What is the success rate of fresh versus frozen donor egg cycles?
Fresh donor egg cycles in Canada must be from known donors that have donated their eggs altruistically. Most physicians would advise patients that the success of such a treatment is strongly influenced by the age of the woman donating the eggs. Most programs would advise using fresh donor eggs from women who have had children of their own and are of an age younger than age 35. In such ideal situations, pregnancy rates per cycle may be as high as 60%-70%. Frozen donor eggs used for pregnancy is still considered an experimental procedure. Most women who request egg freezing are women who are about to undergo treatment with radiation and chemotherapy (processes that may affect or destroy eggs in the body). Egg freezing is a difficult process as eggs do not freeze, thaw and lead to pregnancies very well. Improvements in pregnancy rates have been achieved when frozen and thawed eggs are combined with ICSI for fertilization. World-wide literature suggests that pregnancy rates in such situati
