Chapter 14 - Using donor oocytes

Summary

Women are delaying childbirth and trying to conceive when they are over 35 years old and at this age their chances of achieving a pregnancy with their own oocytes suffer a progressive and dramatic drop. The main indications for which a woman undergoes oocyte donation are usually occult ovarian failure, advanced age and repeated failure of in vitro fertilization (IVF). The women who donate oocytes are young, with no previous pathology and with a high reproductive potential. This explains the high clinical pregnancy rates that are usually achieved with this treatment. Patients with ovarian failure due to Turner syndrome attend hospitals asking to be included in the oocyte-donation programs. It is very important to remember that in women with Turner syndrome, the risk of aortic dissection or rupture during pregnancy may be 2% and the risk of death during pregnancy is increased as much as 100-fold.