Egg Donation – Everything that You Should Know

The joy of parenthood is a dream for many. However, not every couple is fortunate enough to become parents that easy. Some couples are infertile and may face trouble conceiving. Many reasons lead to infertility, and some of them are age, male factor fertility, PCOS, environmental factors and more. Infertility can be discouraging for couples who wish to begin a family.

With time, more and more infertile couples have considered in-vitro fertilization for carrying a pregnancy. But, when a couple cannot conceive using the female partner’s eggs for IVF, they have the option of donor eggs IVF. Same-sex couples who wish to experience the joy of parenting also use donor eggs.

What is Egg Donation?

Donor eggs or donor embryos help an infertile woman carry a baby. A process where a fertile woman donates an egg or oocyte to another woman and helps her become pregnant refers to as egg donation. Egg donation is a part of ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology).

For egg donation, the donor needs to be given medicines that cause her to produce multiple eggs over a single donor egg cycle. Next, the eggs are removed from the donor by putting a needle that is attached to an ultrasound probe via the vaginal tissues. Then after, the eggs are carefully sucked from the ovaries.

Once the egg removal is done, eggs get examined by an embryologist. The sperm from the male partner is injected into each egg. And, this process is known as in vitro fertilization (IVF).  

Who Can be a Candidate for Donor Eggs?

Egg donation is becoming quite common now. Especially for women over 40 years of age, donor egg IVF is becoming quite popular. For the record, in 2018, more than 42% of all ART using fresh donor eggs led to birth. You may need donor eggs IVF if you have any of these medical problems:  

• A condition where menopause usually begins before the age of 40, which is a little earlier. This condition can refer to premature ovarian failure.
• Genetic diseases that you can pass on to your baby.
• Medical history of IVF failure, particularly when your doctor believes your egg quality is not up-to-the-mark.
• Diminished ovarian reserve, which indicates your eggs are of low quality. Generally, diminished ovarian reserve is caused by age since fertility reduces fast after 40.

What is the Procedure for Egg Donation?

• The first step in the egg donation procedure is to pick an egg donor. Your egg donor will be an anonymous person who has been authorised following several medical and genetic tests.
• For stimulating donors’ ovaries and causing them to create multiple eggs, a stimulation regimen is employed.
• Next, the eggs are pulled, fertilized, and embryos are cultivated.
• Meanwhile, the recipient woman is given medications to equip her uterus for implantation.
• The embryo/s are transferred into the uterus once the endometrium is prepared, hormones are normal, and the embryo has cultured to a blastocyst stage.

What to Expect with Egg Donation?

The egg donation and implantation process are similar to the IVF treatment. The woman receiving the donor egg will require a hormone course to prepare her for the fertilizing egg. If the woman still has functioning ovaries, she will need estrogen and progesterone treatments to make their cycle overlap with donors.

On the other hand, the donor will also require to be treated with hormones to cause superovulation. Once ready, the eggs will be extracted and fertilized. After some days, the donor embryo transfer is done, and embryos are implanted in the recipient’s uterus. The donor will take hormones for 10 weeks after the implantation.

Even though donor eggs can be frozen for future use, the chances of success with frozen eggs are lower compared to the fresh cycle.  

What Tests Does the Donor need to Undergo?

• The egg donor undertakes all the tests which s normal person would before going for IVF.
• Genetic history upto 3 generations is taken and a  medical information, history and ethnic background is also done.
• Psychometric testing for mental health screening
• Some schedules analyse chromosomes and screen for certain syndromes if the husband is a carrier, but this is not required.

How Does the Recipient Gets Evaluated for Egg Donation?

• The recipient evaluation is as same as of the couple that undergoes IVF routinely.
• Evaluation includes getting the medical history of both partners, blood type and Rh factor, and testing for sexually transmitted diseases like HIV.
• Counselling of the couple by the mental health professional concerning the details of the decision to use donor eggs.
• Based on his history and ethnic background, the male partner’s sperm should be analysed, and appropriate genetic screening should be obtained.
• Your fertility doctor may advise you to visit a doctor that specializes in high-risk pregnancy.
• Examining the uterus and pelvic of the recipient
• If the recipient is over 45 years of age, a detailed evaluation needs to be done, which includes assessing heart function and risk of pregnancy-related conditions.

Egg donation is a quick process that has a higher success rate. The procedure is conducted under anaesthesia, and recovery is fast. This process is fairly safe.

If you have been suggested to undergo donor egg IVF, visit the best fertility clinic in Ahmedabad – Banker IVF. Under the expert guidance of Dr Manish Banker and his team, you will get the best treatment and be able to experience the joy of parenthood.