Who Needs An Egg Donor?
Egg donors have helped countless couples have a successful in vitro fertilization (IVF). Egg donors are necessary when a woman can’t produce quality eggs or has had a history of failed IVF treatments. Egg donation is becoming an increasingly common option for women due to the treatment’s high success rate.
Understanding the causes of infertility
A woman who is having difficulty getting pregnant or completing a pregnancy can suffer from a variety of conditions. One of the most common causes of female infertility is a failure to ovulate due to age or certain disorders. Egg donors allow an infertile woman to fertilize a quality embryo and egg and increase the chance of starting a family.
Reasons to use an egg donor
Egg donation is becoming more common among women over 40. Egg donation can be used for a variety of reasons, including:
- Premature ovarian failure, when menopause begins before age 40
- Reduced ovarian reserve, typically due to aging, which reduces egg quality
- Genetically transmitted diseases that can be passed on to the child
- Previous IVF treatment failures when egg quality is suspected as the cause
Finding an egg donor
Egg donation can be anonymous, or couples can choose to vet egg donor candidates. Egg donor contracts are common practice to lay out the terms of future relationships and other details of the procedure. Egg donor agencies, registries, and fertility clinics can offer vetted egg donors who are tested for genetic disorders and age.
Egg donation procedure
Egg donation procedures resemble IVF treatment. The woman receiving the donor egg will be administered hormone treatment to prepare for the fertilized egg and embryo. The donor will be treated with hormones to induce superovulation. The eggs are then retrieved and fertilized with the husband’s sperm. The fertilized embryo is implanted into the mother’s uterus a few days later. The woman will continue to undergo hormone treatment for about 10 weeks afterward.
Building a loving family
Using egg donors can seem like a defeat for some couples, but families born with the help of egg donation services are just as happy as any other family. Couples can learn more about egg donors and egg donation programs by consulting a fertility specialist who specializes in egg donation using IVF.
