As a result, ART using donor eggs is much more common among older women than among younger women. Figure 19 shows the percentage of ART cycles using donor eggs in 1997 according to the woman s age. The percentage of cycles carried out with donor eggs then increased sharply. Figure 20 compares success rates for ART using donor eggs with those for ART using a woman s own eggs among women of different ages. The likelihood of a fertilized egg implanting is related to the age of the woman who produced the egg.
Egg donors are typically in their twenties or early thirties.
Thus, the live birth per transfer rate for cycles using embryos from donor eggs varies only slightly across all age groups. In contrast, this rate for cycles using embryos from the woman s own eggs declines steadily as women get older.