Blighted ovum with donor eggs

Hello!

I’m 43 years old and I decided to use donor eggs a year ago, right after getting married. I’ve always been the kind of girl that wasn’t planning to have a baby in my entire life, but now we are so happy that we’d love to expand our family… The problem is I was a little bit too old, so I decided to use donor eggs, since as far as I know chances of IVF success with donor eggs are far higher than using yours, especially if you’re older than 35…

But my surprise came when I after my 8 cell grade 3 embryo (day 3 embryo) using donated eggs, I got pregnant and my pregnancy ended up being a blighted ovum, which I found out 15 days ago, and I am not able to understand how could this happen keeping in mind that donor eggs are supposed to be of optimal quality. Which are the reasons behind it? What can I do now? Does it mean I am unable to achieve pregnancy even if I use donor eggs?

Please, help me, I’m freaking out and I don’t know what to do 🙁

Dear alexa fallon,

Firstly, let me explain you briefly what is a blighted ovum to make it easier for you to understand why it is not related to donor eggs in your case.

A blighted ovum occurs when the egg, after being fertilized, implants into the woman’s uterus but does not develop into an embryo. It leads to early pregnancy failure (miscarriage), that is to say, it usually happens so early that you don’t even realize you were pregnant.

Usually, miscarriages from a blighted ovum are due to chromosomal abnormalities, and this at the same time may be from poor-quality eggs or sperm. It may also occur due to abnormal cell division. Anyway, the reason why your body stops the pregnancy is precisely because it recognizes this anomaly.

In cases of egg donation, since egg donors must be genetically screened, chances for genetic abnormalities being the cause of blighted ovum are low. However, genetic testing for egg donors does not involve the screening of every gene but only the most notable ones, which means that donor eggs are not 100% free from carrying any genetic abnormality.

Thus, in your case it may be related to your own body. Several studies prove that low folic acid levels and vitamin B and K increase the chances of miscarriage due to blighted ovum. Regardless, your body will expel it with your next period.

The following articles may be of interest:

Using donor eggs to get pregnant
Anembryonic pregnancy