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Does Recipient Age Matter When Using an Egg Donor??

Simply stated: absolutely.

In the May 2014 issue of Fertility and Sterility, there is an interesting article (Yeh JS et al. Fertil Steril 2014;101:1331-6) that tested the age of the egg donor recipient in relation to the pregnancy, implantation, clinical pregnancy, live birth, and miscarriage rates. This study pulled all of its data from the national registry database (SART) and compiled information from 27,959 fresh transfers resulting from an egg donation. Only cycles with complete information provided were used in this study. The egg donors were also reviewed and found to be about the same age and have about the same number of eggs retrieved.

These cycles were divided into the following age groups: ≤34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, and ≥50. Pregnancy rates were the highest in the 35-39 age group and lowest in the ≥50 year old age group. The highest reported implantation rates were in the ≤34 age group. The rates then trended downward and had the lowest rate in the ≥50 age group. The same results were found in regards to clinical pregnancy rates and live birth rates. This was also true for miscarriages with the highest rate being in the ≥50 age group and the lowest in the ≤34 age group.

What was found after reviewing all of the data from these cycles was that there was a small but significant decrease in pregnancy rates in recipients beyond the age of 45. The analysis revealed an even sharper decline in success rates around the age of 48 and then even poorer outcomes after age 50.

An important part to keep in mind is that live birth and other favorable outcomes are relatively high throughout the entire range of recipient ages. This shows us that pregnancy can be achieved in women of advanced maternal age (with a normal uterus) through the use of egg donors. This study was not done to dissuade recipients of the use of donor egg, rather, to encourage them to try it at a younger age, if possible.

Outcome Total ≤34 35-39 40-44 45-49 ≥50
Pregnancy % 72.4 72.7 73.4 72.8 71.2 67.7
Implantation % 45.1 46.5 45.5 45.8 43.4 40.9
Clinical Pregnancy % 64.3 64.9 65.4 64.7 62.8 59.9
Live Birth % 55.0 56.7 55.7 55.8 52.7 48.6
Miscarriage % 17.4 16.0 17.7 16.9 18.5 19.0

At InVia Fertility Specialists; we have a donor egg program with excellent pregnancy rates that compare favorably with the national average. If you need an egg donor to conceive, we welcome you to schedule an appointment with one of our Board Certified physicians.

Egg donation InVia Fertility Specialists

Vicki Meagher

Vicki Meagher

Vicki Meagher has worked with InVia Fertility Specialists since 2006. She is our Third Party Coordinator, so she works with our patients that need an egg donor, sperm donor, gestational surrogate, or any combination of the above. She recruits and screens the egg donors for our in-house donor program as well. She loves working with intended parents and is passionate about third party reproduction and the important role it plays in helping patients achieve their dream of starting or extending their family. She is a member of SEEDS - the Society for Ethics for Egg Donation and Surrogacy.

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