Egg Donation

If you are considering egg donation, you've probably already taken several steps on your journey toward becoming pregnant. If, like so many other women, you are unable to conceive using your own eggs, this procedure may finally provide the means to help you achieve your dream of having a child.

Egg donation is used only in women with abnormal eggs or ovarian conditions, such as premature ovarian failure, anatomically inaccessible ovaries, or lack of ovarian function, and is often seen as the last resort when fertility medications have failed. It is the least common of all the assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures. According to the CDC, only 11.6 percent of all ART procedures used donor eggs in 2003.

In order to be considered a candidate for donation, you must meet certain physical and psychological requirements. You will undergo testing to ensure that you're healthy and capable of carrying a pregnancy to term without any extra medical risk. Standard testing guidelines set by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) include screening for sexually transmitted diseases, infectious diseases such as Hepatitis and HIV, and hormonal evaluations, among others. Your uterine cavity will also be evaluated to ensure its receptivity at the time of embryo transfer. Any woman with a medical or genetic reason for using an egg donor can be a recipient, but age limitations vary from place to place. Most infertility centers establish age limits between 45 to 50 years old.

You and your partner may also be required to meet with a psychologist who will help you consider the issues recipient couples often face, such as a sense of loss associated with your inability to make a genetic contribution, the important role genetic parenting plays, the risks associated with an IVF cycle and pregnancy, as well as the demands of parenting at an older age. After you've had these conversations and have a better understanding of the emotions you'll be facing, you may reconsider your decision to have the procedure, which is why it's so important for you and your partner to speak with a psychologist.

If you've decided that egg donation is right for you, the next step is to choose a donor. Many women consider friends and family members as options if they are willing to donate their eggs. Some couples have found advertising in college newspapers to be a successful way of finding a donor, while others choose to use their infertility center. Many times the donors are kept anonymous, but some centers will allow you to meet the women before choosing one.

According to the CDC, the likelihood of a fertilized egg implanting in the uterus of the recipient is related to the age of the donor. A woman considering becoming a donor must be in good health; between the ages of 21 and 34; undergo rigorous psychological, medical and genetic testing; and be cleared of any infectious diseases before donating her eggs. You will be given all kinds of information about potential donors, from their physical features and ethic backgrounds to their occupations and special interests.

Following your selection of a donor, your doctor will use birth control pills to coordinate the menstrual cycles of both you and your donor in order to create a hospitable uterine environment. As the recipient, you will receive higher doses of estrogen and then progesterone one day before the retrieval of your donor's eggs.

On the same day your donor's eggs are retrieved, your partner will give a semen specimen to fertilize them. Two or three resulting embryos will be transferred into your uterus and you will continue taking estrogen and progesterone. If a pregnancy test taken approximately two weeks after the procedure comes back positive, your doctor will continue your medication for two months to ensure the placenta produces the proper hormone levels. After it is determined that the pregnancy is firmly established and healthy, the hormone treatment will be stopped and the pregnancy allowed to carry out normally.

If you do not get pregnant as a result of the procedure, you have the option to try again. While the ASRM recommends that any one woman donate eggs only 6 times or less, there is no limit to how many times you may be an egg donor recipient. But multiple procedures can be quite costly.

The National Infertility Association states that a compensation of up to $5,000 is considered adequate to cover the donor's expenses, discomfort and risks. The typical compensation, however, is between $1,500 and $3,000, which does not include other expenses such as application fees, infertility center fees and the cost of donor testing. Few health insurance companies will cover the procedure.

Success rates vary depending on the age of the eggs, retrieval process, quality of semen, and the overall health of you and your donor. According to the American Pregnancy Association, as many as 48 percent of women using donor eggs will become pregnant. In 2002, the CDC reported that the highest success rates among all assisted reproductive technologies were procedures using donor eggs.

Egg donation has offered more than 150,000 women in the United States, otherwise unable to produce healthy eggs due to a range of fertility problems, the opportunity to have a child who is genetically related to their partners. In addition, the process will give you more of an opportunity to bond with your child even though you're not genetically related. He will still grow inside of you. You will feel him kick for the first time, be the first person to look into his eyes and the first to take him home. With other options such as adoption, you simply cannot experience these things.

However, along with the benefits of egg donation also come the risks. Research indicates that women who become pregnant with donated eggs are more likely to suffer miscarriages and dangerous high blood pressure than those who undergo fertility treatments with their own eggs. In a 2005 study, South Korean scientists reported that the risk was even higher if the donated egg came from a woman who was not related to the recipient. The study indicated that pregnancy-induced high blood pressure was twice as likely to occur following egg donation from a sister, but more than five times as likely following egg donation from a stranger.

One possible explanation for this is that the placenta may contain more foreign elements and trigger abnormal responses from the mother, such as miscarriages or high blood pressure. Experts said the findings suggest that women who need donated eggs might be better off with eggs from a relative.

Despite the risks that come with the procedure, the possibility of egg donation is a blessing to millions of infertile couples who dream of starting their own families. And when your brand new baby is staring up at you, you'll know that sometimes taking a risk is the best thing you may ever do.