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Fresh donated eggs appear to be better for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) than frozen ones, a new study suggests.
Donor eggs provide the best chance of success for many women undergoing IVF, according to the authors.
But it wasn't clear whether using fresh or frozen donor eggs in IVF improves the chances of success, so a team from the University of Colorado and Duke University analysed nearly 30 000 IVF cycles using donor eggs over three years.
Fresh eggs had a much higher likelihood of implantation and birth than frozen eggs, the study found. Compared to frozen eggs, fresh eggs were associated with a 25% better chance of live birth and a 10% higher odds for good outcomes.
Best chance for health
Fresh eggs were also associated with a 37% higher chance of multiple births.
The authors said that supports the increasing practice of transferring a single embryo during IVF to help avoid multiple births and the complications they often cause to mother and child, according to the authors of the study. The findings were published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.
"We can now confidently say that choosing to utilize fresh donor eggs along with transferring a single embryo instead of multiple embryos will provide the best chances for a healthy mother and a healthy baby," senior author Dr Alex Polotsky said in a University of Colorado news release. He's chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology at the university's School of Medicine in Aurora.
Between 1% and 2% of all births in the United States occur through IVF, and more than 24 000 US women use donated eggs each year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Image credit: iStock
