The egg donation program at SCRC is an option for creating a child with 50 percent genetic identity to 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 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 due to various 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 SCRC 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 IVF lab using sperm from the recipient 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 egg donation as an infertility treatment, SCRC has helped hundreds of couples become parents.

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 whether egg donation is appropriate for you, based on your 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

The decision to proceed with egg donation is a very big step. Couples can be assured that all prospective donors are screened thoroughly for communicable diseases and heritable disorders, to the fullest extent possible. The evaluation cycle and donation 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.

The Evaluation Cycle

Before the actual egg donation cycle, it is the policy of Southern California Reproductive Center to perform a “trial run” to establish the proper dosages of estrogen and progesterone that your body will require to facilitate a successful pregnancy. 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 ultra sound 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 SCRC physician will know how to most effectively prepare your uterine lining for the actual fertilization cycle.

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 ready 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. About 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.