After the selection of the donor comes the evaluation cycle phase.

Evaluation Cycle

When the process of pregnancy takes place naturally, the uterus of the mother prepares itself by thickening the lining of the inner wall, while the body automatically produces an increase of hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, for the conception. But in the case of pregnancy with donor eggs, a mother’s body is not prepared for pregnancy and therefore the hormones have to be artificially induced.

A prospective mother will undergo an evaluation cycle to determine the correct amount of estrogen and other hormonal supplements to be administered prior to transferring a fertilised donor egg. This is done by measuring your blood estrogen level and through ultrasound check ups to observe the uterine lining. The doctor may also give oral or estrogen injections to raise your hormone levels, which you may continue to take for a period of 10 to 14 days.

In approximately three to four weeks the evaluation cycle is complete.

Egg Donation Cycle

This cycle is also known as the coordination cycle as the donor and the mothers cycle are synchronized with the help of birth control pills. Once this has been done, the donor is given fertility drugs to promote a greater number of eggs being matured during her cycle. Meanwhile, you are given the appropriate dose of estrogens determined during the evaluation cycle to prepare your uterus for the embryo.

A day before your donor undergoes egg retrieval, you are given progesterone vaginally or with an injection. When the egg donation is preformed, your partner will provide a semen sample that day so that his sperm can be combined that day with the freshly retrieved eggs. After 3 to 5 days, once the embryos have formed, two to three embryos will be transferred to your uterus as it normally would during an IVF procedure.

You will continue to receive estrogens and progesterone doses to help encourage a pregnancy. 10 to 11 days after the embryo transfer, a pregnancy test is carried out to check the success of the procedure.

Benefits

There are a number of benefits to using donor eggs:

• A donor egg from a younger woman increases the chances of conception to 60% as compared to 15% to 18% with your own eggs. This is because donor eggs are of better quality and there are more numbers of eggs available for fertilisation.
• As the donor egg provides a better chance of fertilisation, you may not have to undergo as many IVF cycles thereby saving yourself from the physical, mental, and financial anxieties associated with each cycle.
• Donor eggs provide an opportunity to conceive a child whose genetic make up resembles one of the parents.
• You are able to experience the process of giving birth when the fertilised egg is placed inside your uterus, which is not possible with an adopted child.

Risk Factors

A common fear of parents is that their child will be born with a genetic defect. Donors, however, are usually extensively checked for any signs of physical and genetic abnormalities. As a result, the chances of your child being affected by genetic problems caused by a donor are significantly reduced. However, they cannot be completely eliminated.

Unlike donor sperm, which is frozen and quarantined for at least six months, donor eggs are not frozen. This is because the freezing technique for eggs has yet to be perfected; in fact, freezing eggs typically damages the egg making it unusable. Therefore, fresh eggs must be used when you opt for donor eggs. Some infections, like HIV, may not produce a positive result until months after the infection, which means, although a donor may be tested, there is still a chance that she, and her eggs, could have a serious infection.

Other risks associated with this procedure include those associated with the IVF process itself as well as the chance of miscarriage if your body does not respond to the embryo. Furthermore, because two to three embryos are transferred, your risk of a multiple pregnancy occurring is increased.

Success Rate

Research has shown that there is about a 54% to 68% chance of conceiving using donor eggs and egg donation. For women above the age of 40 and even 54, who in general have a lower quality and quantity of eggs, the chances of conceiving with a donor egg is 8 times more than with their own eggs.