Donor conception with Turner syndrome

Hi, I have Turner syndrome, so as you know I don’t have periods. But I want to be a mother so I visited a fertility center and they told me I need donor eggs if I want to really be a mother. My boyfriend and I have never used contraceptives for this reason, but we never got pregnant even so 🙁 Anyhow… Is there any chance for me to get pregnant with my own eggs? Any other available fertility treatment or something? If not, what does egg donation involve? Please, give me detailed info, I’m really concerned.

Dear Tanya Halfman,

Turner’s syndrome is defined as the total or partial loss of one of a female’s two X chromosomes. Variations can be XO, consisting in the total loss of one X chromosome. This is the most severe form of Turner syndrome. Mildest variants are those in which there is only a partial loss of the chromosome and also the one called “mosaicism”, where the patient presents normal cell-lines XX combined with incomplete cell-lines for the X chromosome.

Only a small percentage of Turner women is considered to be fertile, especially in cases of mosaicism. Even though these women have regular periods, part of their ovarian reserve is damaged. They could become mothers through IVF after performing a pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), where the embryo is analyzed before being transferred.

In your particular case, which is a clear case of amenorrhea, no such possibility exists. That’s why the only treatment you could undergo is donor-egg IVF, that is, an IVF cycle in which donor eggs instead of the woman’s own eggs are used. Donor eggs will be fertilized using either your husband’s or donor’s sperm, and then you will be transferred the resulting viable embryos.

Hope this helps,

Best wishes