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Egg donation

In conjunction with in vitro fertilization (IVF), egg donation makes it possible for women with poor egg count or quality to realize their dream of conceiving a child.

At the Center for Reproductive Medicine, we screen and match donor egg patients with those in need of eggs, saving them the time and cost of working through an outside agency. We’re also proud to partner with MyEggBank of North America (MEB), the number one frozen egg bank in the US and Canada, to offer our patients a comprehensive database of vitrified oocytes.

About our donor egg program

To be accepted into our donor egg program at the Center for Reproductive Medicine, you must have a condition that prevents you from using your own eggs for in vitro fertilization, such as premature ovarian failure or low ovarian reserve. IVF with egg donation may also be an option in the event you carry a severe genetic disease and want to prevent any possibility of passing the disease on to your child.

The IVF process with donor eggs

The process of donor egg IVF is similar to a frozen embryo transfer cycle. In both cases, patients undergo hormonal treatment to prepare their uterine lining, followed by careful monitoring and an embryo transfer. However, patients using donor eggs do not undergo ovulation induction or an egg retrieval procedure. Additionally, there are several steps that take place prior to the actual IVF cycle that are more or less unique to the donor egg process, including:

Screening and matching

Just as egg donors are thoroughly screened for any medical and psychological factors that may jeopardize the success of the procedure or the health of the donor, mother or infant, donor egg recipients must be examined to ensure they are physically and mentally able to participate in the program.

Donors and recipients are matched primarily according to medical criteria, but donor egg patients can request certain physical attributes from their donors, such as hair or eye color.

Cycle synchronization

In order to collect eggs from the donor and transfer the resulting embryos to the recipient, the two women's cycles must be in close synchronization. For this reason, medications may be given for one or two preparation cycles before the donor egg IVF cycle begins.

In vitro fertilization

While the donor is receiving fertility medications to stimulate her ovaries, the recipient will continue to be monitored regularly. After the eggs are collected and fertilized with the recipient's partner’s sperm, one to three embryos will be transferred to the recipient's uterus. Any remaining donor egg embryos can be cryopreserved.

Please contact the Center for Reproductive Medicine for more information about our donor egg program.
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