Planned pregnancies among 40-year-olds are much more prevalent these days.But at the age of 40 and above women have reduced fertility potential as compared to that seen in younger women. There are a number of ways in which IVF can help, these are

• IVF Treatment

• IVF with genetic testing

• IVF with donor eggs

Age limits for IVF

• Most IVF clinics have an upper age limit for allowing IVF treatment when using there "own eggs “: This is between 42 and 45 years of age.

• Donor eggs are commonly used until about age 49.

IVF with Donor Eggs

In vitro fertilization with donor eggs and your partner’s sperm is a laboratory technique that consists of fertilizing a donor’s eggs with your partner’s sperm. The fertilized egg becomes a pre-embryo and it is then transferred to your previously prepared uterus to continue developing.

IVF Phases

1. Donor selection : This is done based on extremely strict medical criteria and can undergo a series of tests to rule out any major diseases and conditions that may have effects on the baby’s health

2. Donor treatment: They have to go for treatment for about two weeks to stimulate their ovaries. This consists of administering subcutaneous (under the skin) hormone injections. There monitoring will be done with ultrasound scans plus blood tests if necessary. The eggs are then removed by inserting a fine needle into the ovary while the woman is under sedation.

3. In vitro fertilization & embryo transfer: once the donor eggs have been harvested, they are placed in a culture dish for a few hours while the semen is prepared and the sperm is separated.

4. Cryopreservation: The pre-embryos that have not been transferred are frozen in liquid nitrogen (this type of cryopreservation is known as Vitrification) and they are then carefully labelled and stored in the embryo bank.

These pre-embryos can be used in subsequent cycles if a pregnancy is not achieved on the first attempt or for the next pregnancy.

How are Frozen Donor Eggs a Better Option

Synchronization of the embryo culture and recipient’s uterine receptivity is of key importance for the success of IVF. The process can becomes tough in case of fresh donor eggs. This is because the specialist has to fine tune the donor and recipient cycles to perfection. There are several other reasons:

• Donor can be super ovulated naturally for frozen egg IVF, as these eggs have to be stored for later use.

• The number of eggs available for transfer is reasonably good, which improves the chances of getting at least two high quality blastocysts for transfer.

• When fresh eggs are being used, then there is no guarantee about the number of good quality eggs (and subsequently embryos), which would be available at the end of the cycle. This means that there is always a risk of a failed cycle as compared to high probability in case of frozen egg IVF.

• Eggs can be screened for infectious diseases (as is done with donor sperms), which makes the process much safer.

Factors Affecting the Cost IVF Treatment with Donor Eggs 

Following are the factors which will affect the treatment cost:

1. The hospital patient is opting for.

2. Room –Standard single room, deluxe room, super deluxe room for the number of nights specified (including nursing fee, meals, room rate, and room service).

3. Operating room, ICU

4. Fee for the team of doctors (Surgeons ,Anaesthetist  ,Dietician )

5. Medicines

6. Standard test and diagnostic procedures

7. Cost will also depend on

   1. Donor for the egg

   2. Freezing the egg