Are Donor Eggs Associated with Excess Risk for Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy?

Women who conceived using donor oocytes were at excess risk for preeclampsia, above and beyond the risks associated with in vitro fertilization itself.

The mechanisms by which preeclampsia develops and wreaks havoc during pregnancy have long eluded investigators. Now, a study lends credibility to the immune system's role in the etiology of this disorder while also confirming what many clinicians have suspected about obstetric risks associated with pregnancies conceived using donor eggs. Researchers assessed outcomes of 77 in vitro fertilization (IVF) pregnancies in recipients of donor oocytes and compared them with outcomes of 81 pregnancies in women who underwent IVF using their own eggs.

Twenty-five percent of women with donor-oocyte pregnancies developed gestational hypertension, versus only 7% of women with autologous-oocyte pregnancies. Women who received donor oocytes also had higher …

Reviewing Author

Allison Bryant, MD, MPH

Are Donor Eggs Associated with Excess Risk for Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy?

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Reviewing Author