MyFertilityGuide

Since 1986, egg donation has been a part of in vitro fertilization, an assisted reproduction treatment (ART), utilized by women who do not regularly produce viable eggs during ovulation. Some women cannot produce an egg at all due to amenorrhea—lack of menstruation—or they produce poor quality eggs predisposed to genetic abnormalities. For women with these or any ovarian issues, in vitro fertilization with egg donation is one way to conceive.

What Occurs in the Process of Egg Donation?

1. A fertile woman undergoes ovulation induction to produce multiple eggs and donates those eggs to an egg bank, much like a sperm bank.
2. This egg is frozen and kept for a prospective couples with fertility issues OR prepared for transfer to the surrogate or hopeful mother.
3. The sperm donor or partner of the egg recipient creates a sperm sample.
4. The sperm is separated from the seminal fluid, washed and analyzed for its quality.
5. The donated eggs are fertilized with the washed sperm from the recipient’s partner. Both are placed in a dish and incubated for 24 to 48 hours.
6. If the eggs are fertilized successfully, a fertilization appointment is made.
7. The fertilized eggs are implanted in the recipient.
8. Two weeks after implantation, there is a follow up visit to test for pregnancy.

Egg Donors

Some couples use an egg donor known to them, but many egg donors are anonymous and make their eggs available through an infertility center. Anonymous egg donors never meet the recipients and their information is not given to children who result from the in vitro fertilization. Similarly, the egg donor never knows who the recipient is or if any children are conceived as a result of their contribution.

Anonymous or not, the potential egg donor is given a complete physical and a medical history is taken to ascertain the woman’s potential for egg donation. The success rate of in vitro with the use of an egg donor is substantially larger than without as the use of a young, healthy woman’s eggs help overcome the infertility issues of the egg recipient.

Recipients

Women with infertility issues resulting from ovarian or genetic problems achieve great success from in vitro fertilization. Just like the egg donor, they too are given a full physical and often prescribed medication to increase the chances of conception. In general, women who will be recipients of egg donors much be under the age of 50, have no issues with heart disease or diabetes, and have no physical problems with their uterus. Blood work to screen for diseases will take place on the egg recipient as well as her partner or sperm donor and the sperm donor must also provide a semen sample at least a month before the in vitro is to take place. Counseling , too, may be a part of the process.