DONATION OF EGGS: INFORMATION FOR THE RECIPIENT COUPLE

INTRODUCTION

In vitro fertilisation with eggs which have been donated anonymously is an assisted reproduction technique which has now been used for many years. Its use lies in the fact that it makes pregnancy possible for women in whom pregnancy with their own eggs is very unlikely or even impossible for a variety of reasons.

The reasons for a women needing to turn to this type of treatment are very varied. In some cases there may have been some type of growth in the ovaries which has meant that they have had to be removed. On other occasions, however, the ovaries may have stopped working correctly in an early stage of the woman's life. Sometimes the problem lies in the fact that very few eggs are produced by the ovaries or that the quality of the eggs is poor, meaning that they cannot be fertilised or that once they are fertilised they are not easily able to implant themselves in the uterus to bring about the pregnancy.

In this section we will try to explain briefly and as simply as possible what this assisted reproduction technique consists of.

WHAT DOES EGG DONATION CONSIST OF?

The donation of eggs is, as we have already said, a technique which uses in vitro fertilisation where the eggs are donated by an anonymous person. The treatment does not, therefore, require the recipient patient to undergo stimulation of the ovaries. She is only given pills in an increasing dosage of the chemical which is normally produced by the ovaries (oestrogen) to prepare the uterus and try to bring about successful embryo implantation. Once ultrasound and tests have shown that the uterus and in specific the endometrium (the lining of the uterus which is where the embryo remains during pregnancy) is ready, the patient simply has to wait for the arrival of the eggs.

The waiting period rarely lasts longer than a month or a month and a half. This waiting period is necessary because the eggs cannot be frozen and thus have to be used as soon as they are obtained. For this reason, being as it is not possible to predict the day on which the eggs will be obtained, we also recommend that a sample of semen is frozen. In this way we avoid the situation where the man has to come to the clinic urgently so that the process may continue.

Once the eggs have been fertilised, the process continues as in any other case of in vitro fertilisation. After 24 hours the fertilisation of the eggs is checked and 48 or 72 hours later, or even 5-7 days later if a long cycle of embryo culture is necessary, the embryos are transferred to the uterus. If any embryos remain, they are frozen for subsequent use.

THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF EGG DONATION

Advantages:

· The recipient patient’s ovaries do not have to be stimulated, thus avoiding abdominal discomfort and the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation.
· The treatment is basically oral, with the number of injections being reduced to one.
· Pregnancy rates are higher than for other assisted reproduction techniques and lie in the region of 45%-62%.
· In cases where the patients are over 35 years of age, the higher risk of having a child with Down syndrome is removed because the donor must be under the age of 35. The risk of Down syndrome is linked with the age of the egg, not with the age of the mother. This means that we cannot guarantee that the child will be healthy from this point of view, but that the risk will be the same as for a patient under the age of 35.

Disadvantages:

· The main disadvantage is clear, the feeling of “losing” one’s genetic signature. But we should take into account the fact that we know today that we are not what we inherit, but rather what we acquire from out surroundings. Furthermore, in egg donation treatments, we only transfer an embryo of four cells and everything else has to be provided by the MOTHER.
· The second disadvantage, as we have already said, is the waiting period required to coincide with the treatment received by the donor.

WHO IS THE DONOR?

In accordance with current legislation in Spain, this is a question which we cannot answer precisely being as donation must be of an anonymous nature, i.e. the recipient couple may not know any information about the donor, nor may the donor know any information about the recipient couple.

What we can tell them, and this is also stipulated by law, is that they must be women between the ages of 18 and 35 (they may not be older than this in order to avoid risks with respect to the chromosomes, as we have already said). The donors must undergo a complete check of their personal and family medical history, a complete physical examination and a series of tests to rule out any general, infectious or genetic illnesses.

DONOR SELECTION CRITERIA

Blood group and Rh factor are used to select the suitable donor for a couple. We try to match these aspects with those of the parents. This is to say that they do have to be the same, but they do have to be compatible those of the parents.

In addition, an attempt is made to find as many physical similarities as possible.

Though we have tried to be as thorough and as clear as possible in our explanation of In Vitro Fertilisation using donated eggs, it is logical that you may have other questions. Please do not hesitate to contact our team about them. We would be delighted to answer them. Thank you.