Answered by Dr Ernesto Bosch, fertility specialist at IVI
At 44–45, another IVF cycle with your own eggs may be reasonable if your previous cycle produced a blastocyst suitable for analysis. If embryos did not reach the blastocyst stage, or several cycles have not produced a normal embryo, donor eggs may provide a more realistic path to pregnancy.
The Patient’s Situation
The following question was shared by a patient in our Facebook fertility support group:
“I’m 44, turning 45 soon, and after one IVF try with my own eggs, I’m stuck: keep going with mine, or switch to donor? Insurance is helping now, but it won’t last forever, so I need to decide quick.
I’d love to hear from anyone who’s been through this—pros, cons, what you chose, how it felt, anything. Especially if you’re around my age. No right answer—just want real stories before I pick.”
You can check the question here
Doctor’s Answer
At 44, 45, the probability of developing normal embryos is very low. Indeed. It’s just, maybe 10% of patients that will have a normal embryo after ovarian stimulation. Of course, this is going to depend on how many eggs are produced. The chances for a patient that on top of being 44, 45 has a low ovarian reserve, which is the common situation makes things even more difficult.
If the ovarian reserve is good and then, the number of eggs that can be developed is higher, then the probability that there is a normal embryo increases. But it’s going to still be very low because, it is going to be maybe, 1 embryo per 40 or 50 eggs, to have a normal embryo.
So, that means that from the personal point of view, you need to put a limit. You cannot be trying and trying and trying to see if that normal embryo shows up because it may never happen. And, the impact of treatments in terms of emotionally, financially, physically, etcetera, it is there and therefore there needs to be a limit.
So my advice would be, I mean, you have tried once, I don’t know if you had, embryos, you had blastocyst or not. If you had a blastocyst suitable for analysis, then, it would make sense to try again. If you didn’t, if the embryos didn’t even reach the blastocyst stage, then probably there is no point to keep trying with own eggs.
And even if blastocysts are developed, we need to understand that the probability that the blastocyst is going to be normal is very low and therefore Well, I mean, you can try, you can try once again, twice again, but it needs to be a limit. I mean, if after 3 rounds of ovarian stimulation, no normal embryos have been obtained, there are not really arguments to say that in the 4th round or the final one, it would show up.
And if you want to be a mother at the end, the only realistic option in this scenario is egg donation. Because with egg donation, all this issue of low ovarian reserve and problems to develop normal embryos just disappear because of the quality of the eggs that are going to be obtained.
So, from my experience, patients who understand that well, and do not burn all the resources, not only financial resources, but emotional resources, only patients that do not burn all those resources trying with own eggs and leave room for trying with egg donation are the ones at the end of the day succeed.
Because egg donation, it has really very nice, pregnancy rates, but it’s not 100%. And you may need a couple of attempts to obtain a pregnancy. And if you, make the decision of moving to egg donation when you are almost exhausted, with very low room for a new treatment, and if egg donation does not work at the first time, you’re going to abandon without having a baby.
And probably, no, this is the last thing that everybody wants. And, therefore this is meaning that the decision of moving to egg donation has to be taken when there is still, room, when there are still resources to go for it.
About Dr Ernesto Bosch
Dr Ernesto Bosch is a fertility specialist associated with IVI and is included among the doctors working within the IVI Group’s reproductive medicine team.
About IVI Clinic
IVI was established in 1990 as a Spanish medical institution dedicated entirely to reproductive medicine. The group operates around 80 clinics and seven research centres across nine countries. Its clinics offer personalised fertility treatment protocols supported by specialists in areas including reproductive medicine, genetics, immunology, reproductive surgery and emotional care.
Important Information
This content provides general educational information and does not replace an individual medical assessment.
Previous IVF results, ovarian reserve, embryo development and personal circumstances should be reviewed with a fertility specialist before deciding whether to continue with your own eggs or consider donor eggs.
