Egg Donation
Egg donation is a process in which a fertile woman donates her eggs or oocytes to another woman to help her conceive.
Egg donation is beneficial for women who cannot use their eggs for various reasons such as ovarian failure, diminished ovarian reserve, advanced age or to avoid congenital anomalies in the fetus.
Egg donor IVF process
Women considering egg donation are expected to undergo a medical evaluation that provides a complete history and physical examination to assure their health aspects. The doctor is given certain medications to the egg donor that helps to stimulate the ovaries to produce eggs.
Frequent blood tests and ultrasound examinations are performed to monitor the changes occurring due to the medications.
Transvaginal oocyte retrieval is performed to remove the eggs from the donor’s ovaries under general anesthesia with the help of a probe guide under ultrasound guidance. The procedure, being a minor one does not require the donor to stay back at the hospital. This entire procedure takes about thirty minutes.
Various factors affect a woman’s ability to donate eggs. Fertile women of younger ages are chosen as the donors because they respond better to fertility drugs and have a higher quality and quantity of eggs. Donors should be free of infections such as HIV and hepatitis C. One of the crucial aspects to be taken into consideration is the donor should be willing to do the procedure and should not be forced.
Donor Sperm
Couples can use donor sperm when the husband has a very poor semen analysis, or when there is a genetic problem that could be inherited from the male. Single women who want a biological child may also consider using donor sperm as a means to conceive. It is also crucial that both partners feel comfortable with the decision and be psychologically ready with contraception using donor sperm. It is recommended that all fears and questions have better clarity on various moral and ethical issues surrounding donation. The donor selection is to be openly discussed with a counselor who is skilled at clarifying feelings about infertility.
Insemination Procedure
Contraception using donor sperm involves inseminating the woman as close to the time of ovulation as possible by monitoring their ovulatory cycles. It is carried out most commonly by intrauterine insemination. semen is released through a soft catheter that is passed through the speculum to the cervical opening. Intrauterine insemination is usually used to increase the success rate of fertilization. After the sperm is processed from its frozen form, it is injected into the uterus via the cervix using a syringe and thin catheter. This procedure is usually painless, and only some women who have a tight cervical opening experience cramping if an instrument (tenaculum) is used to open the cervix.
Higher success rates are reported in women who are under 35 years old and have no infertility problems. Success rates may also increase with two inseminations per cycle and the correct timing of insemination.
Donor Embryo
Embryo donation can be considered a third-party reproduction. The phrase third-party reproduction refers to involving someone other than the intended parents. The embryo is created either from donor sperm or donor eggs. This is transferred to infertile patients to achieve a pregnancy after proper informed consent and detailed counseling.
Embryo donation is used or preferred mainly when the quality of embryos is either poor or absent. Usually, embryo donation can be considered and recommended for women who have issues such as untreatable infertility, male partner infertility, recurrent pregnancy loss, and genetic disorders.
Compared to traditional adoption, embryo donation helps the recipient experience pregnancy and control the pregnancy environment. Embryo donation is considered to be affordable as compared to other third-party reproduction methods.
Embryo donation and IVF process
A woman who plans to conceive a child with a donor embryo needs to be initially evaluated to confirm that she is physically able to proceed with the process.
The evaluation of the recipients is similar to that of patients who would undergo the IVF process. The doctor performs a complete assessment, and provides required education, and ongoing support from the time of planning until the end for both the donor and recipient. The medical history of both partners is essential. The recipient undergoes a pelvic exam and an assessment of her uterus.
The test would differ for women aged 40 and above. A more thorough evaluation is performed, which includes heart function and the risk of pregnancy-related diseases.
At Fertile Solutions IVF and Research Center, the doctor and her team provide the appropriate treatment for couples for getting a positive pregnancy.
The Fertile Solutions IVF and Research Center has the highest success rates for embryo donation