Are Hard Times Affecting Egg Donor Motivation?

By: GIVF Egg Donor Team

As the economy has gone further and further down the proverbial drain, reports claim that the number of applications for egg donation have increased dramatically. However, that is not what we’ve seen in the egg donor program here at the Genetics & IVF Institute. We have received the same average number of applications in the past six months as we did in the preceding two years, with the motivating factor unchanged.

The media tend to report that most young women pursuing egg donation feel it is nothing more than a way to earn extra pocket cash, with little thought given to the complexities of the physical and emotional experience. However, no one has asked the more obvious question – if this is a true statement, are these young women whose motivation is simply to earn extra cash, successful in their quests to be egg donors? The answer, at least for our program, is a resounding no.

Most programs, including our own, have a very lengthy and rigorous screening process that attempts to “weed out” those looking only for a quick buck. While it is fairly simple to complete the initial application online, the true evaluation of a potential donor takes months. Potential donors submit to hours of interviews, medical testing and a psychological evaluation, all requiring their time and a long term commitment. Young women who seem to be doing this solely for monetary compensation are deemed inappropriate as donor candidates, something that can be easily determined during the screening process.

Knowing all of our fully-screened egg donors so well, we can be confident in passing along accurate information about them to potential recipient couples. These are not women interested in cycling to pay the rent or buy food for their families. This is not their full time job. They are women who go through the pain and aggravation of an IVF cycle to help another woman become a mother. They wish their recipient couple well, hoping things work out for them. They gladly rearrange their own schedules to accommodate the needs of the recipient couples and they administer their injections without complaints. While the compensation is appealing, the donors do not receive it until the completion of the cycle and it is not their main reason for donation. By far, the strongest, not to mention most common, motivation for a potential donor to participate is because she has either seen or experienced someone else’s struggle with infertility. Many donors are mothers themselves and cannot imagine another woman not having the opportunity to experience the same joy that she has been blessed with.

The notion that the majority of applicants are applying only because of the downturn in the economy and quality of the egg donor pool now being diluted is simply not true. The egg donors who make it into the program after our rigorous screening requirements are held up to the highest of standards. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Egg Helps To Rejuvenate Sperm

Unlike women, a man’s fertile life can extend into the 6th, 7th or even 8th decade. This is because of the different manner in which male gametes (sperm) and female gametes (eggs) are produced. Women are born with all the eggs they will ever have, and, once a month beginning at puberty, one egg is matured and ovulated. Sperm are produced more or less continuously: a spermatogonial cell is recruited from the self-renewing germinal stem cell population and undergoes mitotic and meiotic cell divisions that result in up to 256 sperm arising from that single original cell. Chromosome abnormalities in the fetus are mainly associated with the age of the mother, but not necessarily associated with the age of the father at conception. One explanation for this is revealed in a recent Swedish study which showed that the egg can "reset" the age of sperm. This discovery may play an important role in future stem cell research.

Each time a cell divides, the genetic material at the ends of the chromosomes (telomeres) becomes shorter. Though they are written in the 'alphabet' of the genes, telomeres do not contain the codes for proteins. Instead these repetitive sequences protect the ends of the chromosome from damage, and prevent the chromosomes from fusing into rings, or binding haphazardly to other DNA in the cell nucleus. This is important for the genetic stability of the cell. Cells stop dividing and die when telomeres become too short. Hence, telomeres act as a DNA clock that can indicate the age of a cell. The researchers discovered that the egg cell can cause the telomeres of a fertilizing sperm cell to become longer. This ability would certainly be a benefit chromosomes contained in sperm arising from stem cells that had undergone multiple self-renewal divisions.

"We are the first to show that egg cells have the ability to rejuvenate other cells, and this is an important result for future stem cell research", says Associate Professor Tomas Simonsson, who leads the research group at the Sahlgrenska Academy that has made this discovery.

Cell Phones Are Everywhere

By: Leslie Wilson, GIVF Cryobanks Lab Technician

Review of Cell Phones: Modern Man’s Nemesis? By Dr. Ashok Agarwal.

Cell phones are everywhere. They have become an integral part of our daily lives. As with any new technology there are questions regarding their impact on human health. Although cell phone companies state that cell phone signals are safe, every one has heard the rumors that cell phones can do everything from causing brain cancer to making men sterile. Science is taking a stab at these urban myths to see if they can either be proved or disproved.

Let’s cover some of the basics of how cell phones work. Cell phones operate on two different systems: the global system for mobile communication (GSM) and the code division multiple access (CDMA) system. Cell phones in the United States work at a different frequency (850MHz and 1900MHz) than the rest of the world (900MHz and 1800MHz). Cell phones also produce what is known as radiation output power, which is measured in watts. Current cell phones operate at less than one watt.

There have been quite a few studies suggesting that cell phones can affect a man’s fertility, but none of these studies have given an explanation as to how they can affect the fertility. This has been under much debate and speculation. The ideas range from thermally “cooking” the testes with cell phone electro magnetic waves (EMW), which supposedly act like microwaves, to causing DNA damage in the sperm cells. Many studies have conclusively proven that EMW have no thermal effect, even on the highly temperature sensitive genital area.

If cell phones do affect male fertility, a likely cause is DNA fragmentation. Several studies have shown DNA fragmentation in a variety of animal and human cells after exposure to cell phones. However, mice had to be exposed to 12 hours a day for 7 days before damage was seen in the DNA of spermatozoa. In-vitro studies conflict where this is concerned. There are currently no such studies on human males.

Other aspects of sperm quality, such as motility, morphology and concentration, have been studied for any significant changes after being exposed to EMW. The only parameter with a significant change is motility. Sperm motility has been shown to decline after exposure, but how much the motility declines is still up for debate.

Although scientists are currently studying the effects of cell phones on the biological processes of humans, there are no conclusive results. The best way to protect yourself is to limit cell phone use and be smart with your cell phone. If you are worried about cell phone radiation, you could carry your phone in a backpack or on a holster on your belt instead of carrying it in a pocket.

Sperm Sorting Has The Potential To Prevent Genetic Disease

By: Donald P. Marazzo, MD, MPH

The MicroSort® clinical trial provides a potential opportunity for carriers of X-linked disease to prevent manifestations of disease in male offspring. MicroSort® is a unique technology for preconception sperm sorting that increases a couple’s chances of having an unaffected daughter. Use of the technology requires careful timing of insemination with sorted sperm. It may decrease the risk of having an affected boy from 25% to less than 6%.

MicroSort® can also be combined with more elaborate techniques involving IVF procedures for higher pregnancy rates, or it may also be combined with IVF procedures and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to decrease the risk of having an affected male even further. Males affected by X-linked disease can also have sperm sorted as part of the MicroSort clinical trial. For these men, MicroSort® technology will be used to favor the chances of having a male offspring, which would prevent passage of the X-linked gene to the next generation.

Since this procedure is part of a clinical trial, couples who are interested in participating must understand that the technology is still under review for safety and efficacy by FDA. Interested participants can learn more on the MicroSort® website. A full consultation and informed consent process will take place before active participation in this clinical trial. Ask your genetics counselor or physician if you might be a candidate for participation in this clinical trial.

Pacific Fertility Center Celebration

Pacific Fertility Center celebrates its 50th delivery following preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) while the world gets set to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking first birth following PGD in 1990 in England. Prof. Alan Handyside and colleagues built on the work done by Robert Edwards and David Gardner, who had successfully sexed rabbit embryos prior to implantation in 1967, when they performed the world’s first PGD for an X-linked disease. Since these early days, thousands of couples have used preimplantation testing to start or add to their families around the world.

Genetics & IVF Institute (GIVF) began its PGD program in late 1992 and had its first successful birth in 1993. Since then, GIVF has performed over three thousand PGD and PGS tests for patients in Fairfax, VA and at other fertility clinics around the US, including Pacific Fertility Center. Genetics & IVF was the first clinic in the world to have a successful pregnancy and birth for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a deadly motor neuron disease in children, and was also the first PGD lab in the world to perform and have a successful delivery for an Autosomal Dominant disease, Marfan syndrome. GIVF continues to innovate in the PGD field, while maintaining a focus on sound lab practice to help as many couples as possible conceive healthy children.

Affordable Discounted IVF Packages

The Genetics & IVF Institute (GIVF) in Fairfax, Virginia (in the Washington, DC suburbs) is offering its Cycle in the Summer™ program again in 2009. If a patient can have her first retrieval on or before the last day of Summer, (September 22, 2009), she may purchase up to two IVF cycles at the highly discounted rate for a base fee of just $10,900.

The summertime is a great time to schedule an IVF cycle- there is less traffic and longer days! If you are from out of town the Washington, D.C. area offers many interesting attractions for visitors and you should have ample free time to explore and relax.

The Economics Of Infertility

By Kathleen:

As this article points out, the down turn in the economy has some people thinking twice about starting (or expanding) their family. According to the article, more women are starting on birth control pills since the stock market went south. This isn't too surprising considering the expense of hospital stays, diapers, baby food and college funds! Birth rates do tend to drop in times of economic trouble. In the 1930's during the Great Depression there was a steep decline in birth rates and each year after the country's last four recessions there has been a slight dip in birth rates.

What might seem less obvious is that couples with a history of fertility problems are not slowing down in trying to grow their families. Given the additional costs of fertility treatments, this might seem counter intuitive. I suspect this is due to the unique perspective couples with fertility problems have on life and child bearing. Couples with infertility tend to put conception at the top of the list of their priorties before things like vacations or a new car or house. These couples are also aware that time is not on their side and with these time constraints they cannot wait for the economy to improve.