision; it is also physically, emotionally, and logistically challenging. Having a trusted doctor and clinic is crucial because egg freezing is such a personal and demanding process,” says Dr. Crawford.

I’m still hoping I’ll be ready to have a baby before I’m 40. That gives me about five years to figure things out. Even after freezing my eggs, the unknowns in my future still give me anxiety. Maybe one day, I’ll return to Barcelona—not just for the delicious tapas, but something bigger. Until then, I feel better knowing I’ve done everything in my power to give my future family the best chance at being born.