Shady Grove Fertility’s Donor Egg Program continues to grow and produce high success rates for patients. It is important to understand donor egg success rates and the implications it might have on your fertility treatment. Read the FAQs about our donor egg success rates.
What is the difference between the donor egg success rates and IVF success rates?
Depending on your age, the difference in success between the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Donor Egg Program can be significant. In order to understand why the success rates are different it is important to understand how each treatment works.
IVF uses the intended parents own eggs which are stimulated and matured through treatment. As a woman ages so do her eggs and with age we see decreased egg quality and quantity. A woman’s fertility potential decreases steadily from her mid 30s onward. The chart below shows a continual decrease in ongoing pregnancy and delivery rates after this point in a woman’s reproductive life. In 2012, a woman over the age of 40 had a 19% live birth rate with IVF treatment.
Donor egg treatment however, relies on the donated eggs from another woman between the ages of 21-32. Using the eggs from a younger woman cancels out the effect that a patient’s age has on her chances of success, explaining the overall absolute increase of 32%. Last year, women of all ages achieved a 51% live birth rate when using donor egg treatment.
What is the Shared Donor Egg Program and how does it impact my chances of getting pregnant?
Over the past 6 years, the Shared Donor Egg Program has significantly reduced the cost of donor egg treatment. Since its introduction, this program has increased the availability of donors, reduced the cost of treatment, and when paired with the Shared Risk 100% Refund Program brought an affordable guarantee of either a baby or a full refund.
After reviewing traditional donor egg treatment cycles – one donor to one recipient – the data began to show donors developed more mature eggs than one recipient would ever be able to use. With donors producing 18 eggs on average, there was recognition that recipients could share the eggs from a single donor.
With the Shared Donor Egg Program recipients can either use all of the eggs a donor produces or share them along with significant cost savings between one or two other couples.
One of the many questions patients considering the Shared Donor Egg program have is “If I share donated eggs with another couple, will it decrease my chances of taking home a baby?” Since the start of Shared Donor Egg Program in 2007, the rate of ongoing pregnancy or delivery, whether or not you are sharing a donor’s eggs have remained very similar. This new donor egg treatment option is increasing access to fertility treatment without compromising the chances of taking home a baby
How many embryos should I transfer? Will transferring two or more increase my chances of taking home a baby?
Shady Grove Fertility’s Donor Egg Program requires donors to be between the age of 21-32. Many women using donated eggs will find their physician recommending the transfer of 1 blastocyst stage embryo, when you may be used to transferring 2, 3 or maybe even 4 when you were using your own eggs. Deciding to transfer only one may feel very conservative. For a women in her late 30’s and into her 40’s where egg quality has declined, transferring more embryos is often the best decision but since recipients are using the high quality eggs from a young donor the data has shown that transferring more than one high-quality embryo only increases the chance of high-risk multiples, and only has a slight increase in pregnancy rates.
Deciding to move to donor egg treatment is not usually an easy choice. It is important to carefully consider the psychological issues and be well aware of the increased success rates attained with egg donation. Being well informed will help you make the decision that is right for you.
If you would like to learn more about donor egg and other fertility treatment options, please request a consultation or call 1-877-971-7755.
