Certain circumstances can dictate adopting a unique way to build your family. For instance, infertility is quite common in Australia, and hopeful couples and individuals may have to adopt assisted reproductive care to become parents. One fertility option is using a donor egg IVF to become a parent.
The donor egg IVF is an arrangement where eggs from a healthy woman are used to create the embryo instead of the intended mother’s.
Egg donor IVF is an excellent solution to the unique and difficult challenges faced by couples dealing with infertility and same-sex couples trying to expand their family. Considering all sides and factors is important before determining if this method is right for you.
Situations Where Egg Donor Option is a Better Solution
There are various cases where a mother or the intended parents cannot become pregnant using their eggs. In these scenarios, eggs from a donor could be the most suitable option. Here are some of those factors:
Age & Egg Donors Australia
A woman is born with all of the eggs she will ever have in her lifetime. As the woman gets older, so do her eggs, so egg-freezing success rates are declining. As a result, they are more vulnerable to difficulty getting pregnant and developing genetic and other abnormalities due to the poor quality and quality of the eggs. Data shows that female fertility rapidly declines after 35, and live birth rates drop significantly around 35.
In such cases, you can use eggs from a younger, healthier woman. These eggs would be much more viable to get you pregnant.
Poor Ovarian Reserve
Ovarian reserve refers to the egg reserve. The ovary can provide mature eggs that can be fertilised. Several tests and markers are used to determine ovarian reserves, such as Baseline Antral Follicle Count (BAFC), Day 3 FSH/E2, and Anti Mullerian Hormone (AMH) test.
Small ovaries, elevated FSH, and a decline in AMH level imply that few eggs are left in an ovary. This is also referred to as poor ovarian reserve. A woman with poor ovarian reserve is less likely to become pregnant and will require reproductive assistance.
Chromosomal Abnormalities
One of the primary defects found in a woman’s eggs at advanced maternal age is an abnormal number of chromosomes or chromosomal abnormalities. Your chromosomes carry the genetic material required for foetal development. Unfortunately, as a woman ages, she will have fewer eggs left to become pregnant successfully, and the remaining eggs will have an abnormal number of chromosomes. This leads to a lower chance of successful embryo implantation.
Number of Failed IVF Cycles
While IVF is currently the most successful fertility treatment option, it does not guarantee a pregnancy. IVF produces less success for women at advanced maternal age due to poor egg health. This can lead to multiple miscarriages and failed pregnancies. If failed IVF attempts repeat, you should consider using eggs from a donor.
There is a greater success rate of having a healthy child from a donor egg which can save you from the stress of repeated IVF failure. You may think that the egg donor IVF would burden you financially, but multiple IVF cycles would be much costlier with a lower chance of success.
LGBT Families Looking for a Baby
Same-sex male couples and single men looking to start a family must resort to donor eggs. These men will require donor eggs and a gestational carrier since they do not have ovaries or a womb to carry a child.
Post-cancer Treatment
Many cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and surgeries, can damage the ovaries or mandate that the ovaries are removed altogether (in the case of ovarian cancer). These women will have two choices: egg freezing before undergoing cancer treatment and using those eggs to become a mother or donor eggs from a healthier woman.
Women Born Without Ovaries
Due to congenital abnormalities, a woman may be born without her ovaries. If there are no ovaries, she cannot produce any eggs. These women will have no choice but to use assisted reproductive care and donor eggs to become mothers.
A Closer Look Into Donor Egg Parenthood Process
The first step in egg donation parenthood is to find a suitable egg donor. Remember that the child will inherit the donor’s characteristics as her genetic material will be carried through the eggs. Hence, you must thoroughly consider what qualities you want in your egg donor, such as racial background, physical resemblance, merits, etc.
Once a donor is found, the intended mother and the egg donor undergo a medication course to synchronise their menstruation cycle. The donor will start taking injectable fertility medicines to stimulate egg production. Her cycle will look almost like a conventional IVF cycle but without an embryo transfer.
The intended mother will also take injections to suppress the reproductive system. She will also supplement oestrogen, signalling the uterus to create a suitable lining.
When the donor eggs reach levels where they can be harvested, she will get a trigger shot injection of hCG. It will send the eggs into maturation.
Meanwhile, the intended mother will start taking progesterone supplementation that helps prepare the uterus for embryo implantation. Then the donor will come to the fertility clinic, where the egg retrieval will be performed. The entire process is done using an ultrasound-guided needle.
Egg retrieval & sperm sample
Around the day of the egg retrieval, the intended father will submit a semen sample. If donor sperm is being used, the sperm sample must reach the fertility clinic around the time of egg retrieval.
The retrieved donor eggs will be fertilised with the intended father’s sperm to produce embryos. After three to five days, when the embryos are ready for implantation, the intended mother will visit the fertility clinic for an embryo transfer.
One to two healthy embryos will be transferred into the intended mother’s uterus. Genetic screenings can be done on the embryos to determine which are healthy and do not have any abnormalities. The extra embryos can be frozen for a future cycle.
About ten days after the embryo transfer, the intended mother will undergo a pregnancy test to see if the cycle was successful and if she is pregnant.
Benefits of Using a Donor Eggs
Using a donor egg allows you and your partner to carry your child in your womb so that you are intimately involved.
You can further assert your familial ties if one of your family members agrees to donate eggs for you. This way, you and your partner would be genetically related to the baby.
Donor eggs generally come from younger, healthier women undergoing medical testing. This means the egg quality would be higher, greatly improving the IVF success rate. Using egg donation has a success rate of about 50% per IVF cycle, the highest success rate of any other fertility procedure.
Where Can You Find Egg Donors
The best way is to consult your fertility doctor, as they know egg donor agencies and resources. Still, there are other sources from which you can find a door.
- A friend
- A family member (sister/cousin)
- Another couple undergoing egg donation and willing to share their egg cohort
- An egg bank that offers frozen eggs
- Agency for fresh cycles
- IVF clinics
Costs Factor
IVF donors can be expensive, given that many factors are involved. These costs vary between states in Australia and IVF clinics. These costs can also vary depending on the source of the egg donor, criteria, the cycle stages, etc. The biggest chink of money would go on to pay for the egg donor’s compensation.
It’s a good idea to consider IVF refund programs and guarantee programs that can assure the result. Some states mandate that insurance providers cover the IVF cycle cost. Speak to your insurance provider to see if you have leverage.
Conclusion
Egg donation with IVF is a useful solution for hopeful parents who cannot produce healthy eggs or do not produce eggs at all. The eggs come from healthy, young women, significantly increasing the chances of a successful pregnancy.
Thanks to the compassionate women who chose to become supporters, infertile couples, cancer patients, and gay couples have new doors of hope to become parents.
Evan Kurzyp
Evan is the founder of Fertility2Family and is passionate about fertility education & providing affordable products to help people in their fertility journey. Evan is a qualified Registered Nurse and has expertise in guiding & managing patients through their fertility journeys.