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IVF, Egg Donation, and Women’s Health


Quick Summary

To date, more than one million babies have been born worldwide as a result of IVF and in 2003 U.S fertility clinics reported 112,872 IVF cycles. Although there has been considerable medical literature exploring the possible health effects of in vitro fertilization to babies born from this technology, the potential health risks to the women who undergo this process have been less extensively studied.

 

IVF, Egg Donation, and Women’s Health
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Future Research

More research in the areas of ovarian stimulation and health outcomes must be completed before definitive conclusions can be drawn about the risks for women. Existing studies have been limited in a variety of ways, yet there has been some evidence that the drugs used in ovarian stimulation and oocyte retrieval may be associated with increased risk of cancer. Priorities for future research ought to include:

• Reducing the risk of OHSS without impaired pregnancy rates and developing the means to identify women who are at a increased risk of OHSS before initiating treatment.

• Long-term evaluation of larger populations of women who have undergone infertility treatment, with more accurate information about the patients’ specific infertility treatments (e.g., dosages, durations, drug name).

• Studies examining the longterm health outcomes of women undergoing ovarian stimulation and oocyte retrieval for oocyte donation as compared to the outcomes of women undergoing stimulation and retrieval for IVF, to better understand whether other factors, such as a woman’s underlying infertility, play a role in the long-term risks of cancer or other diseases.

Prepared by Ruth Farrell, Susannah Baruch and Kathy Hudson with graphics by Sheryl Wood

Table of Contents
 

Date added:
Jul 14, 2006
Project:
Genetics and Public Policy Center
References:
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References:

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