Abstract
Ovum donation (OD) pregnancies are becoming increasingly common. Obstetric complications with IVF pregnancies are well documented. However, until recently OD had not previously been investigated as a separate subtype of this. It could be postulated that there may be more complications with OD pregnancies as the embryo is immunologically different to the mother. The subsequent allograft reactions can cause problems with placental development and function leading to pathology. Initial studies investigating OD pregnancies were inadequate due to small sample size and inappropriate control groups. Studies specifically comparing to spontaneous pregnancies alone are not suitable when we already know that IVF in itself increases the risk to both mother and baby. Recent research has optimised the control group by using women undergoing IVF with autologous ovum. Ovum donation has now been shown to be an independent risk factor for hypertensive disease in pregnancy, post-partum haemorrhage and increased risk of caesarean section. Neonatal outcomes are less clear-cut, although there is some evidence to suggest there is increased risk of small for gestational age babies and preterm delivery. It is now clear that OD pregnancies are higher risk than IVF pregnancies with autologous ovum and they should be treated as such. Women with ovum donation pregnancies should have obstetric-led care, in a unit which has ready access to both blood transfusion and cell salvage. Future research should investigate how to reduce the risk of ovum donation to these women.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
HFEA. Fertility treatment in 2013: trends and figures. Human Fertilisation and Embryology authority United Kingdom; 2014
Elenis E, Svanberg AS, Lampic C, et al. Adverse obstetric outcomes in pregnancies resulting from oocyte donation: a retrospective cohort case study in Sweden. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2015;15:247.
Jeve YB, Potdar N, Opoku A, et al. Donor oocyte conception and pregnancy complications; a systematic review and meta-analysis. BJOG [online] (2016). Accessed http://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1471-0528.13910/abstract. Accessed 31 Aug 2018.
Storgaard M, Loft A, Bergh C, et al. Obstetric and neonatal complications in pregnancies conceived after oocyte donation: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BJOG. 2017;124:561–72.
Le Ray C, Scherier S, Anselem O, et al. Association between oocyte donation and maternal and perinatal outcomes in women aged 43 years or older. Hum Reprod. 2012;127(3):896–901.
Guilbaud L, Santulli P, Studer E, et al. Impact of oocyte donation on perinatal outcome in twin pregnancies. Fertil Steril. 2017;107(4):948–53.
Adams DH, Clark RA, Davies MJ, et al. A meta-analysis of neonatal health outcomes from oocyte donation. J Dev Orig Health Dis. 2015;27:1–16.
Garner J, Richardson A, Gopaldas P, et al. A comparison of maternal and neonatal outcomes of 79 ovum donation pregnancies compared to 234 autologous IVF controls. J Gynaecol Reprod Med. 2017;1(1):1–5.
Stoop D, Baumgarten M, Haentjens P, et al. Obstetric outcome in donor oocyte pregnancies: a matched-pair analysis. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2012;10(42):1–9.
Tarlatzi TB, Imbert R, Mercadal BA, et al. Does oocyte donation compared with autologous oocyte IVF pregnancies have a higher risk of preeclampsia? Reprod Biomed Online. 2017;34:11–8.
Woo I, Hindoyan R, Landay M, et al. Perinatal outcomes after natural conception versus in vitro fertilisation (IVF) in gestational surrogates: a model to evaluate IVF treatment versus maternal effects. Fertil Steril. 2017;108(6):993–8.
Soderstrom-Anttila V, Wennerholm UB, Loft A, et al. Surrogacy: outcomes for surrogate mothers, children and the resulting families—a systematic review. Hum Reprod Update. 2016;22(2):260–76.
Sunkara SK, Antonisamy B, Selliah HY, et al. Perinatal outcomes after gestational surrogacy versus autologous IVF: analysis of national data. Reprod Biomed Online. 2017;35:708–14.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Amit Shah is a consultant in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery at Homerton University Hospital, London; Dr. Maryam Parisaei, FRCOG, is a Consultant Obstetrician at Homerton Hospital, London; Dr. Jessica Garner is a Speciality Trainee in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Homerton Hospital, London.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shah, A., Parisaei, M. & Garner, J. Obstetric Complications of Donor Egg Conception Pregnancies. J Obstet Gynecol India 69, 395–398 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13224-019-01211-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13224-019-01211-9