Is it necessary to use donor eggs if I have my tubes tied?

Hello there, invitra team!

I already have two children, so I decided a few years ago that I wanted to have my tubes tied because I did not want to have more babies… But for some inexplicable reason now I’m desperate to carry a baby again, even though my children are 14 and 18 years old now. The thing is we want to have our third child now! The bad news is that I guess I need donor eggs to achieve pregnancy, don’t I? I mean, do I need donor eggs by default because of having my tubes tied?

Thank you very much!

Dear Rosemary,

the fact that you have your tubes tied does not necessarily mean you need donor eggs. There are many other options before resorting to donor eggs, such as undergoing tubal reversal or in vitro fertilization (IVF). In the latter case, that is, IVF, you will have your eggs directly retrieved from your ovaries after taking hormone medications. Then, the eggs obtained will be fertilized in the laboratory using your partner’s or husband’s sperm, and finally they will be transferred to your uterus.

You may be recommended egg donation as first option, though. The following is the most common reason why egg donation is the first option to get pregnant after tubal ligation: when the ovarian reserve is so low that the IVF cycle is unlikely to be successful if your own eggs are used. In this case, the best thing would be using donor eggs. To evaluate your ovarian reserve levels, you can undergo a hormone blood test and an ultrasound test to check your antral follicle count.

Hope this helps,

Best wishes