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Women who are unable to produce eggs of their own, carry a genetic disorder or have poor egg quality are encouraged to explore the option of the egg (oocyte) donation program at Georgia Reproductive Specialists. To be considered as a recipient for donor eggs, you must have a normal uterus and be 50 years of age or younger.
Patients of advanced reproductive age (40 years or older) are the most common recipients of donor eggs and are able to overcome the age barrier with the use of a donated egg. Patients undergoing in vitro fertilization with a donated egg often have high success rates because the egg being used is from a young, healthy donor.
There are two categories of egg donors - anonymous and known. Anonymous donors are not permitted to meet you, the recipient, and cannot know whether or not a pregnancy occurred from the your cycle. Known donors are often related to the recipient, most often a sister, or are a compassionate friend of the couple. In known donor situations, it is suggested that all parties involved sign a legal contract outlining details of the egg donation.
Egg Donor Options
Option 1: Complete Egg Donor Cycle.
This choice ensures that you receive all the eggs from your chosen donor. This maximizes your likelihood of success and increases your chance of achieving subsequent pregnancies using frozen embryos which are most likely to result from this option.
Option 2: Shared Egg Donor Cycle
This option involves sharing eggs from your donor with other parents. The shared egg donor cycle results in your receiving between six and ten of the eggs which she produces. If the donor produces fewer than 12 mature eggs you will receive all the eggs. If 12 or more mature eggs are available, then you will receive half the eggs, and the other half will be frozen for use by other recipient couples. This option reduces donor-related costs but is less likely to result in "extra" embryos for future use.
Option 3: Frozen Eggs
Sometimes we freeze or cryopreserve eggs which have been previously harvested at Georgia Reproductive Specialists, and then store them for future use. These eggs are available for use any time and do not require the synchronization that is always necessary when a donor and a carrier are going through the process in parallel.
Option 4: Embryo Adoption
Occasionally, when some people are finished with their family building and do not wish to discard their "extra" embryos, they choose to donate their extra embryos to GRS to give to others.
The pros and cons of each of these options will be explored once you begin your journey with us. Your GRS physician, Egg Donor Nurse Coordinator and GRS Financial Coordinator will help you to decide which option best meets your needs and goals.
Screening for Recipients
During your initial consultation at Georgia Reproductive Specialists, all aspects of the egg donation program will be discussed with you and your husband. If you are not a current patient at GRS, your medical records will need to be sent to the office for a complete review to determine whether or not you are a candidate for donor eggs.
The decision to conceive a child through the use of a donated egg can be very difficult for a couple. Therefore, a GRS physician will refer you and your husband to a psychologist for counseling and emotional support. It is important to discuss issues related to non-biologic parenting, past fertility problems, parenting at an older age and positive and negative aspects of disclosure to potential offspring.
If you are 43 years of age or older, a physical exam must be performed by an internist to rule out any potential risks to pregnancy, including diabetes and heart disease. If you do not currently have an internist, your GRS physician will refer you to one.
Both you and your husband must have bloodwork done to screen for diseases and conditions that can affect your pregnancy including Human Immunodeficiency Virus, hepatitis C, hepatitis B surface antigen, RPR (sexually transmitted disease), blood type RH and rubella immunity. Your husband must also provide a semen sample approximately four weeks prior to the transfer cycle for semen analysis, strict morphology and sperm survival testing.
The Procedure
On the day of the donor's egg retrieval, your husband will provide a semen sample that will be prepared in the GRS embryology laboratory. The sperm will then be placed in a dish with the donated egg(s) and incubated. After a day or two, you will receive information regarding the success of the procedure. If fertilization has occurred, a pre-embryo replacement will be scheduled one or two days later and the fertilized eggs will be transferred into your uterus. Approximately two weeks later you will return to the office for a pregnancy test. Upon a positive pregnancy test result, we will adjust medications for the best chance of sustaining the early pregnancy.
IVF patient manual
Finance IVF
For more information about the Egg Donor Program at GRS, please email us (donor@ivf.com).
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