Am I a Good Candidate for Donor Egg IVF?

Science textbooks tell us getting pregnant should be easy. We learn about the birds and the bees, and many of us spend a significant portion of our adolescence trying to avoid getting pregnant. After all, based on biology, it seems likely we’d end up pregnant with little effort.

In actuality, 1-in-8 couples of childbearing ages will struggle with some form of infertility.

Maybe you’re diagnosed with PCOS, suffering from premature ovarian failure, or have reduced egg quality; either way, people will find themselves searching for answers to their infertility. While IUI and IVF are some of the most common first steps, donor eggs are another beneficial solution.

For someone who has exhausted their other options and is looking for their next best step, they may be wondering whether donor egg IVF can work for them. Thankfully, many people are considered good candidates for donor eggs.

Individuals Over the Age of 35

It’s common knowledge that reproductive health and egg quality slowly diminish over time. Once an individual reaches 35, this decline occurs at a much more rapid pace. Due to this, getting pregnant naturally becomes more of an impossibility with each passing year. 

For someone who has reached their mid-thirties to forties with no fertility success, donor egg IVF is often a highly successful option. Since poor egg quality and low egg count are two of the most significant side effects of aging, donor eggs can be a useful answer to these problems.

People with PCOS

1-in-10 individuals who’ve reached childbearing age will suffer from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). This condition causes hormonal imbalances that can result in poor egg quality, which often leads to difficulty conceiving.

While many patients who have PCOS find success through IVF or IUI, this isn’t always the case. Depending on the condition of their eggs, it may be necessary to find an egg donor.

Premature Ovarian Failure

While the average person will experience menopause between the ages of 42 and 56, 1-in-100 will go through what’s known as premature ovarian failure, or early-onset menopause. However, just because an individual has begun to go through the menopausal process doesn’t mean getting pregnant is no longer an option.

The primary fertility concern of someone with early-onset menopause is that they will have a low number of available eggs or poor egg quality. This is where egg donation can help.

What Does the Donor Egg IVF Process Involve?

If you’ve had no success conceiving through other means and still yearn for the chance to experience pregnancy and birth, it may be time to speak with your doctor about the benefits of donor eggs.

When a woman decides to donate her eggs, she is put through a rigorous screening process. During this experience, doctors analyze a collection of information gathered from the potential donor, such as medical history, psychological evaluations, and background checks. Only individuals who meet a strict set of guidelines will be eligible to donate. This ensures hopeful recipients are receiving the highest quality eggs available for better chances of success.

Once you’ve decided to undergo donor egg IVF, the first step in the experience is picking your donor. From there, you’ll undergo a series of initial tests and screenings to evaluate your current reproductive health conditions.

Using the information collected in these tests, your doctor will prescribe a regimen of medications, most often progesterone and estrogen, to prepare your body for its upcoming embryo transfer. When you are ready, your doctor will use a thin catheter and ultrasound technology to place the developing embryo directly into your uterus.

Two weeks after your transfer is complete, you’ll be given a blood pregnancy test, which will hopefully give you the positive results you’ve been hoping for.

Becoming a Family with Donor Eggs

One of the most incredible benefits of donor eggs is their far-reaching ability to help individuals and couples overcome their fertility struggles. 

In terms of infertility conditions and lifestyle situations, there are few circumstances which can’t be solved through using donor eggs. If your dream is to become a family and nothing else has worked, find confidence and hope in the fact there are still options available to you.

The baby you’ve been dreaming of could be right around the corner.