Secondary infertility happens when a couple have had at least one child but is not able to successfully conceive for a minimum one year or the woman is not able to carry the pregnancy to term. This condition especially touches couples who have had a baby when they were very young, in their twenties, and decided to have one more child after several years. What are their options for successful pregnancy in late thirties and forties?
In case of women their fertility rapidly drops after the age of 35. Many women at that age suffer from diminished ovarian reserve which simply means that their bodies produce very few oocytes that are usually of very low quality. Poor quality eggs may cause problems with egg fertilization, implantation or may cause early miscarriage due to genetic abnormalities. Certainly there are women who get pregnant naturally in their thirties or have successful IVF with their own eggs in their forties, but these are very small numbers of patients. For other women suffering from secondary infertility the solution can be egg donation treatment. In ED treatment the doctors use donor eggs and partner’s sperm (or donor sperm) to perform IVF (in vitro fertilization). After the eggs get fertilized, 1 or 2 embryos are transferred to the patient’s uterus. This is usually done on day 3 or 5 blastocyst stage.
Having egg donation treatment gives you much higher chances for implantation, positive pregnancy blood test result and live birth – something that would not be possible with your own eggs. It is worth mentioning that egg banks and IVF clinics offering egg donation packages use only young and healthy egg donors. Many candidates for donors gets rejected, even 50% of them; the ones who are accepted into egg donation are additionally tested for sexually transmitted diseases and genetic diseases. This should give you peace of mind, especially if genetic conditions run in your family.
If you have a child who inherited a disease from you or your partner, this would be a medical indication for you to undergo egg donation treatment. Using donor eggs instead of your own (which carry the mutations) should help avoid abnormalities in your offspring.
IVF clinics usually offer two types of egg donation programs: fresh egg donation and frozen egg donation. The success rates can be similar and it is up to you and your partner which program you want to go ahead with. The main difference lies in cost and the protocol itself. Fresh egg donation is usually more expensive and involves the egg recipient cycle to be synchronized with the egg donor’s (which is not always so straightforward). On the other hand, some sources say that egg freezing and thawing may affect the egg cell’s structure. It is therefore recommended to consult your decision with an experienced IVF specialist. They will be able to help you make the best decision for your infertility case.
If you are looking for IVF donor egg success rates over 40, check the reports and webinars published online by eggdonationfriends.com, a platform for IVF patients – this should give you more information, knowledge and more insight into ways of beating secondary infertility after the age of 35. Their services are free for all IVF patients and couples planning their first treatment. You can even chat to their consultants and ask for more information on the clinic or treatment you are interested in.
40 years ago we did not even dream that women 40+ could become pregnant and have a healthy baby. The world is rapidly changing and thanks to medical science and dedicated doctors countless numbers of infertile couples have now a viable chance to become parents again.