Definition
Egg donation is a reproductive medicine procedure. Egg cells are retrieved from the donor and can then be artificially fertilized with a man’s sperm. The fertilized eggs can then be transferred to the uterus by a recipient (or the donor herself). There, if the treatment is successful, the pregnancy process begins and the embryo matures. The fertilised egg contains genetic material from the egg donor and the sperm donor.
Indications for egg donation
There are numerous indications for egg donation. For example, cancer of the ovaries (ovarian cancer) may have made their removal or irradiation necessary. After such treatment, patients no longer have their own (intact) eggs.
Even at an advanced age close to menopause or in premature menopause due to estrogen deficiency, the patient’s own fertility may be greatly reduced or even no longer exist due to decreasing follicle maturation. In order to be able to fulfil the desire for a child, foreign eggs must be used. Genetic diseases can also be an indication, for example, the so-called Turner syndrome, in which the patient is unable to produce his/her own functional eggs.
and Unfulfilled desire to have a childIt can also be useful to donate eggs if in vitro treatments with the patient’s own eggs have failed in the past or if sick embryos have been created repeatedly. In addition, some women choose to donate when there are known serious illnesses in their family and they are concerned about passing them on to their children. Some older women choose to use the eggs of younger donors, as the risk of Down’s syndrome increases with age.
Procedure
Before the actual procedure, the menstrual cycles of the usually anonymous donor and the recipient are synchronized with the help of hormone preparations. This is necessary because when the fertilized donor eggs are placed in the recipient’s uterus, optimal growth conditions for the embryo must be present to allow implantation. The actual egg donation process is divided into two phases.
First, the donor’s ovaries are hormonally stimulated to stimulate egg production. Next, follicles of the ovary are punctured and the eggs are aspirated through the vagina. The rest of the procedure is similar to in vitro fertilization.
The male sperm obtained by masturbation is processed and injected into the retrieved egg using a microscopic needle. The fertilized eggs are cultivated in the laboratory for 5 days and then transferred to the recipient’s uterus. Fertilised eggs can also be frozen for later transfer.
Before the fertilized eggs are transferred, an ultrasound scan is performed to determine the condition of the recipient’s uterine lining. An estrogen preparation is taken to build up the lining of the uterus and prepare it for implantation of the embryo. In the course of the procedure, the patient also takes the hormone progesterone.
2-3 embryos are transferred to the recipient by catheter through the vagina and through the cervix into the uterus. A first pregnancy test to measure the success of the procedure can be performed approximately 14 days after the procedure. Hormone therapy is continued until the 12th week of pregnancy.
