Egg Donation Infertility Treatment Program – Beverly Hills, California-based Fertility Specialists
The egg donation program of the Southern California Reproductive Center is an option for creating a child with 50 percent genetic identity of a couple; that is, created with the male partner's sperm and a donor's eggs. Our program meets the highest levels of professional standards and discretion based on criteria set forth by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Egg donation is a viable infertility treatment available at our Beverly Hills, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Valencia, California offices, appropriate for women with one of the following conditions:
- Diminished ovary function due to a cancerous cyst
- Cancer of the ovaries or other ovary disease
- Lacking ovaries
- Compromised eggs or embryo quality
- Poor ovary response to fertility medications
- An indication of genetic disease
- A family history of genetic disease
Many women do not have oocytes (eggs) that will successfully fertilize and result in a healthy pregnancy because of other medical conditions or simply because of their age. Egg donation has also been shown to be a successful treatment for women who have had multiple IVF cycles and failed to achieve a pregnancy.
The Egg Donation Process
The egg donation process at the Southern California Reproductive Center involves retrieving eggs from a woman who has normally functioning ovaries. A couple may choose to know the identity of the woman donating the eggs, and vice versa, or the parties may choose anonymity.
Following egg retrieval, the eggs are fertilized in the in vitro fertilization (IVF) lab using sperm from the receiving couple's partner. Following IVF, the resulting embryos are transferred to the uterus of the woman who wishes to carry the baby. If a pregnancy is established, the receiving woman becomes the gestational mother carrying the developing baby through the full term of the pregnancy and childbirth — with all the joys of experience that this affords. With egg donation as an infertility treatment, hundreds of couples have become parents with the assistance of the Southern California Reproductive Center. Our Beverly Hills, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Valencia, California locations all participate in the egg donation process.
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Getting Started
A comprehensive evaluation with one of our physicians is the first step. Following a review of your fertility tests, you will be advised as to the appropriateness of egg donation for your circumstances and medical history. In addition, the entire process will be explained, including:
- Egg donor selection
- The evaluation cycle
- The donation (or actual) cycle
- Success rates
- Costs
Egg donor selection is a careful process. Donors are screened very thoroughly for communicable diseases and heritable disorders, to the fullest extent possible. The evaluation cycle and donation (or actual) cycle are explained briefly below, and we are happy to answer all of your questions about the success rate and costs of the egg donation program as an infertility treatment. Our Beverly Hills, Ventura, Valencia, and Santa Barbara clinics all have an egg donation program.
The Evaluation Cycle
Before the actual egg donation cycle, the Southern California Reproductive Center's policy is to perform a "trial run" to establish the proper dosages of estrogen and progesterone that your body will require to facilitate a successful pregnancy. In addition, the best method of preparing your uterine lining to receive the embryos will be established during the evaluation.
An orally administered, natural estrogen called Estrace® will be given in gradually increasing dosages over a 10–14-day treatment period. Blood estrogen levels will be evaluated over a period of days, and an ultrasound will be performed to determine the thickening of the uterine lining. After the full evaluation cycle is completed — usually taking from four to six weeks — your Southern California Reproductive Center physician will have valuable information on how to most effectively prepare your uterine lining for the actual fertilization cycle.
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The Donation Cycle
Before egg donation is started, you will begin taking estrogen. This is followed by your egg donor starting her medication. Ultrasounds and blood tests will be performed on a periodic basis to ensure that your uterus is in perfect readiness for the embryo transfer. A sperm specimen will be given by your partner on the same day that the egg donor's eggs are retrieved. At this time, the IVF procedure will be performed to fertilize the donor eggs.
Typically, you will begin taking progesterone on the same day. Approximately five days following IVF and the commencement of your progesterone medication, the developing embryos will be transferred to your uterus. Your first pregnancy test will be administered approximately 12 days after embryo transfer. If the pregnancy test is positive, you will continue taking estrogen and progesterone for two additional months, after which the developing baby's placenta will produce the appropriate hormones necessary to carry the pregnancy to full term, allowing the hormone therapy to be discontinued.
Contact the Southern California Reproductive Center about Egg Donation
Contact the Southern California Reproductive Center about egg donation and other infertility treatment options at our California facilities in in Beverly Hills, Lancaster / Palmdale, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Ventura and Valencia. We are very experienced with the egg donation procedure, and we're committed to helping people achieve their dream of parenthood through this and other infertility treatment alternatives.
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