Today we’ll talk about such a topic as donor eggs and IVF. This topic is very popular in modern society, as many women have various pathologies and disorders in the reproductive sphere. According to statistics, the success of the procedure is guaranteed by 50-57%. In some research centers, performance increases to 70%. An interesting fact is that with a repeated procedure, the efficiency remains the same. IVF with a donor egg, reviews of which have flooded the network, is an effective, natural and safe way to become parents!
How to become an egg donor?
A donor egg is known to be introduced into a woman’s uterus in order for her to become pregnant. Any interested person who meets certain, clear and strict parameters can become a donor. In order to ensure this compliance, the future donor undergoes many surveys. Only after a thorough check of a person for various diseases and tendencies, he can become an egg donor.
It should be understood that egg donation is an anonymous and selfless procedure that requires only your desire. Naturally, only a woman can be the donor of this material.
Today, there are many charitable foundations and special organizations that help women who want to have a healthy child. Donor egg programs offer selfless help to desperate women. It is very important to familiarize the public with a situation where other women can not get pregnant. If girls and women are aware of such a problem with others, then the chance of donation will increase many times over.
What it is?
In order to understand this topic in more detail, it is worth understanding how everything happens in natural conditions. Every healthy girl or woman produces one egg every month, which can be fertilized. If fertilization occurs, the egg becomes an embryo and pregnancy occurs. If pregnancy does not occur, the egg is excreted by the body during menstruation.
A woman with normal development produces about 400,000 oocytes, the future eggs, over the entire life cycle. Moreover, only one in a thousand oocytes can become a full-fledged egg and fertilize. Every month, a certain number of oocytes begin to develop in a woman’s body. This process ends on the day of ovulation. Only one cell becomes suitable for fertilization, while others simply die. Thus, the body prepares for pregnancy.
Donated eggs, reviews of which filled the entire network, are transmitted from one woman to another. It turns out that this procedure is completely natural and normal, because the material is taken from a healthy person. It’s safe to plant other people's cells if done correctly. In the body of a healthy woman, this biomaterial can be stored for a very long time, and so is not useful, while in the uterus of another woman the egg can be fertilized. It follows that a donor egg does not mean an absolute loss of its biomaterial by a female donor, since it is quickly compensated. Such a donation makes it possible to use material that would still not have been used by another woman.
IVF with donor egg
Have you heard about IVF with a donated egg? Reviews about this procedure are mixed. Let us consider these points in more detail. To begin with, it should be noted that in some cases, IVF is the only way out for the couple. For the IVF procedure, the consent of all participants is required, which is certified by a document. Another important point is that the donor does not have any rights to the unborn child. The parties agree that they will not try to find out about the future identity of the child. IVF with a donated egg, reviews of which there are different, has 4 directions:
- with a fresh egg;
- with frozen (at least 6 months) sperm;
- with a donor embryo;
- with a surrogate mother.
It is on the basis of the above that you should carefully read the reviews about the procedure, and specifically about its specific direction.
Close relatives or acquaintances can be a donor for IVF. You can also contact special centers that provide eggs in fresh and frozen (vitrified) form.
Psychological side
The psychological side of the issue is very important. The procedure itself is complicated for both parties. The donor agrees that it will undergo rather complicated and unpleasant procedures, and also become a biological parent, but will never see his child. Despite the fact that each person has an instinct for procreation, nevertheless the need to care and give love manifests itself much more often and more. A woman is much easier to relate to a situation where donor sperm is needed, because the born baby will be native to the mother.
Despite the fact that another woman may be the biological mother of the child, the female recipient will bear the baby, breastfeed and bring it up. Some mothers are afraid that the baby will seem like a stranger, but these are just fears, as the connection will go even at the hormonal level. The IVF procedure is recommended for all women, especially those who have already undergone many different, but ineffective procedures, since precious time cannot be lost. You should also take into account the fact that for some couples even this option is not suitable, and the most difficult thing remains - the adoption of a child. You just need to think and compare your feelings if the child is taken from the orphanage, and if the baby will ripen and grow inside you.
Who needs donor eggs?
A donor egg (embryo) is needed for those women for whom the IVF procedure is the only chance to have children. It is used in cases where surgical or medical influence can not help spouses to conceive a child in a natural way. There are quite a few such cases.
Women choose IVF for various reasons, of which there are a lot. Sometimes these are personal motives that are difficult to understand. Nevertheless, if you try to generalize and understand the reasons why women choose artificial insemination, it turns out that they are all divided into two main groups:
- When there are no eggs in the ovaries.
- When the available eggs are unsuitable for development.
Why are there no eggs?
We consider these two cases in more detail. IVF after 40 with a donated egg is a way out for women who have an early menopause. In this case, one cannot say that the woman is infertile, but at this stage and in the future she will not be able to have children. Early menopause appears 15-20 years ahead of schedule, so it is impossible to prepare for it in any way. It turns out that it occurs in a very young woman who should be at the peak of reproductive health. And yet, if this happens, then only artificial insemination can be the solution. This is especially true for young women who have not given birth before.
If we take into account epidemiological studies, we can say that such a female pathology develops in only 5% of the population. This percentage is too large, but patients who hear about the possibility of early menopause are not paying enough attention to it. But at the same time, the reason for the lack of their own eggs may be some medical operation that was carried out earlier. For example, it may be the removal of the ovaries due to a tumor. It is impossible to neglect such an operation, since the general state of health of the female body depends on it. After the successful completion of the operation and recovery, the woman will still not be able to have children, so the most suitable option for her is to use a donor egg, which will allow you to become pregnant and give birth to a baby.
Unable to live eggs
A bank of donor eggs will give birth even to women who have every chance of becoming pregnant, but fertilization still does not occur. We are talking about such cases when a woman has incapable eggs. The reason for this is most often genetic abnormalities that will not allow to conceive, endure and give birth to healthy offspring. Genetic abnormalities most often lie in the fact that the chromosomal structure of cells is broken.
After IVF with a donated egg, you don’t have to worry that any hereditary disease will be transmitted to children. That is why for women who have significant inherited problems, it is very important to know about the procedure for egg donation. Doctors should tell those who wish to have healthy children about all the dangers and opportunities that exist at this stage in the development of medicine. If we turn to statistics, we can see that the most common hereditary disease is hemophilia (poor blood coagulation), which can be transmitted to the baby.
An egg donor can be any healthy woman who fully meets certain criteria. The main thing in the donation procedure is the synchronization of the menstrual cycles of both women so that the removal and introduction of the egg is as effective as possible. Regulating the female menstrual cycle is very simple thanks to pharmacological therapy.
Indications and contraindications
IVF with a donated egg (reviews about it are very numerous) has a number of contraindications, which should be carefully studied. Contraindications:
- the presence of psychological diseases;
- the inability to bear a healthy child due to hereditary diseases;
- uterine pathology;
- any oncological diseases in history;
- ovarian tumors.
If we consider in more detail the reasons when an IVF procedure with donor eggs is recommended, then the following is obtained:
- remote ovaries;
- pathology of the ovaries;
- menopause;
- inability of cells to develop;
- the use of radiation therapy or chemotherapy;
- lack of ovulation.
How can I become a donor?
Can you offer donated eggs? Feedback on this procedure should not confuse you. As we already know, within one month only one ovum capable of development matures in a woman’s body. A female donor undergoes a course of therapy that aims to stimulate the simultaneous development of several viable eggs. This is necessary in order to increase the likelihood of egg implantation, since in the end, not all cells are suitable for fertilization. What happens to the eggs? The fact is that some cells begin to develop, but the process goes wrong, so healthy offspring will not work. Other cells are unable to fertilize for reasons that modern science is not yet able to explain.
In order to control the passage of therapy by the donor, doctors regularly conduct ultrasound examinations and hormonal tests. After all the preparatory and control measures, healthy eggs are removed by aspiration.
General requirements for the donor:
- age should be between 25-35 years;
- the absence of hereditary and inflammatory diseases, as well as a number of other diseases;
- positive opinion of a psychiatrist;
- own child.
In order for the procedure to be successful, the endometrium of the female recipient must be prepared to accept the embryo. The epithelium is the inner layer of the uterus. It is on it that the embryo is attached. If pregnancy does not occur, then at the end of the menstrual cycle, the endometrium will be excreted from the woman's body.
Procedure cost
Donor eggs in Moscow have different costs, but they range from 17-30 thousand rubles. The cost of the procedure is very high due to the fact that pregnancy occurs in about 65% of cases, which is a very significant indicator. In some clinics, special attention is paid to vitrification of eggs, that is, their freezing. The emphasis on this method is because it greatly simplifies the procedure itself.
If the price is too low, then you should be careful, as it is possible to conclude a contract with an unscrupulous institution. The total cost includes a full examination of all participants in the procedure, synchronization of menstrual cycles, ultrasound examination, stimulation of egg development, cell transfer, etc. Naturally, the prices in the capital are much higher than in the regions. Also, the price may depend on the indicators of the donor and the clinic: the level of health, age and authority of the clinic.
In order to assess the cost of the procedure, it is worth understanding it “from the inside”. Most often, donated eggs are used in conjunction with IVF (in vitro fertilization). This technology is used very often, since its performance indicators are very high. Donor eggs are removed in special laboratory conditions under the strict guidance of a doctor. After that, the extracted cells are transplanted into the body of the female recipient. If they take root, then their development continues, like embryos. Most often, the doctor transplantes several healthy eggs, as this provides greater efficiency, because only one out of 2-3 cells survives. If the whole process was successful, then the woman becomes pregnant.
However, the success of the operation depends on two parties, so problems from the man are possible. If there is a lack of sperm, then a small operation is performed - a sperm is introduced into the seized egg under a microscope. After that, the already fertilized cell invades the woman’s uterus.
Summing up some of the results of the article, I want to say that any woman who is suitable for donation in certain ways can be a donor. It is believed that age can range from 18 to 35 years. The first threshold may be different (for example, some researchers believe that it should start at 25 ), but the upper threshold is always the same - strictly up to 35 years. This is due to the fact that during this period of time, the cells of a woman are most capable of life, that is, there is a peak in reproductive health. Also, a female donor must be healthy, not only physiologically, but also psychologically. Human health should be confirmed by certificates from specialists. Much attention is paid to such characteristics as height, weight, color of hair, eyes and skin, hair type, blood type and race. Many couples are willing to pay more for their child to have certain genes. In addition, each donor must submit about 6 different tests. He undergoes an examination absolutely free of charge, which means that for a female donor this is a good opportunity not only to help a desperate couple, but also to undergo a comprehensive examination. A written contract is concluded between the parties, which indicates the rights and obligations of each of them. An important point is that a woman must be fully capable in order for her consent to be valid under the law. The process itself begins with the fact that you need to contact the appropriate organization, register there, and then follow all the necessary steps. Do you know those who did IVF with a donated egg? The reviews of these people are very important, but it should be understood that they can be subjective, so it is better to prefer the advice of a doctor to the advice of a friend. It is very important to choose a proven clinic that has a certain authority and status, because you won’t earn them in one day. IVF with a donated egg, the percentage of success of which depends on various factors, should be carried out only in the institution that has an official permit for such activities. Documents should be immediately interested, because professionals have nothing to hide. In any case, if you are not given access to official documentation, then you need to think about it. If someone from your friends gave birth with a donated egg, then you should ask them about the choice of the clinic, as well as find out by what criteria it was made.
Another question that excites many people is: “How is a pregnancy going with a donor egg?” It is not recommended to read reviews in this matter, as it is very individual. Any specialist will tell you that everything will happen, as with a normal pregnancy. If at the very beginning the donor egg is attached, then the further scenario will be classic.