Dr Richa Sharma
This procedure of egg donation is a blessing in disguise to all those couples where they are not getting pregnant either because they have no eggs in their ovaries or due to poor egg quality.
Oocyte donation remains one of the ways of bringing the joy of parenthood to many couples who cannot conceive naturally.
Hereby I am quoting common queries in minds of couples with all myths and facts to make things easier
What’ egg Donation ?
Egg donation is a type of Test Tube Baby procedure where an egg is taken from a fertile young lady preferably under 30yrs and sperm is taken from intending husband and both are united outside the body in laboratory and the resulting embryo (baby) is transferred into the uterus of the intending woman.
Egg donor- is woman who donates eggs
Recepient- woman who receives eggs in form of embryos(Bhrun) being transferred into her womb(Garbhasay)
Innovation – Trounson and colleagues from Australia first reported an egg donation cycle in 1983
This concept has enabled millions of woman all round the globe to get pregnant who are not able to get pregnant using their own eggs.Egg donation has brought a new hope to many couples who otherwise would have remained childless.
Who all in need of Egg Donation ?
1)Premature ageing of ovary(Premature ovarian failure)-when there is early ageing or lack of eggs, reasons can be- Idiopathic (unknown), after ovarian surgery like removal of ovaries prematurely due to multiple reasons, In cancer patients after chemotherapy ,Radiotherapy
2) Genetic reasons like- Thalassemia, galactosemia
3)Down syndrome or any other chromosomal disorders translocations(karyotyping)
4)Repeated IVF failure due to poor egg quality
5)Menopausal , perimenopausal(females who are not getting monthly periods)
Oocyte donation is the most successful technique for achieving pregnancies in perimenopausal women.
How female differs from male in fertility- Do you know that ?
A women is born with a fixed no of eggs in her ovaries and these get depleted in the course of her reproductive years(15-45yrs) unlike men whose sperms(shukranoo) are formed every 3months so a man even of 80yrs can make a lady pregnant unlike a woman after 45yrs has get almost nil chances to get pregnant as her own eggs are exhausted because her eggs are formed only once in her life time(at the time of birth) . New egg formation does not occur after birth and there are no medication or injection for new eggs to form( Concept of stem cells on research and DHEA with variable evidence)
What’s the success rates and how it differs from normal pregnancy?Anything to worry ?
The pregnancy after an egg donation cycle is like a normal pregnancy follow up. The success of egg donation cycle is approximately 45-50% per attempt . The success is not 100% because the implantation (Growth of the baby inside the womb) is under God’s control and there are no medication at present which would assure 100% implantation. The process of IVF can make babies outside the human body till 2-3days max 5days and there after the babies (Embryos) are transfer back inside the womb and the further growth inside is dependent on God wish .
Is it safe to go for donor and what all screened ?
The egg donors are screened for infectious disease,genetic diseases along with baseline workup along with detailed psychological evaluation .
What are legal issues?
The recepient couple should be aware that they would become the legal parents of any resulting children/child. Donor selection is based strictly as per ICMR guidelines and ART Bill(law of land)
Risks to baby born ?
The children / child born through a egg donation cycle does not carry any increase inchance of abnormal child.
The ethical, moral , legal and medical issues have been addressed time and time again, yet the debate goes on. Strict guidelines and protocols are necessary. Within the complexity of these issues, continued efforts have to made to improve the outcome of egg donation program for both recepient and donors.
(The author is IVF Consultant Bournhall)
(richasharma47@gmail.com)
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