Having a baby in your 40s with assisted reproductive technology: The reproductive dilemma of autologous versus donor oocytes.

BACKGROUND: Increasing numbers of women ≥40 years old are accessing assisted reproductive technology (ART) due to age-related infertility. There is limited population-based evidence about the impact on the cumulative live birth rate (CLBR) of women aged ≥40 years using their own oocytes, compared to women of a similar age, using donor oocytes. AIMS: To compare the CLBR for women ≥40 years undergoing ART using autologous oocytes and women of similar age using donor oocytes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This population-based retrospective cohort study used data from all women aged ≥40 years undergoing ART with donated (n = 987) or autologous oocytes (n = 19 170) in Victoria, Australia between 2009 and 2016. A discrete-time survival model was used to evaluate the CLBR following ART with donor or autologous oocytes. The odds ratio, adjusted for woman's age; male age; parity; cause of infertility; and the associated 95% confidence intervals (CI), were calculated. The numbers needed to be exposed (NNEs) were calculated from the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and the CLBR in the autologous group. RESULTS: The CLBR ranged from 28.6 to 42.5% in the donor group and from 12.5% to 1.4% in the autologous group. The discrete-time survival analysis with 95% CI demonstrated significant aOR on CLBR across all ages (range aOR: 2.56, 95% CI: 1.62-4.01 to aOR: 15.40, 95% CI: 9.10-26.04). CONCLUSIONS: Women aged ≥40 years, using donor oocytes had a significantly higher CLBR than women using autologous oocytes. The findings can be used when counselling women ≥40 years about their ART treatment options and to inform public policy.

'Battery hens' or 'nuggets of gold': a qualitative study on the barriers and enablers for altruistic egg donation.

The demand for donated eggs outstrips supply in countries such as Australia where only altruistic egg donation is permitted. We conducted semi-structured interviews with women (n = 18), who had donated eggs in Australia in the last three years, to identify barriers and enablers for altruistic egg donation. Women reported difficulties in accessing trusted information on all aspects of egg donation and limited public awareness about the need for donor eggs. They generally had a good experience of pre-donation counselling and of the care provided by the fertility clinic staff. However, post-donation follow-up was deemed inadequate. Participants offered suggestions for how public education campaigns could enhance awareness about egg donation and how clinics could improve the post-donation experience. The findings indicate that the availability of independent, easily accessible, evidence-based information on egg donation; improved public awareness about the need for donor eggs; and proactive recruitment of donors may increase the local supply of donor eggs. Better clinic follow-up care, including post-donation counselling, would improve donors' experience of altruistic egg donation.

Oocyte donor age has a significant impact on oocyte recipients' cumulative live-birth rate: a population-based cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To study the impact of the donor's and recipient's age on the cumulative live-birth rate (CLBR) in oocyte donation cycles. DESIGN: A population-based retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Not applicable. PATIENT(S): All women using donated oocytes (n = 1,490) in Victoria, Australia, between 2009 and 2015. INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The association between the donor's and recipient's age and CLBR modeled by multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression with the covariates of male partner's age, recipient parity, and cause of infertility adjusted for, and donor age grouped as <30, 30-34, 35-37, 38-40, and ≥41 years, and recipient age as <35, 35-37, 38-40, 41-42, 43-44, and ≥45 years. RESULT(S): The mean age of the oocyte donors was 33.7 years (range: 21 to 45 years) with 49% aged 35 years and over. The mean age of the oocyte recipients was 41.4 years (range: 19 to 53 years) with 25.4% aged ≥45 years. There was a statistically significant relationship between the donor's age and the CLBR. The CLBR for recipients with donors aged <30 years and 30-34 years was 44.7% and 43.3%, respectively. This decreased to 33.6% in donors aged 35-37 years, 22.6% in donors aged 38-40 years, and 5.1% in donors aged ≥41 years. Compared with recipients with donors aged <30 years, the recipients with donors aged 38-40 years had 40% less chance of achieving a live birth (adjusted hazard ratio 0.60; 95% CI, 0.43-0.86) and recipients with donors aged ≥41 years had 86% less chance of achieving a live birth (adjusted hazard ratio 0.14; 95% CI, 0.04-0.44). The multivariate analysis showed no statistically significant effect of the recipient's age on CLBR. CONCLUSION(S): We have demonstrated that the age of the oocyte donor is critical to the CLBR and is independent of the recipient woman's age. Recipients using oocytes from donors aged ≥35 years had a statistically significantly lower CLBR when compared with recipients using oocytes from donors aged <35 years.