Donated Embryos and Adoption as Options for Having a Baby

When couples are not able to have a baby without help, they may often consider donor eggs or adoption to build a family.  Donated embryos offer couples a very affordable alternative.  Embryos from in vitro fertilization procedures can be donated to a couple wanting to have a baby.  These embryos are then placed into the uterus, or womb, of the intended mother.  Since donors have waived their rights to the embryos, the resulting pregnancy belongs to the couple receiving the embryos.  This means there are no legal challenges or problems with parental rights.  The intended parents are able to enjoy pregnancy and have a baby of their own.

Pregnancy using donated embryos is sometimes called "embryo adoption".  Since the intended mother carries the pregnancy and gives birth, and there are no legal challenges to parental rights, the use of the term adoption is not accurate.  Pregnancy using donated embryos is usually much more cost effective that other forms of fertility treatments.

Donors that provide embryos have also been screened for health risks including inherited disorders, mental illness, and other traits that would be undesirable to most parents. It is not possible to avoid all health risks and birth defects, but this is true for any pregnancy.  Usually, the background information on the donors will be made available to the recipient couple.

Donated embryos are usually in limited supply compared to the long waiting lists of people searching for donated embryos.  In an effort to minimize the waiting times, California IVF: Davis Fertility Center, Inc. has formed the California Conceptions Donated Embryo Program.  It is the goal of this program to make donor embryos readily available to people that are not able to afford other forms of infertility treatments, are not able to find embryos available for donation, or face problems with adoption due to age or financial barriers. 

California Conceptions Donated Embryo Program is an service of California IVF: Davis Fertility Center, Inc.  The program offers patients an excellent opportunity to become pregnant using donated embryos.  Our success has allowed us to offer a 100% refund plan to qualified recipients.  Individuals and couples that are interested should explore our California Conceptions Web site to learn more about joining this unique donated embryo ("embryo adoption") program.  

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California IVF: Davis Fertility Center, Inc. announces online donor application and donor database

Fertility treatment using donor oocytes is an excellent option for couples struggling with infertility, who are unable to produce quality eggs on their own and want to take advantage of a highly successful method of becoming pregnant.

Using this option, eggs are taken from an egg donor, usually a woman in her 20’s who is healthy and has no history of infertility. The eggs are fertilized with the sperm from the recipient’s husband or partner. One to two embryos are transferred into the uterus of the recipient.

Infertility treatments with donor oocytes are associated with a 75% to 85% chance of success on the first try. Embryos that were frozen during the first treatment are available for transfer at a later time; further increasing the chances of having a baby.

Egg donors are screened for medical and psychological abnormalities using a variety of tools. In the past, donors completed a written questionnaire which was then mailed to the clinic for review. With the introduction of online applications, California IVF: Davis Fertility Center, Inc. is able to streamline the application process. The online donor application will also speed up the review and selection process for oocyte donor recipients.

Oocyte donor recipients are now able to review profiles electronically, view photographs of donor, and make their selection in a more efficient manner. This is a welcome addition to our already successful donor egg program. California IVF: Davis Fertility Center, Inc. has given patients some of the highest possible pregnancy rates using donor eggs. Maintaining a large database of donors will allow us to have a broad selection of donors available for matching and also allow us to select the best candidates to participate in our donor egg program.

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Infertility FAQs - How Many Eggs are Women Born With?

At birth, most women had around 2 million ooctyes or eggs contained within immature folliciles.

According to a recent article in "Sexuality, Reproduction and Menopause":

• At 28 weeks' gestation, a developing female fetus has a maximum of 6 to 7 million immature eggs
• At birth, around 2 million eggs remain within immature follicles
• At puberty, there are about 500,000 follicles remaining
• At 38 years of age, around 25,000 follicles remain
• From 38 to about 51 years of age, follicle loss accelerates until the ovaries stop working

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