Knowledge BaseEgg Donation
Egg donation is a well-established form of assisted conception treatment. It offers hope for a large number of women who previously thought they could never become pregnant and have children.There are selected groups of patients to whom egg donation is recommended. Women who have a uterus but whose ovaries do not produce eggs due to premature menopause (affect 1-2% of women under the age of 40). Women who have their ovaries removed as a treatment for cancer, pelvic infection or endometriosis. Women whose ovaries were damaged by chemotherapy or radiotherapy for cancer. Women who were born without functioning ovaries (Turner's Syndrome). Women whose ovaries are resistant to stimulation by the pituitary hormones, so-called 'resistant ovarian syndrome'and women who have had poor ovarian response to hormonal stimulation. Women who have a high risk of passing on genetic disorders to their offspring. e.g. women who are carrier of sex linked diseases such as hemophilia, Duchenne's muscular dystrophy and Huntington's chorea. Couples with recurrent pregnancy loss due to chromosomal abnormalities. Although antenatal fetal diagnosis is available for an increasing number of these condit ions, termination of pregnancy remains unacceptable to many couples. Recent advanced in preimplantation genetic diagnosis has enabled couples to undergo IVF, preimplantation embryo biopsy and the transfer of normal embryos. However the high cost and complexity of this procedure put beyond the means of many couples. Women with recurrent IVF failures, this could be due to poor response to stimulation by fertility drugs, failure of egg collections or poor egg quality. Older women who have poorly functioning ovaries.
