Egg Donation On The Rise

Among women over 45, more now use Egg Donation than their own eggs when using medical assistance to get pregnant.

Egg donation is the process by which a fertile woman donates her eggs to an infertile woman for purposes of assisted reproduction. According to recent statistical studies, egg donation for IVF appears to be on the rise as the number of women using egg donors to get pregnant is constantly increasing. — and with good results.

This is probably not a surprise since that’s something that most people are likely to consider if becomes clear to them that egg donation is going to be the only way in which family creation via assisted conception can be possible. This frequently applies to women of older age whose fertility has started to decrease. Among women over 45, more now use donated eggs than their own when using medical assistance to get pregnant.

Recent statistics surrounding the egg donation industry show a rise of donor egg pregnancies, although the ideal outcome — a single baby born on time at a healthy weight — is still uncommon. A US study reported a 69 percent increase in fresh and frozen IVF cycles from 2000-2010 and that attempts using donor eggs increased over the decade from 10,801 to 18,306.

In 2010, about a quarter of the women who used donor eggs had good birth outcomes (a singleton born after at least 37 weeks) compared to 19 percent in 2000. This is probably related to the number of embryos transferred to the intended mother’s womb. According to the study, single embryos were used in 15 percent of IVF cycles in 2010. In 2000, that number was less than one percent.

The number of egg donors is also increased over the past years and according to Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) women registering as altruistic donors have risen every year since 2006. The HFEA study which surveyed 1423 egg donors at 60 IVF clinics in 11 European countries, reported that the majority of donors are keen to help infertile couples for altruistic reasons, but a large proportion also expect a financial benefit.

What could possibly motivate you for becoming an egg donor, money or altruistic reasons?

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