Donor embryos

Donor embryos are embryos that are donated by a couple or individual who has completed their family or no longer wishes to use them. Donor embryos can be used to help couples who are unable to conceive with their own gametes.

Donor embryos are a good option for people who are unable to have children using their own sperm or eggs. This may include people who are:

• Advanced in age.
• Have a medical condition that makes it difficult or impossible to have children.
• Have a genetic condition that they do not want to pass on to their children.
• Have been unsuccessful with other fertility treatments.

Donor embryos are created through in vitro fertilization (IVF). In IVF, eggs are retrieved from a woman's ovaries and fertilized with sperm in a laboratory to make embryos.

Donor embryos can be either fresh or frozen. Fresh donor embryos are created and transferred to the recipient’s uterus within a few days of being created. Frozen donor embryos are created and then frozen for future use. They can be thawed and transferred to the recipient’s uterus at a later date.

The success rate of using donor embryos depends on several factors, including the age of the recipient, the quality of the embryos (which is dependent on the age of the donor and if the embryos are genetically normal or not), and the cause of infertility. The average success rate for using genetically normal donor embryos is about 60-70%.

If you are considering using donor embryos, contact us to help determine if donor embryos are right for you. We would be happy to guide you through our donor embryo program.