Selection and Screening of Potential Oocyte Recipients

The advent of oocyte donation (OD) in the early 1980s made it possible for a subset of women previously unable to reproduce to experience not only child rearing (as a consequence of adoption) but also pregnancy and childbearing. It may be argued that there are psychological and physical advantages to experiencing pregnancy. Women achieving pregnancy with oocyte donation certainly have more control over the intrauterine environment of the fetus. Also, recipients may have firsthand experience of the physiologic changes associated with pregnancy, labor, and delivery. In the majority of cases of oocyte donation, the sperm from the intended father is used, giving the couple the opportunity to propagate at least one of their two genetic lineages. The heightened acceptance of oocyte donation in the United States can be seen in the growing numbers of programs (see Figure 3.1) performing increasing numbers of oocyte donation cycles in the United States.1