Free egg freezing: keep half your eggs, donate the other half
Egg freezing usually costs $10,000 to $20,000 per cycle plus yearly storage. Freeze-and-share programs cover it if you donate half of the eggs retrieved. How it works, who qualifies, and what to weigh. Updated November 2026.
Quick answer: With freeze-and-share programs such as Cofertility Split, eligible women (roughly 21 to 33) freeze their eggs at no cost, including medications, retrieval and years of storage, by donating half the eggs from that cycle to a family who needs them. There's no cash payment; the free freezing is the compensation.
What egg freezing normally costs
- One retrieval cycle: roughly $10,000 to $15,000 at most U.S. clinics.
- Medications: often $3,000 to $6,000 more.
- Storage: usually $500 to $1,000 a year.
- Many women do two cycles, so totals can pass $30,000.
How freeze-and-share works
- Apply and screen: medical history, bloodwork, ultrasound, genetic and psychological screening.
- Match: you're matched with intended parents who receive half the eggs.
- One cycle: about two weeks of injections and monitoring, then a short retrieval under sedation.
- Split: half the mature eggs are frozen for you, half go to the family. The program pays for the cycle, meds and storage.
Who usually qualifies
- About 21 to 33 years old (each program sets exact limits).
- Healthy BMI, non-smoker, no major genetic conditions.
- Able to attend monitoring appointments and travel for retrieval if needed.
- Comfortable that a donor-conceived child may exist; ask about anonymity and contact options.
Freeze-and-share vs. paid egg donation
| Freeze-and-share | Paid egg donation | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | Your own frozen eggs, free (worth $15,000+) | Cash, often $8,000 to $15,000+ per cycle |
| Eggs kept for you | Half of the cycle | None |
| Best for | Preserving your own fertility | Earning money |
If cash is the goal, compare egg donor pay by agency. If protecting your future fertility is the goal, freeze-and-share is usually the better deal.
Trade-offs
- You keep fewer eggs than freezing alone, so a second cycle later may make sense.
- Frozen eggs improve your odds but don't guarantee a pregnancy.
- It's a real commitment: screening, injections and a procedure.
Next step
Tell us your age and state and we'll show which free-freezing and paid donation programs fit you.
Source: Cofertility Split. Program terms change; confirm with the program. EggDonorPay is independent and may earn a referral fee, which never changes what you receive. How we make money.