Donor Egg IVF

Donor egg IVF is a wonderful option for women who cannot use their own eggs in an in vitro fertilization cycle. Thousands of successful donor egg cycles have been conducted throughout the world and there is no increase in birth defects or other fetal abnormalities. There are many reasons why a woman may need to use donor eggs:

• Age- As women approach the menopause their eggs loose their ability to fertilize and develop into healthy embryos. Most IVF programs will not accept women using their own eggs beyond the age of 42 because of very poor success rates.
• Reduced ovarian reserve- an elevated day 3 FSH level (>12) is an indicator of reduced ovarian reserve, regardless of age. A failed clomiphene citrate challenge test documents reduced ovarian reserve and predicts that IVF (using one’s own eggs) will most likely be unsuccessful. Women may also experience the perimenopause, with its accompanying menopausal symptoms such as irregular ovulation, many years before menopause.
• Chemotherapy, radiation- High dose radiation and chemotherapy can severely damage the ovaries. Many centers around the world are searching for ways to effectively freeze and thaw ovarian tissue and eggs. Once this is routinely possible, eggs and ovarian tissue could be removed prior to therapy and replaced afterwards, thus preserving fertility.
• Women who are known carriers of serious genetic diseases may opt for donor egg IVF.
• Couples who have failed several IVF cycles using their own eggs.
• Couples who produce “poor quality” embryos. Egg donors can be either known or unknown and are usually aged in their twenties or early thirties. A known donor can be a friend or relative, and unknown donors are those anonymously chosen from our donor egg pool. If you opt for anonymous donor egg, you will see the physical characteristics, educational background, and other characteristics when you choose a donor.
  
  If you are undergoing donor egg IVF, your physician will administer medications to synchronize your cycle with the donors. Once your embryos are ready for transfer, your body must be ready to accept them and support your pregnancy.
  
  The donor undergoes ovulation induction with injectable gonadotropins until her eggs mature and are ready for retrieval (See the IVF section for more information). After retrieval, her eggs are combined with your partner’s sperm and placed in incubators for three days. This means that your child will have the genetic makeup of your partner and the donor.
  
  Once mature, the embryos are transferred to your uterus in a relatively painless procedure. The number of embryos transferred is patient specific and depends upon many variables. You may also have additional embryos that can be cryopreserved (frozen) for use in future cycles. Your body will have received hormones, such as progesterone and estrogen, to mimic the “normal pregnancy process”.
  
  IVF success rates using donor eggs are high and reflect the age of the donor. If you receive eggs donated from a 22 year old, the success rates will equal her age category.