Women who have IVF babies using donor eggs are three times more likely to suffer potentially fatal complications, study finds



Experts from the Institut Mutualiste Montsouris in Paris studied 580 pregnancies at seven IVF centres in France for their research



Women who use donor eggs during IVF, rather than their own, have a greater risk of getting pre-eclampsia, they claim

The researchers found women who get pregnant using donated eggs are three times more likely to have high blood pressure

Findings have important implications because an increasing number of women now rely on egg donors to have children later in life



Women who have IVF babies using donor eggs could be much more at risk for a common but potentially dangerous complication of pregnancy, warn researchers.

A new study shows a threefold higher risk of hypertension – high blood pressure – and an even higher risk of pre-eclampsia.

Pre-eclampsia is a severe disorder of high blood pressure in pregnancy that is potentially fatal for the mother and baby and the only cure is to deliver the baby surgically.

The use of donor eggs in IVF (in vitro fertilisation) is increasingly common among older women trying for a baby who have no eggs of their own.

Older women who become pregnant using donated eggs (frozen eggs are pictured) have an increased risk of suffering potentially fatal complications when giving birth, new research warns. An increasing number of older women are now having to rely on donor eggs to have children

But French researchers say the pregnancies of egg donation patients are at a higher risk of disorders caused by high blood pressure, than the pregnancies of IVF patients using their own eggs.

They found almost one in five pregnant women using a donated egg developed hypertension, compared with one in 20 women using their own eggs during IVF.

Altogether 11 per cent of women using donor eggs suffered pre-eclampsia, compared with less than three per cent of women using their own eggs.

The study carried out by Dr Helene Letur, from the Institut Mutualiste Montsouris in Paris, involved 580 pregnancies, including 217 from egg donation and 363 where women used their own eggs.

Dr Letur said other studies had made similar findings, but they were small and not strictly controlled for factors that might give a false result.

In contrast, the latest study had a large sample and careful comparison with women using their own eggs during IVF.

She said ‘We would have to conclude from the results that egg donation itself is a risk factor for pregnancy-induced hypertension and pre-eclampsia.

Compared to women who have IVF with their own eggs, women with donor eggs also have a greater risk of getting pre-eclampsia and a threefold increase in the chances of having high blood pressure (illustrated with a stock image)

WHAT IS PRE-ECLAMPSIA? Pre-eclampsia is a condition that affects some pregnant women, usually during the second half of pregnancy or soon after their baby is delivered.

Early signs include high blood pressure (hypertension) and protein in urine.

Some women suffer severe headaches, vision problems and pain just below the ribs.

The condition can lead to serious complications for mother and baby if it is not monitored and treated.

There is a risk that a mother can develop fits - but these are rare.

Pre-eclampsia affects up to five per cent of pregnancies and severe cases develop in up to two per cent of pregnancies.

The exact cause of the condition is unknown but it is thought to occur when there is a problem with the placenta.

The condition kills around six women every year in the UK and almost 1,000 babies each year, mostly because of complications in early deliver, such as severe breathing difficulties. Source: NHS Choices



‘This has growing importance because of the increasing number of egg donations.’

Experts say it is likely to be caused by the body’s response to cells it doesn’ t recognise, with donor eggs being treated as ‘foreign’ and triggering an immune reaction.

The results of the study were reported today at the Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in Munich.

In the US, egg donation now accounts for around 12 per cent of all fertility treatments and around four per cent in some European countries.

The extent of use of donor eggs in the UK is not known, although egg sharing, where fertility clinics waive or reduce the fee to women who allow some of their eggs to be offered to strangers, accounts for 3.5 per cent of treatments.

Egg donation is a highly successful treatment because it uses eggs from younger women, which are less likely to carry defects and more likely to lead to pregnancy and birth than eggs from older women.

The French study found a threefold higher rate of hypertension in patients using donor eggs of 18 per cent, up from five per cent among women using their own eggs.

There was an even higher risk of pre-eclampsia, rising from 2.8 per cent in women with their own eggs to 11.2 per cent in women using donor eggs.

Dr Letur said it was a high rate of hypertension affecting women using donor eggs that patients and obstetricians must be aware of.

She said ‘Preventive measures and care are necessary, with screening for risk factors for hypertension such as obesity and diabetes and early treatment.’

In some cases, women at high risk could be prescribed low-dose aspirin from the 12th week of pregnancy which has been shown to help reduce the chances of pre-eclampsia.