Using Donor Eggs

Some couples are infertile because the female partner is unable to produce any eggs (oocytes). For these women, an IVF cycle using donated eggs offers them a chance to become pregnant. Many women are able to become pregnant and deliver healthy babies having used donor eggs.

The treatment itself involves synchronisation of both the recipient’s and the donor’s cycles if you are using fresh eggs from either an altruistic donor or from someone you know. This is achieved through carefully timed medication regimes. The egg donor receives daily hormone injections over 2 weeks, at the end of which, her eggs are collected. During these 2 weeks the egg recipient takes oestrogen to thicken her womb lining in preparation for receiving embryos.

Both the egg donor and the recipient will have ultrasound scans at regular intervals during the 2 weeks. In the donor’s case these are to monitor the growth of the egg follicles and in the recipient’s case to measure the thickness of her womb lining. On the day that eggs are collected from the donor, the egg recipient’s partner is asked to produce a semen sample so that the eggs can be fertilised in order to make embryos. The embryos are normally ready to be transferred 3 -6 days after they have been collected. Any excess good quality embryos can be frozen for later use after a full discussion and risk analysis of how many embryos should be considered for transfer.

IVF London is licensed and regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority under the terms of the HFEA Act 1990 to offer treatment using donated eggs. It is the law that the woman receiving treatment, and her partner being treated with her, will be the legal parents of any child born as a result of donated eggs. Although the egg donor will be the genetic parent of any child born, she will have no legal relationship to any child born nor will she have any legal rights over or obligation to any child born. In the same way any child born will have no legal relationship to, nor rights over and no obligation to any egg donor.