Egg donations have been performed for the past 25 years to treat infertility. Donated eggs may be used if the recipient’s eggs are not of sufficient quality to allow pregnancy, if she has had premature menopause or if she has a genetic condition that could pass on to her child. Sometimes donated eggs are given to survivors of cancer or those with congenital abnormalities that affect the reproductive system. While a happy result often occurs for the infertile women involved, they have a higher chance of pregnancy complications than women who have not had egg donation.
From the late 1980s onwards, rates of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy have been increasing, especially after implantation of donated eggs. Infertile women are at higher risk of pre-eclampsia anyway just because they are infertile, although the medical community aren’t always sure why. Other factors that increase the risk are older maternal age, which many patients are since they have been trying to have a baby for several years, and multiple pregnancy – a more common phenomenon in IVF.
Termination: A Heart Breaking Outcome of Egg Donation
Doctors in Germany who have headed the research became concerned when several women came to their offices suffering from pre-eclampsia after having received donated eggs.
In 2008 and 2009 they saw three women who developed very severe pre-eclampsia before 26 weeks of pregnancy after being impregnated with donated eggs. All three women had to undergo terminations because of the threat to their own lives, an absolute tragedy for them since the babies were very much wanted. The same doctors saw another five women between 2006-2010 who all developed a milder pre-eclampsia at a later stage in pregnancy. All of their babies survived.
Pre-Eclampsia: A Significant Cause of Maternal Death
After a review of the literature, they found that the rate of pre-eclampsia after egg donation was 22.6%. It was 24.3% for women expecting twins or more and for women aged 42 years or older, it was 28.3%.
These figures may be higher since in Germany egg donation is illegal and women have to travel to neighboring countries in order to have treatment. There is low public acceptance of egg donation so some women may choose not to inform their doctor that they have received donated eggs. This means that some cases of pregnancy induced hypertensive disorders are occurring in women who have received donated eggs without their health care provider’s knowledge.
Pre-eclampsia causes between 12 and 18% of all maternal deaths worldwide.
The authors concluded:
"Patients who have undergone oocyte donation in fertilization centers abroad should be explicitly asked whether they have undergone egg donation. In addition to close monitoring of the pregnancy, the women should if possible be under the care of obstetricians specializing in maternofetal medicine."
Source:
Oocyte Donation: A Risk Factor for Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension: A Meta-Analysis and Case Series, Volume 108, no.3, 21st January 2011.
Joanna Karpasea-Jones - I have been a health writer since 1997 when I published my own newsletter, SHOTS. I have written 2 books on childhood health, and write ...
