Egg-freezing is no panacea, but for those who can access it, it offers a speck of hope

Feeling panic about their fertility, or just to keep their options open, a rising number of women are opting to freeze their eggs

I guess I'll just freeze my eggs." Perhaps you've heard your partner, friend or daughter say this, or have said it yourself, throwing your hands up in real or mock despair over the biological clock. It has become a more common refrain as the science that allows some women to preserve" their fertility becomes more sophisticated. Although such phrases might sound flippant, egg freezing is an insurance policy that didn't exist for previous generations, and its existence has transformed the way that we see fertility.

Last month, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority reported a dramatic rise" in the number of UK women freezing their eggs, with some experts suggesting it was prompted by the pandemic and the anxiety it caused women who felt they were being robbed of their fertile window".

Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnist