Egg Donation Program
IVF with Oocyte Donor Step by Step
Egg donation IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) is a specialized fertility treatment option that involves using donated eggs from a third-party donor to help individuals or couples achieve pregnancy.
Egg donation offers a viable option for individuals or couples facing infertility challenges where using their own eggs is not feasible. It provides the opportunity to experience pregnancy and biological parenthood, while also allowing for genetic diversity through the contribution of the egg donor.
It’s important to note that egg donation IVF involves legal, ethical, and emotional considerations, and individuals or couples considering this treatment should seek appropriate counseling, guidance, and support throughout the process.
Egg Donation is Required in Situations Like:
- Advanced maternal age
- Menopause of the female partner
- Low ovarian failure/Ovarian insufficiency
- Single male with a gestational carrier
- Gay male couple with a gestational carrier
- Risk of genetic disease on female partner’s side
- Women with ovaries or eggs that were damaged or removed post-cancer treatment
- Unexplained repeated IVF failure
- Rare cases of woman born without ovaries because of congenital anomaly
Donor Selection Criteria
Women between 21 and 35 years old are eligible to donate their eggs. However, specific age limits may vary depending on the fertility clinic or organization you choose. Potential Egg donors must be in good overall health, with no significant medical conditions or genetic disorders. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is crucial throughout the process. Certain lifestyle factors, such as smoking, drug use, or excessive alcohol consumption, may disqualify a woman as an egg donor.
They will undergo a comprehensive medical evaluation to assess your physical and psychological well-being. A detailed family medical history is taken to evaluate potential genetic risks associated with the donation. Oocytes donors have to undergo certain tests as recommended by the ICRM guidelines in India
Donor Evaluation:
Based on the ICMR guidelines and common practices followed in ART centers, oocyte donors may undergo the following tests and evaluations:
- Medical Evaluation:Oocyte donors undergo a comprehensive medical evaluation that includes a detailed medical history assessment, physical examination, and assessment of general health.
- Hormonal Evaluation: Blood tests are performed to evaluate hormone levels, including follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol, and other relevant hormones to assess ovarian function.
- Infectious Disease Screening: Donors are screened for infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, and other sexually transmitted infections to ensure the safety of the donated eggs.
- Genetic Screening: Genetic screening tests are conducted to identify carriers of certain genetic conditions or chromosomal abnormalities that could be passed on to offspring. These tests may include carrier screening for common genetic disorders and karyotyping to assess chromosomal structure.
- Psychological Evaluation: Oocyte donors typically undergo a psychological evaluation or counseling to assess their understanding, motivation, and psychological well-being related to oocyte donation.
- Legal and Ethical Considerations: Donors may be required to provide informed consent for the donation process, undergo counseling regarding the legal and ethical aspects of oocyte donation, and comply with the relevant regulations and guidelines.
Important Considerations
It is recommended to keep the following considerations in mind before starting your donor cycle.
- Using an Oocyte donor doesn’t guarantee a 100% success rate.
- Even if you are using donor eggs you may require more than one attempt to conceive. The chances of success per attempt using an oocyte donor is same as that of a young woman undergoing a frozen embryo transfer using her own Eggs. There are other factors besides oocyte quality that impact the IVF outcome like Sperm quality, Uterine factors and Embryo quality.
- Using Donor oocytes doesn’t always guarantee good quality embryos. Even in 20-year-old egg donors, not all eggs are perfect, and the same, therefore, applies to the embryos made with those eggs. There may be a risk of transferring genetic abnormalities either from the donor’s side or Intended father’s side. Donors do not undergo a comprehensive genetic screening unless requested by the intended couple. So, there is a risk of unidentified genetic abnormalities passing down to the embryo from the donor.
- Donor Matching – The goal of the clinic’s egg donor program is to select a healthy and suitable donor for the couple. While clinics do their best to match the donor’s traits with those of the intended parents, it’s important to understand that certain features like height, skin tone, or eye color cannot be guaranteed. This is because these traits are influenced by a complex mix of genes, making it impossible to predict the exact outcome.
Success Rates with Egg Donors
One of the top questions people have about IVF with egg donation is the success rate. When it comes to using donor eggs, the donor egg IVF success rate is often higher than traditional IVF, especially for women over 40 or those facing specific infertility issues.
The reason for this high success rate is that egg donors are usually young and healthy, which results in better egg quality and an increased chance of pregnancy. In fact, many couples see success after their first cycle. When looking at egg donor IVF success rate by age, it’s clear that ivf through donor eggs contribute significantly to higher pregnancy rates, making this option a promising path for many families.