300 CYCLES OF OOCYTE DONATION AT THE UNIVERSITY-OF-SOUTHERN-CALIFORNIA - ASSESSING THE EFFECT OF AGE AND INFERTILITY DIAGNOSIS ON PREGNANCYAND IMPLANTATION RATES

Purpose: Our purpose was to evaluate the effect of age on endometrial receptivity and to compare success rates for oocyte donation among gro ups with differing primary diagnoses. Design: This was a retrospective analysis of 300 consecutively attempted oocyte donation cycles. Setti ng: The setting was the in vitro fertilization program at the Universi ty of Southern California. Methods: Recipients were divided into group s according to age: Group I, <30 years (n = 8); Group II, 30-39 years (n = 59); Group III, 40-49 years (n = 107); and Group IV, 50-59 years (n = 18). Additionally, indications for treatment were divided into Cl asses A-G according to a primary diagnosis given to each patient and i ncluded premature ovarian failure (n = 44), surgical castration (n = 9 ), genetic disease carrier (n = 12), transitional menopause (n = 27), natural menopause (n = 30), multiple IVF failures (n = 62), and postch emotherapy (n = 8). Recipients received oral micronized estradiol and intramuscular progesterone. Oocytes were donated by fertile young wome n utilizing ovarian hyperstimulation with menopausal gonadotropins. Re sults: There were no significant differences among groups or classes r elated to either the number of oocytes received or the number of embry os transferred per cycle. Rates for embryo implantation and resorption and the clinical and ongoing or delivered pregnancy rates were simila rly not different among patients except for women who previously recei ved chemotherapy, where a significantly elevated rate of spontaneous a bortion was noted P < 0.05). Conclusions: The establishment of pregnan cy utilizing oocyte donation is not adversely affected by the chronolo gical age of the recipient, inferring that the age-related decline in fertility is due primarily to oocyte aging, and not to loss of endomet rial receptivity. Also, prior exposure to chemotherapy may alter endom etrial integrity and lead to greater pregnancy wastage in women receiv ing donated embryos.