Ovum
Donation
Ovum donation, commonly
referred to as egg donation, is a program that provides egg donors (see
below) for women (recipients) who are unable to become pregnant using
their own eggs. Donated eggs are mixed with sperm from the recipient’s
partner for fertilization and embryo development.
Since resulting embryos are placed in the recipient’s uterus,
ovum donation
allows women to experience the nine prenatal months of bonding in utero,
the birth process and breast feeding ¾ benefits rarely afforded
by surrogacy or adoption. In addition, the pregnant recipient controls
the intrauterine environment through a healthy diet, good prenatal care
and avoidance of toxins such as alcohol, drugs and cigarette smoke. Ovum
donation allows a couple to start providing for the child from the moment
of conception.
Typical ovum donation recipients
Women are logical candidates for ovum donation if they:
- have experienced
premature menopause (or have demonstrated through hormonal testing they
are nearing the menopausal transition),
- have had their
ovaries surgically removed,
- possess a genetically
transmitted disease that can be passed through their eggs,
- have received
extensive radiation or chemotherapy that has damaged their eggs, or
- are unresponsive
to fertility drugs.
How
it works
Ovum donation begins with the synchronization of the hormonal cycles
of the recipient and the donor. The recipient is given the natural estrogen
of the ovary (estradiol) by mouth. This is given in a sequential escalating
dose. The addition of Progesterone completes the uterine preparation for
implantation and is timed to the retrieval of the donor’s eggs for maximum
recipient receptivity.
The donor is required to take medications that prepares her body for egg
retrieval and that stimulate her ovary to produce one or more eggs. The
Center physician retrieves eggs through the donor’s vagina using an ultrasound
guided procedure to aspirate fluid from the ovarian follicles that store
eggs. General anesthesia is administered for maximum patient comfort.
The retrieved eggs are fertilized by sperm from the recipient’s partner,
and the resulting embryos are transferred to the recipient’s uterus by a
non-surgical procedure. After two weeks, the recipient returns to the Center
for a pregnancy test. With documentation of a viable pregnancy, she is referred
back to the obstetrician of her choice.
Becoming a donor
If you are a healthy woman between 21 and 34, you have met the first
requirement for egg donation; past successful pregnancies are a plus. The
Bethesda Center for Reproductive Health and Fertility takes great care in
securing healthy egg donors through a variety of medical, genetic, physical
and psychological screenings. The following are basic criteria for becoming
an egg donor:
- Age must be between
21 and 34.
- Must have regular
menstrual cycles.
- Donor must have
negative history of genetically transmittable diseases, sexually transmittable
diseases, current infection, cancer, significant substance abuse, significant
medication history, prior chemotherapy or radiation therapy, or any
unusual risks of anesthesia.
- Negative history
of psychiatric illness.
- If not sterilized,
must be willing to utilize barrier contraception (or abstain from intercourse)
for two menstrual cycles.
Donor
selection
Recipients may choose from one of the Center’s donors or she may arrange
for her own donor, in which case, the donor must be physically and psychologically
screened as one of the Center’s donors.
The Bethesda Center for Reproductive Health and Fertility offers a variety
of donors who have undergone comprehensive medical, genetic and physical
screening such as HIV and Hepatitis B and C testing. Equally important,
each donor is screened by a psychologist or licensed counselor to assess
any type of behavioral or family-oriented psychological disorders.
The recipient couple may select a donor based upon physical attributes such
as eye and hair color, height and weight. Ethnic origin also is included
in the selection process. Complete confidentiality is required of all staff,
the donor and the recipient couple, and the anonymous donor and recipient
never meet during the donation procedure.
For up-to-date information about our competitive waiting list for donated
eggs, call the Center at 1-800-634-1222. |
