Why Iranian women freeze eggs they may never be allowed to use
Poinews.com – Mina is 37, single and has just paid the equivalent of two months' salary to freeze her eggs. Under Iranian law, she cannot use them unless she gets married. Meanwhile, the eggs sit in storage, and the annual fee has already more than quadrupled since 2022.
"So far I haven't found anyone with whom I could have a stable relationship. It may take several years to meet someone, and I don't want to lose time in the meantime," Mina told Euronews. She shared her decision on X, and most people were supportive.
Others, pointing to the current situation in the country, asked her directly: "Are you crazy? You want to have a child in conditions like these?" The ongoing war, the economic deterioration brought by sanctions and a broader sense of instability have led many Iranians to reconsider parenthood, including Pooneh, a married woman who also froze her eggs. "I really didn't want my child to be born into the psychological pressures of war, or to be financially constrained and unable to afford what they needed," Pooneh said.
"I didn't want to give up things because of the child and then regret it later." Iran has been pushing pronatalist policies since 2021, when the Youthful Population and Protection of the Family law restricted access to free contraception and vasectomies in a government push to raise the birth rate. A national survey found that 75% of young people cited economic conditions as the main factor in their decision on whether to have children, while child births have gone down 9% in 2025 compared to the previous year. The average age at marriage has risen over the past decade to around 27 for women and 31 for men.
Egg retrieval costs around 80 million tomans at a private hospital, or approximately €502 — roughly two months' wages for many working-class Iranians — and around 40 million at a public one. The medication adds a further 70 to 80 million tomans at full price, falling to around 7 to 8 million tomans with insurance coverage. Nasrin froze her eggs at 38, on her family's suggestion.
Tests, appointments, an ECG and multiple ultrasounds added to the bill. "It took about six months from the time I decided to do it until I actually underwent the procedure," she told Euronews. "During that period, prices almost doubled." The drugs required precise timing.
"Every time, I would search several pharmacies, while my sister would simultaneously check others so that we could find everything we needed," she said. The physical toll was significant. "I felt as though all the irritability and nervousness I experienced during my period had become ten times worse," Nasrin said.
"I was extremely irritable." She froze her eggs in 2022. The annual storage fee was 600,000 tomans (€3.77) in the first year. It has since risen to 3.2 million tomans (€20) Iran's parliament passed a measure in November 2023 allowing single women over 30 to receive basic health insurance coverage for egg freezing.
It has not been implemented. "Insurance companies generally do not cover the cost of egg freezing unless there is a medical indication," Dr Farimani said, citing cancer and certain autoimmune conditions as the exceptions currently recognised. Nasrin makes no assumptions about the outcome.
"There is no certainty," she said. "I might marry the right person and decide to use these eggs, only for the egg not to develop into an embryo when fertilisation is attempted." Dr Farimani said there is no fixed upper limit on how long frozen eggs can be stored, with 10 to 15 years often cited in practice. Women can use their own eggs until the age of 49.
Mina's experience was not her first encounter with the gap between what single women need and what the healthcare system offers. When she tried to arrange an HPV test and Pap smear in 2018, she was told her insurance would not cover them because she was single. She paid out of pocket — more than 2 million tomans for tests designed to catch early signs of cervical cancer.
She said there is little open discussion of egg freezing in Iran, for the same reasons that drove her to do it quietly. "Hearing about other people's experiences can reduce your stress. But because of the shame and judgement surrounding the subject, many people prefer not to talk about it," Mina explained.
"If you're single, the judgement is greater. And if you're married, people may become curious about what is wrong with you that you haven't had a child."
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