How many embryos to transfer with donor eggs

Hey, thanks for letting me join this forum!

Well, my situation is rather “special”, because to be honest what I’d love the most is having a twin pregnancy, and that’s why my concern is the following:

How many embryos should I transfer? Who decides the number of embryos to transfer, the specialist or the recipient? Is there any kind of legal or medical restriction regarding the embryos to transfer?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Dear Krystal,

The decision of how many embryos to transfer is to be made by the medical team and lab staff at your fertility clinic according to the characteristics of the recipient and also depending on embryo quality. However, the recipient usually takes part on it, but always bearing in mind that, despite the purpose is always increasing the chances of achieving pregnancy, her health status is a priority.

I’m talking about the health status of the recipient precisely because you said you would like to have a twin pregnancy. You must think this twice, since multiple births entail a series of added risks, such as higher chances of fetal death, preterm birth, low birth weight (LBW)… These risks do not only apply to the baby, but also for the mother-to-be.

In addition, a series of legal aspects are to be taken into account when starting a fertility treatment like this, although they may vary depending on the country where it is performed. In countries such as Spain, a 3-embryo transfer is marked as the maximum number of embryos to transfer.

Conversely, in the US there are no restrictions regarding how many embryos should be transferred, leaving thus the decision exclusively to the medical team and the parents-to-be. Greece’s regulations address the issue in relation to the age of the intended mother when her own eggs are used, and a maximum of 2 embryos in case they are obtained via egg donation.

As you can see, the number of embryos to transfer using donor eggs is regulated differently worldwide. If you have further questions about a particular country, you can create another topic about the regulations governing this field in such country.

Hope this helps