The embryo transfer procedure is a part of the IVF program and implies using a donor to get pregnant. Of course, using donor eggs, regardless of whether it's frozen donor eggs or fresh donor eggs, when you don't have the opportunity to use your own eggs is a wonderful chance to get closer to your dream of starting a family. But still the embryo transfer procedure can also be used for a cycle with your own oocytes.
But while fertility treatments and an IVF cycle with donor eggs help give live birth to your child, IVF success varies. Donor egg transfer has different chances for success because there are lots of factors affecting it, from the age of the donor to the mindset of the recipient. So what are the approximate success rates with donor egg transfer?
On this page
- Chances of getting pregnant with donor eggs
- What factors affect egg donor success rates?
- What are donor egg success rates by age?
- How many donor egg cycles are there before success?
- Treatment at Ovogene
- Conclusions
Chances of getting pregnant with donor eggs
IVF donor egg success rates depend on various factors, like the age of the egg donor, the medical history of the recipient, the lifestyle of the couple and other factors. So the expected rate of success for your fertility treatment will most likely be different from that of another couple. Still, it’s possible to get an approximate percentage of patients who give birth to a healthy child after egg donation treatment.
So what pregnancy success rates can you expect from using donor eggs? The average rate of the success of egg donor programs is higher than 50%, while there is still an opportunity to increase it by managing the lifestyle, habits and physical well-being of prospective parents. But of course, the chance of getting pregnant and giving birth to a healthy baby may be different for your personal case.
Interestingly, the cumulative live birth rates seem not to depend on the age of the woman who is carrying the baby conceived with donor eggs. Instead, it is the age of the donor that matters most. With this being said, it’s possible to achieve the highest success rates possible for your case by managing different factors.
What factors affect egg donor success rates?
There are many factors that make an impact on IVF with donor eggs. As already mentioned, the age of the egg donor affects the effectiveness of the IVF treatment cycle. So what are other negative factors affecting the donor egg IVF success rates?
1. Environmental factors
With the changes in the environment, our bodies change, too. For example, living in an industrial area means that you breathe in polluted air, hence getting all the damaging elements from the production residue into your body. This causes detrimental changes to our bodies, including the fertility capabilities and then birth rates globally, so you may find it difficult to get pregnant or bear a child.
2. The type and quality of embryos
The birth success rate hugely relies on the egg quality and quality of embryos used for egg donations, as well as their type, particularly whether frozen donor eggs or fresh donor eggs are used. Depending on the type of donor eggs, they should be preserved in certain ways and are viable for a different period of time. Obviously, the improper storage of eggs and embryos affects their performance and IVF success rates.
3. Physical health of prospective parents and the donor
Of course, before starting the treatment, fertility doctors will run an overall reproductive health evaluation of the couple to assess the state of their health and the risks caused by any physical characteristics. For example, the doctor may determine the presence of primary ovarian insufficiency or other issues that require attention.
And the same applies to the egg donor — doctors evaluate her health before accepting the woman to the donor database.
Of course, the presence of any diseases affects the chances of successful conceiving, pregnancy and birth. That’s why timely and careful medical examinations contribute to disease control and stimulate egg production in the safest and most effective way for a particular patient.
4. The expertise of the clinic
Your clinic has to be a reliable and experienced institution with proven expertise in IVF treatment and egg donation. Since there are so many nuances and requirements for the donor, the egg quality and the procedure itself, your doctors need to know what they are doing to minimize the chance of error and hence, increase your chance of getting pregnant after your IVF cycle.
The egg quality of egg donors' own eggs also depends on how the fresh eggs and frozen eggs were stored at the egg bank or clinic, as well as how the donor eggs were transferred to where you receive your donor egg IVF treatment. With this in mind, the experience of the fertility doctors, the embryologist and other medical staff at the clinic where you’re getting your treatment is crucial in determining how successful the outcomes of the transfer will be.
5. Your attitude
Staying positive and hopeful throughout the process contributes to the success hugely. Stress is never a good thing for the human body, especially when considering such a tender yet complex process as getting pregnant. So trust the process, take care of your physical and mental well-being, do what you enjoy and cheer yourself and your partner up.
Of course, the fact that you can't use your own eggs and have to look for a fresh donor to get an egg donation can be discouraging. But IVF success chances are high enough to guarantee you that your dream of having a family will come true, even if it's with the help of egg donors. So if you find yourself struggling with the experience and your IVF journey, don’t hesitate to ask your dearest people for support or reach out for professional help.
What are donor egg success rates by age?
When wondering what is the success rate of IVF with donor eggs, it’s important to take age into account. While the IVF success rates depend on a range of factors, one of the most important ones is the age of the egg donor and the egg used for conceiving. So what is the dependency?
Of course, the younger the donor is, the higher pregnancy and live birth rates are. The reason is that a healthy woman in her 20s has healthier donor eggs than older women. In other words, her own eggs are most likely much healthier than even her own eggs several years later. This translates into a smaller need for infertility treatment and fewer chances of chromosomal abnormalities in the embryo and then, the baby.
With this being said, the highest chance of giving birth to a healthy baby is when using donor eggs from a donor who’s donating in her 20s because, at this age, women tend to have eggs that are the healthiest. But this doesn’t mean that a healthy pregnancy is impossible with older donor eggs — it’s still possible, but the success rates are a bit lower and decrease as the donor gets older.
In addition, successful treatment outcomes with IVF depend on the donor’s lifestyle. The woman may be young but live an unhealthy lifestyle, such as sticking to a poor diet or bad habits. This will also impact the quality of her own eggs and reduce it even despite her younger age. This is why it’s crucial for every donor to go through a detailed medical examination before being accepted to the program.
How many donor egg cycles are there before success?
The number of IVF cycles you may need to conceive will differ depending on a variety of factors, such as your health, the quality of donor eggs, the expertise of the IVF clinics where you’re getting treatment and others. However, the donor egg’s first-time success rate can reach 59%, which is a moderate chance of success from the first attempt.
Still, you may need to go through more than one cycle until you get pregnant. In fact, the chance of getting pregnant after the third cycle is higher (89%) than after the second one (65%). With this being said, every next IVF cycle increases your chances of getting pregnant.
But of course, before starting your treatment, it’s crucial to check out different IVF clinics to choose the one you feel is most reliable and are most comfortable with.
Treatment at Ovogene
Ovogene offers an extensive egg donor database and extremely professional and careful patient care — that’s why we are confident in our egg donation success rates. We provide treatment for foreign patients, we only store and transfer high-quality eggs, we do fertility testing and disease control and prevention to make sure every patient is capable of having a healthy child.
In case you want to learn more about embryo transfer at Ovogene, reach out to our team for a consultation.
Conclusions
Embryo transfer with donor eggs helps thousands of couples around the world bring their dream of starting a family to reality. And it’s no wonder that this procedure is a common approach for couples struggling to get pregnant naturally. The high IVF success rates with donor eggs make it possible for partners to overcome their issues with fertility and bring a new life to this world.
Medical Director