If you have had fertility treatment, you may have frozen embryos that you decide not to use. If you prefer not to throw them away, you can think about donating them for treatment, fertility research or educating others. Learn more about donating your fetus.
During IVF treatment, several female eggs are retrieved and fertilized with male sperm to form an embryo. The couple who produced the embryos may not use all of them for current or future implants. They have to decide what to do with the extra embryos.
Giving these embryos to another woman or couple who cannot produce live embryos gives them a chance to conceive, otherwise it may be impossible.
Embryo donation is an extraordinary gift that benefits both the donor couple and the recipient couple. The donor party knows that unused fetuses have a chance to live, and the recipient benefits from the opportunity to experience pregnancy and parents.
Many couples choose to donate embryos just for this reason. Alternatively, if they have extra embryos that they will not use, such as embryos that were initially frozen for potential future IVF use, they should decide to keep them frozen, which can be costly, donate them for research. To destroy. These are controversial options for some patients and make embryo donation a more attractive option.
Fetal donors can be anonymous or known. Anonymous donors are not identified for the recipient. The two parties, including the child from the donated fetus, will never have contact with each other. Such arrangements are usually agreed upon before the donation and may be included in legal documents.
Known embryo donation, also known as direct donation, can involve donating embryo (s) by a couple to help a friend or family member who is infertile due to intolerable embryos. Even so, owning one is still beyond the reach of the average person.
The use of donated embryos may be of interest to women with incurable infertility involving both parties, incurable infertility in a single woman, recurrent miscarriage thought to be related to the fetus, and genetic disorders in which one or both couples Affects.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has strict guidelines for testing people who are donating tissue, including eggs, sperm, and embryos. However, because most embryos donated were originally intended for use by the people who created them, the FDA-recommended test may not have been performed at the right time. Embryos may continue to be donated as long as recipients are aware of the risks.
At the time of donation, donors must provide an accurate medical history and be tested for infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. If donors are not available at the time of donation or refuse to perform the test, recipients will be warned of the possibility of transmitting the disease.
Receptor assessments are similar to those undergoing routine IVF. This should include a comprehensive medical history of both parties, including blood type and Rh factor, and testing for sexually transmitted diseases including HIV, hepatitis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis. Recipients should be consulted by a mental health professional about the complexity of the decision to use donor embryos. The recipient should have a pelvic exam and evaluation of his or her uterus (womb). If she is over 45, a more accurate assessment should be made, including assessment of heart function and risk of pregnancy-related illnesses. She may also be advised to see a doctor who specializes in high-risk pregnancies.
The mother or recipient couple chooses an embryo donor - whether known or unknown - based on a number of factors, which may include physical characteristics, ethnicity, family history, age, fertility history, or other factors.
The mother should be evaluated to make sure her uterus is able to handle the pregnancy, as well as other health concerns that may affect the pregnancy. The mother will also be tested to make sure her body responds to medications needed to prepare her for pregnancy. These are similar to the drugs used during the frozen embryo transfer and egg donation process.
It is also recommended that both donor and recipient counseling for mental health and other emotional considerations.
Both the couple donating the embryo (s) and the parents receiving the embryo (s) must sign legal documents stating that the intended parents will be the guardian (s) of the child (ren). The parents in question may also request a detailed family history from the couple donating the embryo (s). Couples who donate embryo (ies) can also determine what happens to unused donated embryo (ies) if they do not use all of them.
Involving an informed legal advisor in this process is very important.
After embryo donation, a woman can begin the transfer of a frozen embryo in a process similar to IVF. The recipient mother begins to take medication to prepare her uterus for pregnancy. If she has a regular period, the transfer will take place about three weeks after the start of her period. If the menstrual cycle is not regular, the doctor will begin a cycle to prepare for the transfer of the fetus.
About two weeks after implantation, a blood test can determine if a woman is pregnant. If the transfer is successful, the woman will continue to take medication to maintain the pregnancy for up to five weeks, which will be monitored through blood tests and ultrasound. After confirmation and monitoring of a new pregnancy, the woman can transfer her care to her OB / GYN.
If the transfer of the frozen embryo is not successful (does not lead to pregnancy), the couple can try with any remaining donated embryos. After a successful pregnancy, the remaining donated embryos may also be used in subsequent transfers if the couple wishes to have more children..
Embryo donation involves the transfer of another person's tissue, which poses a theoretical risk of contracting an infectious disease. To date, however, no documented infectious disease has been transmitted through embryo donation.
Other risks of embryo donation include:
