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California Donor Egg Program
Egg donation provides a wonderful
option for many couples experiencing infertility who otherwise would have no hope
of having a genetically related child. There are many
reasons why a woman may not be able to use her own eggs
including, premature
ovarian failure, diminished ovarian reserve, her eggs
may not fertilize and develop, advanced age, failed IVF
cycles for unexplained reasons, and others.
Donor egg IVF may be the only hope for many of these infertile women who have suffered ovarian failure.
Huntington
Reproductive Center has one of the most experienced and
successful egg donation programs in the United States and has helped couples
from all over the world build families through the use of an egg donor. We
are also conducting research on egg
freezing.
Who Are the Egg Donors Chosen for Our Donor Egg Program?
 Egg donors may be "known",
such as a sibling or family friend, or egg donors may be anonymous.
We currently use several agencies to provide egg donors.
Donors in our donor egg program are usually aged 21-35 years.
Potential egg donors undergo
careful screening including a complete physical, genetic
screening to reduce the possibly of transmitting inheritable
diseases, testing for sexually transmitted diseases
including AIDS, psychological examination, and drug
screening.
If an anonymous egg donor is chosen, personal
characteristics such as height, weight, hair and eye
color, educational background, and sexual preference
will be divulged.
Donor Egg Program Success
Rates
Our California donor egg program
success rates are among the best. The pregnancy
rate coincides with the egg donor's age group. For example,
if a 21-year-old donor's eggs are transferred to a 37-year-old
recipient, the success rates equals, or exceeds, that
of the 21-year-old age group. Our donor egg program has consistently produced some of the highest donor egg success rates in the country, greatly exceeding the national averages reported to the Centers for Disease Control.
Egg donors
undergo ovulation induction with follicle stimulating
hormone (FSH) to cause there ovaries to recruit numerous follicles,
each of which contains an egg. She also receives Lupron,
Cetrotide, or Ganirelix Acetate to prevent premature ovulation
of her eggs. If she ovulated before the eggs were retrieved,
the donor IVF cycle would be"lost". The recipient receives hormones to
prepare her uterus to accept a developing embryo, a
process known as cycle synchronization. Her endometrium
(lining of the uterus) must thicken and become more
vascular to provide nourishment to the embryo.
Egg
donors must regularly visit our donor egg program clinic during the stimulation
cycle for measurement of blood estradiol levels and
ultrasound evaluations. Once the eggs are mature an
injection of hCG is given and egg retrieval is scheduled
36 hours later.
What Happens the Day of the
Egg Retrieval?
The
couple arrives at our clinic on the day of egg retrieval.
The male provides a semen specimen for use in the Donor Egg IVF
cycle. Once the eggs are retrieved they are placed in
petri dishes and exposed to the sperm. If the semen
quality warrants it, individual sperm are injected directly
into the eggs through a process known as intracytoplasmic
sperm injection (ICSI). The inseminated eggs are placed
in an incubator where they remain for 3-5 days.
The
couple returns to the clinic where the fertility specialist discusses
the number and quality of the embryos
available for transfer or freezing. Since multiple
pregnancies are highly likely with egg donation, we
often recommend transferring two embryos to the uterus.
The remaining viable embryos can be frozen for future
use. The embryos are placed into the recipient mother's
uterus using a small catheter in a painless procedure,
using sonogram guidance.
We work with numerous
agencies to insure that our patients have the widest
choice of donors available. Infertility practices that
recruit their own donors usually have a much smaller
pool of women . Please contact
us for more information on our program; however,
if you wish to donate eggs please check with one of
the local agencies.
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