Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Decision regret and associated factors following oocyte cryopreservation in patients with diminished ovarian reserve and/or age-related fertility decline

  • Assisted Reproduction Technologies
  • Published:
Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with decision regret following oocyte cryopreservation (OC) in women with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) and/or age-related fertility decline (ARFD).

Methods

A cross-sectional survey study was conducted to five hundred fifty-two women with DOR and/or ARFD who underwent OC between 2014 and 2019 in two private-assisted reproductive units in Istanbul, Turkey. Decision regret was measured using the validated Decision Regret Scale (DRS).

Results

The median and mean DRS scores were 10 (interquartile range: 25) and 13.4 (SD: 13.2, range 0–70), respectively. Eighty-five (52.5%) women reported mild regret and 26 (16%) had moderate to severe regret. Decision regret was inversely associated with the belief in fate regarding childbearing and trust in the efficacy of OC.

Conclusions

The prevalence of severe decision regret among patients with DOR and/or ARFD undergoing OC is low. Women who had belief in fate and trusted in the efficacy of oocyte cryopreservation had significantly lower decisional regret.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

Available.

References

  1. Cil AP, Bang H, Oktay K. Age-specific probability of live birth with oocyte cryopreservation: an individual patient data meta-analysis. Fertil Steril. 2013;100:492–9.e3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Turkish legislation regarding oocyte cryopreservation [Internet]. 2014. Available from: https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2014/09/20140930-4.htm

  3. Cohen J, Chabbert-Buffet N, Darai E. Diminished ovarian reserve, premature ovarian failure, poor ovarian responder—a plea for universal definitions. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2015;32:1709–12.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Ata B, Seyhan A, Seli E. Diminished ovarian reserve versus ovarian aging. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol. 2019;31:139–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Morin SJ, Patounakis G, Juneau CR, Neal SA, Scott RT, Seli E. Diminished ovarian reserve and poor response to stimulation in patients <38 years old: a quantitative but not qualitative reduction in performance. Hum Reprod. 2018;33:1489–98.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Steiner AZ, Pritchard D, Stanczyk FZ, Kesner JS, Meadows JW, Herring AH, et al. Association between biomarkers of ovarian reserve and infertility among older women of reproductive age. JAMA. 2017;318:1367–76.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Pirtea P, Ayoubi JM. Diminished ovarian reserve and poor response to stimulation are not reliable markers for oocyte quality in young patients. Fertil Steril. 2020;114:67–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Hu S, Xu B, Jin L. Perinatal outcome in young patients with diminished ovarian reserve undergoing assisted reproductive technology. Fertil Steril. 2020;114:118–124.e1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Dai X, Wang Y, Yang H, Gao T, Yu C, Cao F, et al. AMH has no role in predicting oocyte quality in women with advanced age undergoing IVF/ICSI cycles. Sci Rep. 2020;10:1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Lyttle Schumacher BM, Jukic AMZ, Steiner AZ. Antimüllerian hormone as a risk factor for miscarriage in naturally conceived pregnancies. Fertil Steril. 2018

  11. Hanoch J, Lavy Y, Holzer H, Hurwitz A, Simon A, Revel A, et al. Young low responders protected from untoward effects of reduced ovarian response. Fertil Steril. 1998;69:1001–4.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Broekmans FJ, Soules MR, Fauser BC. Ovarian aging: mechanisms and clinical consequences. Endocr Rev. 2009;30:465–93.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Greenwood EA, Pasch LA, Hastie J, Cedars MI, Huddleston HG. To freeze or not to freeze: decision regret and satisfaction following elective oocyte cryopreservation. Fertil Steril. 2018;109:1097–1104.e1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Clark JA, Wray NP, Ashton CM. Living with treatment decisions: regrets and quality of life among men treated for metastatic prostate cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2001;19:72–80.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Brehaut JC, O’Connor AM, Wood TJ, Hack TF, Siminoff L, Gordon E, et al. Validation of a decision regret scale. Med Decis Mak. 2003;23:281–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Becerra Pérez MM, Menear M, Brehaut JC, Légaré F. Extent and predictors of decision regret about health care decisions: a systematic review. Med Decis Mak. 2016;34:777–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Hodes-Wertz B, Druckenmiller S, Smith M, Noyes N. What do reproductive-age women who undergo oocyte cryopreservation think about the process as a means to preserve fertility? Fertil Steril. 2013;100:1343–1349.e2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Jones BP, Kasaven L, L’Heveder A, Jalmbrant M, Green J, Makki M, et al. Perceptions, outcomes, and regret following social egg freezing in the UK; a cross-sectional survey. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2020;99:324–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. O’Connor A. User Manual - Decision Regret Scale. Ohri. 2003;1:1–3.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Ma Y, Cheng HY, Sit JWH, Chien WT. Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of hypertension self-care profile. J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2020;Publish Ah:1–10.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Kılıç A, Göçmen İ. Fate, morals and rational calculations: freezing eggs for non-medical reasons in Turkey. Soc Sci Med. 2018;203:19–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Göçmen İ, Kılıç A. Egg freezing experiences of women in Turkey: from the social context to the narratives of reproductive ageing and empowerment. Eur J Women's Stud. 2018;25:168–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Ranganathan P, Pramesh C, Aggarwal R. Common pitfalls in statistical analysis: logistic regression. Perspect Clin Res. 2017;8:148–51.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Baldwin K, Culley L, Hudson N, Mitchell H, Lavery S. Oocyte cryopreservation for social reasons: demographic profile and disposal intentions of UK users. Reprod BioMed Online. 2015;31:239–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Brown E, Patrick M. Time, Anticipation, and the life course: egg freezing as temporarily disentangling romance and reproduction. Am Sociol Rev. 2018;83:959–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Gürtin ZB, Shah T, Wang J, Ahuja K. Reconceiving egg freezing: insights from an analysis of 5 years of data from a UK clinic. Reprod BioMed Online. 2019;38:272–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Inhorn M, Birenbaum-Carmeli D, Westphal L, Doyle J, Gleicher N, Meirow D, et al. Ten pathways to elective egg freezing: a binational, qualitative study of what leads healthy women to fertility preservation. Hum Reprod. 2018.

  28. Pritchard N, Kirkman M, Hammarberg K, McBain J, Agresta F, Bayly C, et al. Characteristics and circumstances of women in Australia who cryopreserved their oocytes for non-medical indications. J Reprod Infant Psychol. 2017;35:108–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Hammarberg K, Kirkman M, Pritchard N, Hickey M, Peate M, McBain J, et al. Reproductive experiences of women who cryopreserved oocytes for non-medical reasons. Hum Reprod. 2017;32:575–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Nekkebroeck J, Stoop DDP. A preliminary profile of women opting for oocyte cryopreservation for non-medical reasons. Hum Reprod. 2010;25:i14–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Stoop D. Oocyte vitrification for elective fertility preservation: lessons for patient counseling. Fertil Steril. 2016;105:603–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. de Groot M, Dancet E, Repping S, Goddijn M, Stoop D, van der Veen F, et al. Perceptions of oocyte banking from women intending to circumvent age-related fertility decline. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2016;95:1396–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Mutlu B. Morally accounting for sex selection online in Turkey. Biosocieties. 2017;12:543–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Inhorn MC, Birenbaum-Carmeli D, Vale MD, Patrizio P. Abrahamic traditions and egg freezing: religious women’s experiences in local moral worlds. Soc Sci Med. 2020;253:29–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Nicoloro-SantaBarbara JM, Lobel M, Bocca S, Stelling JR, Pastore LM. Psychological and emotional concomitants of infertility diagnosis in women with diminished ovarian reserve or anatomical cause of infertility. Fertil Steril. 2017;108:161–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Dundar Akın O, Boza A, Yakin K, Urman B. Awareness of fertility and reproductive aging in women seeking oocyte cryopreservation, reproductive aged controls, and female health care professionals: a comparative study. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2019;233:146–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Mutlu B. Transnational biopolitics and family-making in secrecy: an ethnography of reproductive travel from Turkey to Northern Cyprus [Internet]. Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 2019. Available from: https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/122491

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to all of the physicians and embryologists of the two IVF centers for contributing their patients and their help in extracting patient files. Also, we thank all of the women who had undergone oocyte cryopreservation and responded to our survey.

Code availability

Not applicable.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Women’s Health Center, Assisted Reproduction Unit, American Hospital, Guzelbahce Sokak, No: 20 Nisantasi, 34365, Istanbul, Turkey

    Aysen Gurbuz, Aylin Pelin Cil, Mehmet Ceyhan, Ece Aksakal & Bulent Urman

  2. Fulya IVF Center, Bahçeci Health Group, 34394, Istanbul, Turkey

    Lale Suzan Karakis, Remzi Abali & Mustafa Bahceci

  3. Department of Sociology, Istanbul Bilgi University, 34060, Istanbul, Turkey

    Azer Kilic

Authors
  1. Aysen Gurbuz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Aylin Pelin Cil
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lale Suzan Karakis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Remzi Abali
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Mehmet Ceyhan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Ece Aksakal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Azer Kilic
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Mustafa Bahceci
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Bulent Urman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aylin Pelin Cil.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

2019. 209. IRB1.032 (IRB approval number).

Consent to participate

Available.

Consent for publication

Available.

Conflict of interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Key messages

Regret in women with diminished ovarian reserve undergoing oocyte cryopreservation is low. Women who had belief in fate and trusted the efficacy of oocyte cryopreservation had significantly lower regret levels.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gurbuz, A., Cil, A.P., Karakis, L.S. et al. Decision regret and associated factors following oocyte cryopreservation in patients with diminished ovarian reserve and/or age-related fertility decline. J Assist Reprod Genet 38, 1469–1479 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-021-02164-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-021-02164-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation