EGG DONATION IVF
Egg quality has remained one of the major detriments of successful IVF. Egg quality diminishes over age 35 and significantly declines over the age of 39, yielding a low chance of successful pregnancy in an otherwise healthy woman capable of carrying a pregnancy. Egg donation allows a couple to experience a significant increase in their rate of pregnancy with ability to experience pregnancy and delivery.
In egg donation IVF, the donor of eggs may be anonymous, or the egg donor may be a sister, close friend or relative of the infertile woman. The egg donor is given fertility medications to stimulate her ovaries to produce multiple eggs. Hormone replacement is used to synchronize the recipient to the egg donor cycle. Just prior to ovulation, using standard IVF techniques, the eggs are retrieved from the donor's ovaries and fertilized with sperm of the recipient couple.
There ends the donor's brief but important role. In the IVF lab, the donor's eggs are mixed with the sperm of the father to be. Up to four embryos are transferred to the infertile woman's uterus, two or three days later. Hormone support is administered for the first couple of months to maintain the pregnancy. A pregnant recipient of donor egg IVF has a reduced rate of miscarriage or Down’s syndrome.
HISTORY OF EGG DONATION
Donor egg IVF was initially developed to treat women with premature ovarian failure, women who didn't have any eggs and couldn't become pregnant. The applications of this new technology have greatly expanded. Donor egg IVF is now used for women who are carriers of genetic diseases, women who have had multiple failed cycles of IVF, women with impaired ovarian function, or for older healthy women. This treatment also heightens the chance of pregnancy for women whose attempts at IVF have revealed a poor response to fertility medications, or eggs that did not fertilize well or form viable embryos.
BENEFITS OF EGG DONATION IVF
One of the main benefits of egg donation is its high rate of success. The principle seems to be that the age of the egg, not the uterus, is the critical factor. Success rates for donor egg IVF can be three to ten times higher than with regular IVF. Much of this success is due to the use of young, normally fertile donors.
Donor egg IVF offers some possible advantages over adoption. One is that couples have complete control of the pregnancy. The woman can be sure of getting excellent prenatal care, and be sure to avoid alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs, or unnecessary medications.
Legal issues with egg donation IVF appear to be less debatable than with adoption. Reproductive law in California greatly favors the rights of the biologic mother delivering the baby, which is maintained in egg donation. Egg donors sign detailed consent forms giving up any rights to the offspring.
WHO ARE THE EGG DONORS?
Most IVF programs that use egg donors tend to use healthy, bright, responsible people. Potential donors are carefully screened for hereditary diseases, high risks behaviors or other medical problems. Most donors have been pregnant before, and are young and healthy. Generally, donors are compensated for all that they go through - the ultrasound exams, blood tests, and egg retrieval. Most egg donors do it because motherhood has been very positive for them and they want to share with others who haven't been able to do this on their own.
Last updated:
October 26, 2005
Authors: Dr. William Hummel and Dr. Michael Kettel