Experiences and psychological outcomes of the oocyte donor: a survey of donors post-donation from one center
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ASSISTED REPRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES
Experiences and psychological outcomes of the oocyte donor: a survey of donors post-donation from one center Jennifer K. Blakemore 1 & Paxton Voigt 2 & Mindy R. Schiffman 1 & Shelley Lee 1 & Andria G. Besser 1 & M. Elizabeth Fino 1 Received: 27 June 2019 / Accepted: 8 July 2019 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019
Abstract Purpose To assess the experiences and psychological outcomes of oocyte donors from one fertility center. Methods An anonymous survey was distributed via a secure email to 161 donors who underwent oocyte donation—anonymous, directed/known, and recruited agency—between January 2008 and January 2019 at the NYU Langone Fertility Center. Results Thirty-six donors completed the survey with the majority between 2 and 10 years since donation. Respondents reported a high prevalence of psychiatric symptoms or diagnoses post-donation. The majority of donors reported positive thoughts and feelings toward their donation process as well as to the knowledge of children born from their donation. Negative comments about donation were in the minority but focused on unexpected aspects about the process or outcome. Based on qualitative analysis, thoughts about family or “family-oriented thoughts” were the most frequent theme in respondent comments. 62.5% of respondents reporting that they would be open to identity-disclosure or open donation after experiencing the process. Conclusions Despite a high reported prevalence of psychiatric symptoms, the majority of respondents felt positively about the donation experience as well as the prospect of open donation or identity-disclosure post-donation. Further research on long-term psychological outcomes, related to all aspects of donation, is important as the counseling and informed consent of oocyte donors continues to evolve. These data will be particularly important with regard to the aspect of disclosure, both planned and unplanned, in the modern era of electronic information sharing. Keywords Oocyte donation . Psychological outcomes . Disclosure . Donor
Introduction Oocyte donation—the stimulation and retrieval of oocytes or eggs from a third party—is indicated for use by couples in which the female recipient suffers from infertility, including (i) hypergonadotropic hypogonadism, (ii) diminished ovarian reserve, (iii) advanced reproductive age, (iv) carrying a known genetic disease, (v) a history of poor egg or embryo quality, and/or (vi) poor response to in vitro fertilization (IVF), as well as use by single males and partnerships or individuals in the LGTBQ community building families with gestational carriers [1]. Since the inception of oocyte donation in the * Jennifer K. Blakemore [email protected] 1
NYU Langone Fertility Center, NYU Langone Health, 660 First Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10016, USA
2
NYU Langone School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York 10016, NY, USA
1980s, the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) estimates that approximately 100,000 A
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