SUCCESSFUL PREGNANCY IN A 63-YEAR-OLD WOMAN

Objective: To report the occurrence of an unusual case of successful p regnancy achieved by oocyte donation in a woman >60 years of age. Desi gn: Case report. Setting: University-based assisted reproductive techn ology program. Patient(s): Sixty-three-year old nulligravida, married for 16 years to her 60-year-old husband. Throughout her infertility tr eatment, the patient was believed to be 10 years younger, as she claim ed. She revealed her true age of 63 only upon being referred for obste tric care at 13 weeks of gestational age. Intervention(s): Oocyte dona tion, IVF, embryo cryopreservation, and ET. Main Outcome Measure(s): A ttainment of pregnancy and subsequent delivery. Result(s): The patient underwent two cycles of oocyte donation. During the second attempt, t he fresh transfer resulted in a clinical miscarriage at approximately 8 weeks of gestational age. A subsequent transfer of three frozen-thaw ed embryos resulted in an ongoing singleton gestation. The pregnancy w as complicated by gestational diabetes (controlled by diet) and mild p regnancy-induced hypertension. Delivery by cesarean section at 38 week s of gestational age resulted in the birth of a healthy female infant weighing 2,844 g with Apgar scores of 9 and 9. Conclusion(s): This cas e demonstrates that the uterus is capable of supporting nidation and s ubsequent gestation for many years beyond natural menopause. It shows that other aspects of human physiology are capable of adapting to the stresses and changes of pregnancy sufficiently well to achieve a norma l birth at the age of 63 years. This case also exemplifies the difficu lty in attempting to regulate the age of recipients in oocyte donation . As in other aspects of human life, when age limits are applied to th e provision of certain services, human beings whose age falls outside of these limits become motivated to deceive the providers of those ser vices to avail themselves of the services. (C) 1997 by American Societ y for Reproductive Medicine.