Although the live birth rate varies, depending on the Clinic you use, the use of ICSI suggests that there are problems with the male sperm. So, whether you use your own, or donated eggs, the success rate would be similarly compromised.
It’s common practice to freeze some extra eggs recovered from an Egg Donor (assuming that they meet set medical standards), for your future use if necessary. Although used extensively, it’s still early days and successful pregnancy rates are still apparently lower than when you use donated eggs immediately as they are recovered. It is an area to watch, however, as it remains an effective protocol.
ICSI is usually used to fertilize frozen eggs after thawing.
Our Egg Donors, and – importantly – their eggs, age from 21 to 33. They are extremely viable and you should be careful not to transfer more than 2 embryos, to avoid triplets (or more) with all implications of multiple offspring.
When you meet with your Fertility Specialist, you should have some idea of which dates you want to be in South Africa, for an unbroken 12-day period.
We obviously rely on the Egg Donor to be honest. We do communicate with her and will verify selected information, but – believe us – there’s no real financial gain in donating, so no motive to lie on her profile.
Our Egg Donors are tested for HIV when they start the Egg Donation Cycle with you. If they are HIV-negative, it’s not possible to transmit HIV through the use of donated eggs.
Frozen eggs, thawed later, do lose about 50% of their fresh potential. You can imagine how difficult it is to perfectly preserve anything in this way! So, fresh is always better than frozen.
Retrieved eggs are surrounded by cumulous cells, that mask the true nature of the egg until they are removed by the sperm, about 19 hours after insemination.
We only work with qualified Egg Donors, by which we mean that we want full commitment and the best possible chance of a successful pregnancy. Apart from the exhaustive profiling and management from ababySA, your Egg Donor takes psychological tests to make absolutely sure that she is mentally healthy, with a clear understanding of all the implications and risks involved in Egg Donation.
Yes. We will do the initial matching and confirmations before handing over the file to your Fertility Specialist, who will specifically confirm that the Egg Donor you selected is the Egg Donor who is synchronised with you for the donation.