The concept of egg donation first came into execution in the year 1983. Since then it has become one of the most important parts of infertility treatments. The popularity of this successful implementation has steadily increased over the past three decades. The count of assisted reproductive therapy treatments in the USA has increased with the egg donation administration. Countless couples have become successful parents- with transfers using both fresh and frozen donated eggs.

The uterine receptivity does not steadily change with the growth of age in women. In more than 50% of the cases, pregnancy is achieved without any difficulty in embryo transfers. Such transfers are done by using own or donated eggs. This is, in fact, a remarkable pregnancy rate for all the couples who are not capable of conceiving on their own. Majority of intended mothers above the age of 40 tend to use donated egg for successful IVF cycles. Women at the age of 21 to 32 years are at the peak of their fertility, something that decreases with age.

A woman’s ovarian reserve begins to decrease as she reaches the age of 42. This is when she is most commonly advised to use donated, high-quality, egg cells in order to complete her IVF cycle successfully. At this age, her eggs are not likely to generate quality embryos as it gets fertilized with the sperm in the laboratory. So instead of undergoing a complicated procedure, that might not produce high-quality eggs, it is often better to use an egg donor that is at the peak of her fertility. A poor ovarian reserve might not only discourage a woman’s spirit when the IVF cycle fails, but might also waste a lot of her money and time. Remember, time is an important factor for intended parents as they have already reached a certain age where they can no longer delay parenthood. Hence, women of certain age are advised to choose egg donors to get the right quality egg to complete their IVF cycle.

To determine a woman’s ovarian reserve doctors perform an AMH test to evaluate the fertility. If the results are satisfactory they will proceed with the ovarian stimulation procedure. As a matter of fact, AMH is a very good test for the intended parent to take before they make a decision on how to proceed with their IVF program.

Women suffering from chromosomal abnormalities like cancer (cervical or uterine), blood coagulation, or any other type of cancers are also recommended to get the help of an egg donor to complete their IVF cycle without failure and delays.

Egg donation, oocyte donation or ovum donation is used as an effective method to help women who are suffering from infertility due to anatomic issues with the uterus, like severe intrauterine adhesions. There are higher rates of successful pregnancies achieved with egg donation if compared to the rate of pregnancy in women with poor egg quantity and quality.

On an average, women over 42 years of age suffer from significantly diminished egg quantity and quality (poor ovarian reserve). Women might require an egg donation due to the following reasons:

1. Menopause or premature ovarian failure

2. Production of low-quality eggs

3. Poor response to the procedure of ovarian stimulation to produce multiple quality eggs

4. Elevated level of day 3 follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)

5. Low antral follicle counts recorded during ultrasound

6. Advanced female age over 39 to 40 years

Egg Donation Procedures and Timing of IVF with Donor Eggs in IVF Cycles

Selecting and finalizing an appropriate egg donor is one of the most crucial parts of the IVF cycle. An egg donor is first screened to know about any infectious diseases that might be present in her. The screening also confirms the presence of any genetically transmissible diseases in the donor that might affect a baby born by a pregnancy using her eggs. Egg donors are compensated for all the expenses that they bear throughout the treatment. They undergo a long list of medical test, that is conducted by the IVF centres, to confirm her fertility level and ability to produce multiple quality eggs. Both parties participate wholeheartedly in the entire procedure to prepare all the necessary report documents.

The egg donor has injected stimulation medications that help her to develop multiple eggs. The IVF clinic then uses those eggs to perform in vitro fertilization.

The lining thickness in the uterus is desired to be at around 8mm or more before an egg donation to maximize the chances of success. It is not difficult for intended parents to get a reference of a good lining thickness for egg donation. However, a modified oestrogen protocol is required to get sufficient lining thickness.

Process of Egg Donation

An egg aspiration procedure is executed when the donor’s follicles are mature. This operation is done to remove the matured eggs from the donor’s ovaries. The eggs brought out are then fertilized by the sperm in a laboratory. The sperm is normally taken from the infertile woman’s spouse or male partner. In case the couple is using donated sperm, the sperm and egg are externally fertilized in the laboratory to form an embryo. Eggs received from the egg donor are mostly used fresh to complete the IVF cycle. But in some cases, the extra eggs are frozen for later use. These frozen eggs then have the potential of being used in future IV cycles.

Achieving proper timing in IVF with the help of donor eggs is a crucial factor for a successful IVF cycle.

The embryos grow in the laboratory for a period of 3 to 5 days. After that an embryo transfer is done, where the embryos are carefully introduced into the recipients uterus. The embryos thus get implanted and gradually grow to a successful pregnancy and childbirth.

The Gift of Life – Egg Donation

Egg donation is one of the greatest services offered. It is an important and precious gift that someone can offer to an infertile couple. Providing donor eggs enables a childless couple to have a child which would not have been possible otherwise. Lower AMH count and diminished ovarian reserve are the major factors that calls for the need to use an egg donor for a successful completion of the IVF cycle. These concerns are brilliantly covered by using egg donors. This does not let any uncalled delay in the total procedure and also saves much of a cost.