If you are in your mid to late 40s and trying to conceive a child, you are probably considering whether to use the eggs of a younger woman, known as donor eggs. Sometimes the donor is a relative or friend of the patient, but more often the donor is anonymous. In women age 46 or older, seventy-seven percent of all assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles rely on donor eggs.

While advanced maternal age is the most common reason for using donated eggs, other indications for choosing to use donor eggs include a history of genetic disease and premature ovarian failure. This last condition occurs when a woman experiences menopause before age 40, often as a result of treatment for cancer or another disease. In 2005, 5,043 babies are born each year using donor eggs.

Start by considering the characteristics that are important to you in an egg donor. Would you be more comfortable using eggs from a family member or friend if that were a possibility, or from someone you don't know? Potential egg donors will be screened for:

• Healthy ovarian reserve

• Detailed medical and social histories

• Hereditary diseases

• Physical and psychological health

• Infectious diseases including HIV, hepatitis B and C, and syphilis

Because there's a considerable amount of time, pain, and inconvenience involved in donating eggs, most donors are paid. (Average payments range from $4,000 to $5,000.) Although state laws differ slightly, donors usually sign away the rights to any children born as a result of the use of their eggs.

In some cases, the resulting baby isn't genetically related to either parent. Some people choose to use embryos donated by a couple who also had recourse to ART and produced more embryos than they could use.

Synchronizing the development of your uterine lining with the growth of the donor's follicles and eggs is important to a successful egg donation. In order to get your cycle in sync with that of the donor, you will take a combination of Lupron (a synthetic hormone) and birth control pills. The donor will take a fertility drug to stimulate the maturation of multiple eggs at once. Simultaneously, you will receive estrogen either by mouth, injection, or skin patch for two weeks.

During this time, you'll be monitored via ultrasound and blood tests to ensure that your uterine lining is prepared to support an embryo. You'll then be given the hormone progesterone, which causes changes in your uterine lining that will help the embryo implant. Once the donor's eggs are mature, your doctor will remove the donor's eggs from her ovaries by inserting a needle through her vaginal wall.

From this point on, the procedure is just like that of in vitro fertilization (IVF); your partner -- or a sperm donor -- provides semen, which is then used to fertilize the donated eggs in a laboratory. After a few days, the embryo is placed in your uterus. And after about 14 days you will take a pregnancy test to see if everything worked as planned.

Although the success rate varies depending upon the donor's age, the sperm quality, and the health of the women involved, the chances are better for donor eggs than for many other ART procedures. In 2005, 52 percent of women using donor eggs experienced a live birth.

The primary risk for the recipient is multiple pregnancy. Most egg donors are young and have healthy eggs, therefore multiple pregnancy rates are high. In 2005, nearly 43 percent of successful egg donations resulted in the births of twins, triplets, or more, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The egg donor may be at risk for ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, which causes the ovaries to become swollen and painful and, in rare cases, can lead to more serious symptoms. If you become pregnant using donor eggs, your risk of having a child with a birth defect is 3 to 5 percent, the same as for any other pregnancy.

Some women find the medications they are required to take have uncomfortable side effects including hot flashes, depression, headaches and insomnia.

-- Melanie Haiken, MA, is the former health editor of Parenting magazine and specializes in health, business, and parenting issues. She has served as managing editor of San Francisco magazine and as an editor at Industry Standard magazine, and has written for Time Inc. Health, The Washington Post, and many other publications.

Further Resources

RESOLVE
http://www.resolve.org

The American Surrogacy Center
http://www.surrogacy.com

American Society of Reproductive Medicine
http://www.asmr.org

American Pregnancy Association
http://www.americanpregnancy.org

The American Fertility Association
http://www.theafa.org/

Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Fertility
http://www.socrei.org/

References

First published March 1, 2006
Last updated May 6, 2008
Copyright © 2006 Consumer Health Interactive

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