Egg Donation There are limited options for treating older women who are menopausal or perimenopausal. Older women usually respond poorly to ovarian stimulation and the live birth rates even with IVF treatment are significantly lower than with younger women. They are advised to get pregnant through egg donation. Egg donation is a well-established form of assisted conception treatment. In this procedure another woman, mostly a relative/ good friend or an anonymous donor, will be the egg donor. This woman will have an IVF stimulation and ovum pick up. After the ovum pick up the collected eggs will be fertilised with sperm of the partner of the recipient woman i.e. donor acceptor. The embryos are then transferred into the uterus of the donor acceptor. If a pregnancy occurs the donor acceptor and her partner will have a child which is only biologically, half their own There are selected groups of patients to whom egg donation is recommended. Women who have a uterus but the ovaries do not produce eggs due to menopause, premature menopause, because their ovaries have been removed /damaged by chemotherapy / radiotherapy as a treatment for cancer or congenital absence of ovaries from birth. Women with recurrent IVF failures, this could be due to poor response to stimulation by fertility drugs, failure of egg collections or poor egg and subsequent embryo quality. Women whose ovaries are resistant to stimulation by the pituitary hormones- 'resistant ovarian syndrome’ Women who have a high risk of passing on genetic disorders to their offspring, recurrent pregnancy loss due to chromosomal abnormalities and women who were born without functioning ovaries (Turner's Syndrome). Selection of donors for egg donation There are women who may consider donating their eggs specifically to known friends or relatives. Egg sharing with unknown donors is advisable. The selection criteria for potential egg donors are They should be healthy women, between the age of 21- 35 years of age They should have no infectious diseases No history of mental disorders, genetic or inheritable diseases. They should have had one or more healthy children of their own preferably.

General Facts Causes of Infertility Male Infertility Tubal Problems Ovulation Problems Luteal Phase Defect Uterine Problems Cervical Mucus Hostility Immunological Infertility Coital failure Unexplained Infertility Investigations Blood Hormone assays Sonography of the Pelvis Follicle Monitoring Post coital test Semen Test Hysterosalpingogram Laparoscopy Hysteroscopy Treatment Options Ovarian stimulation Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) IVF – ET/ ICSI – ET Patient Procedures - Drugs - Simulation Protocols - Egg Retrieval - Sperm Collection - Embryo Transfer - Luteal Phase support - Precautions - Pregnancy Testing - Success Rates - Male Surgical Options Laboratory Procedures - Sperm Preparation - Insemination - Fertilisation - Day 3 Embryos - Blastocyst Transfer - Cryopreservation - Embryo Biopsy - Assisted Hatching Embryo Reduction Sperm Banking Egg Donation Egg sharing Embryo Donation IVF surrogacy Reproductive Surgery - Female - Male Special Cases Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Genital Tuberculosis Endometriosis