The largely unregulated, private fertility clinics that offer egg freezing to women in Canada need stronger safeguards around transparency, advertising and counselling, say many experts who have studied or worked in the field. Over eight months, the Investigative Journalism Bureau analyzed how egg freezing is marketed and sold to women, finding aggressive or misleading advertising, a dearth of success-rate data, and often lack of clarity around the high cost of the procedure.
1. Create a Central List of Each Clinic's Success Rates and Costs
There is no central oversight of Canadian fertility clinics. The federal Assisted Human Reproduction Act, passed in 2004, aimed to license and oversee clinics, but the Supreme Court in 2010 said these measures were beyond federal jurisdiction, leaving most regulation to the provinces. Alana Cattapan, a University of Waterloo associate professor and Canada Research Chair in the Politics of Reproduction, says the federal government should fund a national website, independent from the fertility industry, showing individual clinics' success rates and costs. “People should know that a $10,000 outlay is just the very beginning,” she said, adding that many treat egg freezing like an “insurance policy” without realizing there may never be a payoff.
2. Do a Federal Review Leading to National and Provincial Consumer Protection Rules
Arthur Leader, a reproductive endocrinologist and professor emeritus at the University of Ottawa, wants a federal review of assisted reproduction that would include uniform standards across provinces, long-term tracking of outcomes, and stronger consumer protections. Venture capital drives investment in many clinics, but “venture capital firms don’t have patients, they have customers or clients. Health professionals have patients, but the conflict of interest turns patients into clients,” Leader said. He favours a government-backed reporting system similar to online databases in the U.K. and U.S., which would show the technology is often “not as successful” as some clinics suggest.
3. Regulate Advertising and Marketing Claims
Experts recommend that provinces or the federal government set rules to prevent misleading advertising. Currently, clinics can make claims about success rates without standard definitions. For example, some clinics advertise live birth rates per egg retrieval, while others use per embryo transfer, making comparisons impossible. A national advertising code similar to that in the U.K., where the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority regulates marketing, could ensure clarity and accuracy.
4. Mandate Independent Counselling
Many women are not adequately informed about the low chances of success. Heather Mosher, a former patient, said: “You’re made to believe if you spend enough money, then you can just use science to fix the problems.” Experts call for mandatory independent counselling that explains the real odds, costs, and alternatives before a woman decides to freeze her eggs. This counselling should be separate from the clinic's financial interests.
5. Improve Long-Term Storage Regulations
Canada has no national rules on how long eggs can be stored or what happens to them if a clinic closes. Some clinics charge annual storage fees that can be a financial burden. Patients want clear policies on storage limits, fees, and the fate of eggs if a clinic goes out of business or if the patient dies. A standardized consent process would help protect women's reproductive autonomy.
6. Ensure Transparency in Clinic Ownership and Financial Interests
Patients often do not know who owns the clinic or whether their doctor has financial ties to the fertility industry. Leaders in the field recommend that clinics disclose ownership structures and any conflicts of interest. This would help women make informed decisions about where to seek treatment.
7. Fund Research and Long-Term Outcome Tracking
There is a lack of Canadian data on how many women who freeze their eggs actually return to use them and how many achieve a live birth. The IJB found that many clinics do not track outcomes beyond a few years. A national registry funded by the government could collect standardized data, helping women make evidence-based decisions and improving the overall quality of care.
These seven changes, according to experts and patients, would transform the egg-freezing industry from a Wild West into a more transparent, ethical, and patient-centered field. As Cattapan concluded, “People should know that a $10,000 outlay is just the very beginning.”
