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OVARIAN STIMULATION AND INTRAUTERINE INSEMINATION (IUI) INTRACYTOPLASMIC SPERM INJECTION (ICSI) -- DONOR OOCYTES Donor oocytes (eggs) may be used to assist conception in women with premature menopause or ovarian failure, advanced reproductive age, or with inheritable genetic defects. Treatment with donor eggs utilizes basic IVF principles. A young woman (egg donor) takes daily injections of Lupron and follicle stimulating hormone to produce multiple eggs. The eggs are harvested at the appropriate time, inseminated, and several embryos are then transferred into the uterus of the recipient patient. Prior to embryo transfer, the recipient must be hormonally prepared in order for the embryo to implant successfully. The cycles of the donor and recipient must be carefully synchronized to insure that the embryos and the uterine lining are ready at the same time. The high rate of success for this procedure is due to the fact that the age of the woman producing the eggs directly affects the success rate, not the age of the recipient. A candidate for donor egg/embryo transfer must have a structurally normal uterus with an endometrial lining that is responsive to estrogen and progesterone. There are several egg donor agencies in the Los Angeles area which recruit, carryout initial screening, and match donors to recipients. Our physicians perform medical screening exams and testing prior to beginning medical treatment of the egg donor and recipient patients. Once treatment begins, our physicians carefully monitor both donor and the recipient.
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