Social egg freezing (or social oocyte cryopreservation) is a form of fertility preservation that allows healthy women to freeze their eggs (oocytes) for use in the future. The procedures and techniques are the same used in conventional egg freezing performed for cancer patients. Egg freezing procedures include the use of injectable hormones to stimulate the ovaries to promote the growth of multiple mature eggs, a surgical procedure to collect oocytes from the ovary, rapid freezing of mature oocytes, and the storage of cryopreserved oocytes for a period of time (e.g. years). In the future, these oocytes can be thawed and used for in vitro fertilization by sperm to create embryos, which can then be transferred into the uterus to achieve pregnancy. Social egg freezing is generally accepted in the United States, although it is prohibited in many countries.