What is IVF with Egg Donation?

Egg donation, also known as oocyte donation or ovum donation, is the process by which eggs from a third party donor are fertilized with sperm outside the womb (in-vitro fertilization) and transferred into the uterus of the patient who is trying to conceive. Many women are unable to conceive due to fertility problems related to egg production, such as cancer, autoimmune disease, Turner Syndrome, congenital absence of eggs, premature menopause, or premature ovarian failure.

Egg donation IVF is the type of assisted reproductive treatment offered to most women who have suffered a premature menopause or other fertility problems. Many patients who seek IVF treatments in the US and Europe are placed on long waiting lists for 2-3 years. Some clinics in Western Europe charge patients to be on a waiting list and, in some cases, this fee is not refundable against treatment. The high cost of IVF egg donation in the US adds to the emotional stress couples endure when trying to conceive. As an alternative to the high cost of egg donation IVF treatment, hundreds of couples are signing up for IVF treatments abroad. The cheap cost of egg donation with IVF treatments abroad and the availability of egg donors compel patients to travel overseas, in order to increase their chances of getting an egg donor and be blessed with the gift of having a baby. Success rates of IVF with egg donation are remarkably high in many medical tourist destinations such as Turkey, Cyprus, Armenia, Spain and Colombia. Among the popular and most sought-after IVF destinations is egg donation IVF in Cyprus, which offers a wealth of egg donors and low-cost assisted reproduction treatments. Benefits of IVF with egg donation also include women who respond poorly to fertility medications.

A Good Candidate for IVF with Egg Donation

Good candidates for IVF egg donation are women who have never had a spontaneous menstrual period, women who stopped menstruating at an early age due to unknown causes and women who are in their 40's that do not respond well to fertility drugs.

IVF with Egg Donation Procedure

Once the egg donor has been chosen, the menstrual cycles of the recipient and the donor will be synchronized using fertility drugs. Egg donors will be given fertility drugs to induce ovulation and encourage an increased rate of egg production. Fertility specialists monitor the egg donor’s ovaries and collect the eggs at the optimum time for harvesting. Eggs are collected using a fine needle to remove the follicles individually. The procedure is completed within 30 minutes. Collected eggs are then fertilized with in vitro fertilization methods. The resulting embryos are implanted into the uterine cavity of the recipient.

Length of stay in country: 21-25 days, 14 if treatment commences in home country.

Risks and Side Effects of IVF with Egg Donation

The most common side effect of IVF treatment is multiple pregnancies. IVF treatment does carry the risk of possible displacement of the embryos into the cervix resulting in a lost embryo, or in the fallopian tubes resulting in tubal (ectopic) pregnancy. If IVF is successful, a normal pregnancy will be carried out. If IVF with ICSI results in an unsuccessful pregnancy or no pregnancy, different methods of IVF should be considered, such as Sperm Donor IVF or Embryo Donor IVF.

Recovery from IVF with Egg Donation

After the procedure, the patient should return home to rest for the remainder of the day and avoid strenuous activities for the next three days.

Choosing an Egg Donor

IVF with egg donation can use eggs from a known donor or an egg donors selected by the fertility clinic. Egg donors should be between the ages of 20-30 to ensure the collected eggs are fertile. During the egg donor selection process, potential egg donors are screened for infectious diseases, mental disorders, genetic medical conditions, and sexually transmitted diseases that could be transmitted to the newborn.

Coping with infertility

Anticipating the results of IVF can be grueling and stressful on couples, and the possibility of an unsuccessful outcome can be overwhelming. In spite of this, it is important that couples maintain a healthy and clear spirit. Plenty of rest and avoiding stress are highly recommended before, during and after your trip. Keep in mind that you are traveling, which can add more stress on the body. Drink lots of water and try to obtain ample Vitamin D from the sun and fresh air to conquer jetlag.

Request an IVF with Egg Donation treatment quotefrom one of our infertility treatment clinics. Your IVF quote will be e-mailed to you within seconds and will contain an estimate of the total cost of the IVF treatment you have selected, the total number of days you are required to stay in the country and notes from the fertility doctor to the patient.

Costs of IVF with Egg Donation

In the United States, IVF with Egg Donation generally costs around 25,000USD, including agency and donor fees. In the UK the cost is somewhat less, around 5,000-7,000GBP, and there are waiting times due to a shortage of donors. Compare this with the cost of IVF at some of the popular medical tourism destinations.

IVF with Egg Donation Timeline

1. The recipient couple will be screened for infectious diseases, such as HIV, Hepatitis B & C and for sexually transmitted diseases such as Gonorrhea, Syphilis, CMV and Chlamydia.

2. If egg donation is being provided by an anonymous egg donor, recipients are matched with a suitable donor by the fertility clinic. A profile is created of the physical characteristics, ethnicity, medical history, personality traits and IQ of donors to help fertility clinics match recipients with the most suitable donor.

3. Once the egg donor and the recipient pass all the necessary screenings, both the egg donor and the recipient will be prescribed an injectable medication (such as Lupron), as well as oral contraceptives to synchronize the recipient and the egg donor’s menstrual cycles.

4. The recipient will be given hormone replacement therapy, such as progesterone pessaries, or oral estrogen tablets that will allow the body to imitate the natural ovulation cycle (the ovaries produce hormones that thicken the uterus in preparation for implantation of a fertilized egg). This hormone therapy will prepare the recipient for the transfer. The recipient will then take hormone supplements for 7-10 days, at which time blood hormone levels and endometrium (the lining of the uterus) will be carefully monitored. When the recipient’s uterus has thickened sufficiently, the donor will be given hormones that will cause her ovaries to produce several eggs at a time. This is called donor stimulation.

5. Once the egg donor is ready for egg retrieval, the sperm donor or the recipient’s partner must provide the lab with sperm for insemination, which will enable fertilization. If assisted sperm retrieval is needed, the donor may provide the sperm before eggs are collected. Frozen sperm will be thawed and prepared for insemination at the time of egg collection.

6. The recipient will continue taking oral estrogen until the embryo is transferred and will also start progesterone vaginal suppositories, the final hormone the ovaries would produce to complete the thickening of the uterus.

7. Eggs are usually collected by the guidance of an ultrasound, which usually takes about 30 minutes. The doctor will insert a thin needle through the vagina into each ovary. The eggs are collected by laparoscopy (a small telescope with a light attached). This procedure involves making a small incision in the stomach and extracting the eggs with a fine needle.

8. Once the sperm and egg are collected, the sperm is injected into the egg through the process of ICSI. A thin, hollow needle is pierced through the cell membrane, and is loaded with a single sperm. The sperm is then injected into the cytoplasm of the oocytes to allow fertilization.

9. The embryo transfer can occur 1-5 days after fertilization, depending on factors that the couple will discuss with the embryologist, such as low sperm count and embryo development. Same day embryo transfer, permits the embryos to be transferred about 4 hours after fertilization, and is becoming more common, since it allows recipients to undergo the procedure on an outpatient basis. Although embryologists are also recommending that the recipient wait until day five to transfer the embryo, also known as the blastocyst stage. The blastocyst transfer increases chances of successful implantation and decreases the likelihood of multiple pregnancies.

10. The last stage of the IVF procedure: It is usually painless and does not require any anesthesia. The embryos are transferred into the uterus through the cervix with a catheter. Typically 2-4 embryos are transferred into the uterus to increase the chances of pregnancy. If done successfully, the patient can go home and should rest for the remainder of the day. A pregnancy test will be given 12-15 days after the embryo transfer. If the IVF is successful, a normal pregnancy can be carried out.