Donor egg

Patients whose own eggs are of poor quality can use eggs from donors, usually young women who are paid for their donation. The majority of women who use donor eggs are women in their 40s. Some, but not all, have failed IVF many times; a 45-year-old woman who comes in for the first time is so unlikely to be able to get pregnant with her own eggs that a doctor may recommend trying donor eggs first. Although there are always reports of women becoming pregnant well into their 40s and even their early 50s--which gives the impression that women can become pregnant at these ages--the majority of these pregnancies were achieved using egg donors.

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Younger women with premature ovarian failure are also candidates, including women who have had cancer treatment. Women who carry a genetic disorder that they do not wish to pass on may also choose to use donor eggs. Donor eggs may also be a choice if an earlier attempt at IVF produced low-quality embryos or failed for some other reason.

The embryo transfer procedure is the same as for women who are using their own eggs; the only difference is that women using donor eggs don't go through egg retrieval a few days earlier. Instead of taking fertility medications to stimulate the ovaries, they take estrogen to stimulate the lining of the uterus to thicken and progesterone, which also helps prepare the uterus. They start these hormones at about the same time the donor starts taking fertility medications so the two women's cycles are synchronized.

Some people have a friend or relative who is willing to act as a donor, but most people go through agencies that recruit donors all over the country. Agencies offer varying amounts of information on donors. Sometimes the agency makes the choice, picking a donor with the same ethnicity as the recipient. At other agencies, recipients can look through books full of 20-page profiles, and may even meet the donor. The cost for a donor found through an agency is in the thousands of dollars.