Egg Donation
Either due to age, diminished ovarian reserve, endometriosis or for unexplained reasons, not all women will produce an egg that will result in pregnancy. For these women egg donation is an excellent option for attempting pregnancy. Egg donation has a high chance of resulting in a live birth and offers the woman the chance to carry and deliver a baby. It also allows the woman to have a baby which is genetically related to her partner.
Exactly what is egg donation?
Egg donation is where one woman provides eggs to another woman so that the second woman can have a baby.
Who is a candidate for egg donation?
Any woman between 22 and 49 years old is a candidate, as long as they have medical clearance from our physicians. The typical person who seeks egg donation is a woman who has diminished ovarian reserve or premature ovarian failure.
How do I select a donor?
The most successful donors are those women under age 32, who have had no history of infertility, have had a child of their own and have donated eggs which resulted in a live birth. Most donors do not meet all of these criteria. There are two ways to select a donor. A donor can be a friend, family member or acquaintance. This is called a known donor. Alternatively, you can opt for an anonymous donor. Each kind of egg donation has special ethical and emotional considerations. The American Society of Reproductive Medicine has issued a guide called: Gamete Donation, Deciding Whether to Tell. We strongly encourage anyone considering egg donation to read this bulletin.
You, your partner and the donor will need to have psychological counseling to ensure that everyone involved has thoroughly considered the moral and ethical dilemmas involved in this therapy. The donor will need to answer an extensive medical questionnaire and have medical tests performed to screen for sexually transmissible diseases, chromosome abnormalities and to assess the likelihood that you would become pregnant.
How likely am I to have a baby?
In general, the chances of live birth from egg donation range between 50 and 80%. There are very subtle decreases in pregnancy rates as women reach their late 40s, which is probably due to subtle changes in the uterus. But the differences in pregnancy rates are quite small.
What are the risks of egg donation?
- Since egg donation involves the transfer of another person’s tissue (the egg turns into the embryo) there is a theoretical risk of contracting an infectious disease. However, to date, there are no documented infectious diseases transmitted via egg donation.
- Despite all testing, there is still a chance of birth defects or other genetic disorders.
- Approximately 5 percent of the women who receive egg stimulating medication will not produce eggs or will not produce eggs of good enough quality to use.
- There is a chance that fertilization of the donor eggs will not occur.
- There is a chance that embryos may not be viable.
- There is a small risk of ectopic (tubal) pregnancy. For all IVF procedures, the risk is 2-4%.
- There is a risk of a multiple pregnancy (twins, triplets, or quadruplets). Multiple pregnancies may result in premature labor, increased incidence of birth defects, diabetes during pregnancy, and/or increased blood pressure during pregnancy.
What do I tell the baby when it gets older?
This is a very personal choice. Some couples will never tell a child or anyone else that they used donor eggs to conceive. The American Society of Reproductive Medicine has issued Gamete Donation, Deciding Whether to Tell, which we encourage our patients to read.