PROCEDURE
Finding an egg donor is the first step in initiating the
egg donation treatment. Your donor may not live locally or
even in this country.
Even though the child is genetically linked to your partner
and the egg donor, you are the one getting pregnant,
nourishing the baby throughout the pregnancy and delivering
the child.
Egg donation consists of the following steps:
- Once your donor has passed the initial doctor’s
screening, her ovaries are stimulated to produce as many
high quality eggs as possible usually between 6 – 14 eggs.
During the 9 to 14 day ovarian stimulation, ultrasound
examinations and blood estrogen determinations are used to
follow the development of the donor’s eggs. When the eggs
are ready for retrieval, the donor takes an injection of
hCG hormone.
- 36 hours after the hCG injection, a non-surgical egg
retrieval is done in the clinic. A relaxation pill, an
injection of pain medication and a local anesthetic are
used for the 5 – 10 minute procedure.
- The recipient’s partner typically collects 2 semen
samples by masturbation either at home or at the clinic
and the highest quality sperms are added to the eggs 6
hours after the egg retrieval. If your infertility history
suggests the possibility of a male factor significant
enough to keep the eggs from being fertilized using
regular lab methods you will be scheduled for the ICSI
procedure. ICSI or Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection, is a
micromanipulation technique in which a single sperm is
inserted directly into an egg.
- One to 5 days after the egg retrieval, the resulting
embryos are transferred into the recipient’s uterus by
passing a thin embryo transfer catheter through the cervix
to the top of the uterus. The uterine lining has already
been prepared to support the embryos by the use of
estrogen and progesterone supplements. Extra embryos that
are not transferred at this time can possibly be
cryopreserved and stored in liquid nitrogen.
- A blood pregnancy test is scheduled approximately 2
weeks after the embryo transfer. A fetal heartbeat
ultrasound is done two weeks after a positive pregnancy
test. The estrogen and progesterone supplements continues
for 6 to 8 weeks. By that time the placenta produces
enough of its own estrogen and progesterone so that the
supplements can stop. At that point, the pregnancy becomes
indistinguishable from a conception through intercourse.
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