How Many Babies Have Been Born Via Donor Eggs?

The use of donor eggs has become increasingly popular in recent years as more and more couples struggle with infertility or genetic disorders that prevent them from conceiving naturally. 

We know that using donor eggs can greatly increase the chances of success for an infertile couple. But how many babies have actually been born via donor eggs? Let’s dive in.

How donor eggs work

Donor egg IVF involves fertilizing a donated egg with sperm from the intended father or a donor. The resulting embryo is then transferred to the uterus of the intended mother or a gestational carrier. Donor egg treatment may be necessary for a variety of reasons, including advanced maternal age, premature ovarian failure, a genetic disorder that may be passed down to the child, or for gay dads who also need a gestational carrier. 

Before beginning treatment, the intended mother or gestational carrier will undergo a series of medical tests to ensure that their uterus is healthy and ready for pregnancy. The intended father or donor will also undergo testing to evaluate the quality and quantity of their sperm. Once the donor egg has been fertilized, the resulting embryo is monitored for a few days to ensure that it develops normally. At this point, some families opt to do preimplantation genetic screening (PGT). The embryo is then transferred to the uterus, where it will hopefully implant and begin to grow into a healthy baby.

The first donor egg baby

The first successful human egg donation took place in 1983 when an Australian woman with premature ovarian failure was able to conceive using a donated egg. The next year, the first American child was born via egg donation in Southern California. Since then, the practice has become increasingly popular, and the use of donor eggs has become an essential part of modern fertility treatments.

Donor egg births in the United States in 2021

While it's hard to know the exact number of egg donation cycles each year, we can get a good estimate through the Society for Reproductive Technology (SART), which tracks data for nearly 400 US clinics annually. 

In 2021 there were over 20,000 IVF transfers using donor eggs at SART-reporting clinics. That is up 19% from the previous year. Of those transfers:

• Fresh donor eggs: 1,383
• Frozen donor eggs: 3,088
• Thawed embryos: 16,279

These transfers led to nearly 10,000 births. Which means 1 in 373 births in the United States in 2021 were thanks to donor eggs. 

Donor egg births around the world

Donor egg usage is not limited to the United States. While there’s no way to get the exact number of donor egg cycles globally, we can get a sense of the magnitude by looking at data from the International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ICMART). ICMART collects data from 2,971 clinics in 79 countries, and found that there were 161,139 egg donation transfers in 2018.

The use of donor eggs is more common in countries and regions with better access to IVF, and where legal, cultural, or religious beliefs make the use of donor eggs more acceptable. Plus, the use of donor eggs in IVF may be underreported in some countries, as not all countries require procedures to be reported to regulatory agencies.

An estimate of the number of babies born via egg donation

There have been hundreds of thousands, if not more, children born through egg donation around the world since 1983. And while we wish someone was keeping a perfect tally, unfortunately all we can do is gather data from disparate sources. Here’s what we know:

• More than 70,000 donor conceived children have been born in the UK since 1991. The total number of babies born via egg donation in 2019 was 1,327, up 88% from 2009.
• In Australia and New Zealand, there were 3,316 IVF cycles performed using donor eggs (or embryos) in 2017 with 727 live births reported. 
• In China, from 2013 to 2016, there were 1,642 donor egg cycles at 327 reporting fertility clinics, according to The Chinese Society of Reproductive Medicine (CSRM).
• In 2017, there were a total of 28,377 donor egg cycles reported in Europe, according to the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).

Innovations in donor egg IVF

In addition to traditional donor egg treatments, there are now several newer technologies available that may help improve the success rates of donor egg treatment. For example, PGT can be used to screen embryos for genetic disorders before they are transferred to the uterus. This can help ensure that only healthy embryos are transferred, increasing the chances of a successful pregnancy.

There are also new methods of egg freezing that may help increase the availability of donor eggs. In the past, egg freezing was only recommended for women who were undergoing chemotherapy or other medical treatments that could damage their eggs. Today, however, more and more women are choosing to freeze their eggs for social reasons, such as delaying pregnancy until later in life. This has led to an increase in the availability of donor eggs, as more women are choosing to donate their frozen eggs to help others conceive.

At Cofertility, our program is unique. After meeting with hundreds of intended parents, egg donors, and donor-conceived people, we decided on an egg donation model that we think best serves everyone involved: egg sharing.

Here’s how it works: our unique model empowers women to take control of their own reproductive health while giving you the gift of a lifetime. Our donors aren’t doing it for cash – they keep half the eggs retrieved for their own future use, and donate half to your family.

We aim to be the best egg-sharing program, providing an experience that honors, respects, and uplifts everyone involved. Here’s what sets us apart:

• Human-centered. We didn’t like the status quo in egg donation. So we’re doing things differently, starting with our human-centered matching platform.
• Donor empowerment. Our model empowers donors to preserve their own fertility, while lifting you up on your own journey. It’s a win-win.
• Diversity: We’re proud of the fact that the donors on our platform are as diverse as the intended parents seeking to match with them. We work with intended parents to understand their own cultural values — including regional nuances — in hopes of finding them the perfect match.
• Baby guarantee. We truly want to help you bring your baby home, and we will re-match you for free until that happens.
• Lifetime support: Historically, other egg donation options have treated egg donor matching as a one-and-done experience. Beyond matching, beyond a pregnancy, beyond a birth…we believe in supporting the donor-conceived family for life. Our resources and education provide intended parents with the guidance they need to raise happy, healthy kids and celebrate their origin stories.

We are obsessed with improving the family-building journey — today or in the future — and are in an endless pursuit to make these experiences more positive!

What are the chances of pregnancy with donor eggs?

Using donor eggs can increase your chances of success. Around 53 percent of all donor egg cycles will result in at least one live birth. This percentage varies depending on the egg donor, recipient body mass index, stage of embryo at transfer, the number of oocytes retrieved, and the quality of the clinic. To get a better idea of your chances with donor eggs, talk to your fertility doctor who should be able to give you a better idea of your chances given your specific case. 

At every age, the chances of birth with donor eggs is better, but those who benefit the most from donor eggs are women over 35 and those with low ovarian reserve. In fact, about one-quarter of women over 40 who succeeded with IVF did so through the use of donor eggs. 

Becoming a parent via donor eggs

If you are looking to use donor eggs to build your family, we’d love to help. Cofertility is a human-first fertility ecosystem rewriting the egg donation experience. Our Family by Co platform serves as a more transparent, ethical egg donor matching platform. We are obsessed with improving the family-building journey — today or in the future — and are in an endless pursuit to make these experiences more positive. Create a free account today!