Introduction

The concept of egg or embryo donation is not new as the first successful embryo transfer was performed in a rabbit over 100 years ago. The first successful embryo transfer in a human was reported by Buster et al. in 1983. Following the successful development of IVF technology after 1980, donated eggs could be fertilized in vitro and then transferred to recipient endometria. The first pregnancy resulting from the transfer of an in-vitro-fertilized donated egg was reported by Trounson et al. in 1983. This pregnancy ended in spontaneous abortion, but the same group achieved the first successful in-vitro-fertilized donor egg pregnancy in the following year (Lutjen et al., 1984).

These early cases primarily involved recipients who had developed premature ovarian failure. More recently, the indications for egg donation have extended to women with an inherent risk of passing on a serious genetic defect to their offspring and to women aged over 40 years who have failed to conceive on routine IVF programmes. The most recent indication relates to postmenopausal women aged over 50 years requesting pregnancy. Donor egg (DE) programmes have developed rapidly in most developed countries over the last ten years. Most established IVF programmes include donor egg procedures, and over 250 donor egg programmes operate in the US, performing over 2500 transfers annually. The number of donor egg transfers will increase significantly in most major centres during the next few years.