IVF Treatment for Women in Advanced Age Brackets

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is a fertility treatment option for couples who cannot achieve and/or maintain a successful pregnancy prompting a need for medical assistance. There are numerous fertility treatment options for intended parents. The type of treatment that is suitable for each patient depends on a few critical factors:

1- Age of the female patient
2- Age of the male patient
3- Reproductive history
4- Genetic history (if relevant)
5- Whether own eggs and/or sperm cells are going to be used for treatment.

In younger age brackets, using own eggs in an IVF cycle is a more likely option unless there is a specific reason that dictates otherwise. For instance, women suffering from premature ovarian failure or premature menopause are at a disadvantage when it comes to mothering a child using own eggs. Women in their 20s, 30s or early 40s, suffering from premature ovarian failure are an ideal candidate for “Ovarian PRP Treatment”. With this treatment modality, we aim to recruit dormant primordial follicles and commit them to undergo oogenesis. We have achieved pregnancy in many women after this procedure both via natural intercourse and IVF treatment. The oldest patient to achieve a natural pregnancy after this procedure at North Cyprus IVF Center is 48 years old. However, patients who are likely to have a larger population of primordial follicles are at a clear advantage when it comes to this treatment modality. Therefore, we believe that women with premature ovarian failure are the most suited group of patients for this treatment option.

Women in their late 40s or early to mid-50s are less likely to benefit from ovarian rejuvenation protocols due to a significantly declined ovarian reserve. With each ovarian cycle, usually only one follicle reaches ovulation where many dormant primordial follicles go to waste. As years go by, these primordial follicles decline in number and reach a very low number by mid-40s. As a result, rather than ovarian PRP treatment, using donor eggs becomes a more viable option.

IVF treatment with egg donation refers to an IVF cycle where eggs from a pregnancy-proven egg donor are used. Using eggs from a younger, healthy and pregnancy-proven egg donor can usually offer an IVF success of around 75%. This is thanks to the uterus’ capacity of accommodating pregnancy even in much older age brackets. It has been shown in many clinical studies that the age of the uterus does not affect pregnancy outcomes in patients receiving donor eggs. While technically it is possible for a woman to achieve and maintain a pregnancy even in her 70s, other health risks and considerations prohibit such practice. However, women in their 40s and 50s are most certainly able to use donor egg IVF treatment to fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming a mother.

Patients in their mid-to-late 40s with an acceptable level of ovarian activity can also benefit from a combination of treatment modalities. For instance, patients who fail to achieve IVF success with their own eggs but still have an antral follicle count of 10 or higher can potentially benefit from cytoplasmic transfer. This is a treatment option we can recommend when we believe oocyte aging and mitochondrial damage are likely to be a culprit, but the patient still has an acceptable level of ovarian reserve. This allows to use the patient’s own oocytes but replace the cytoplasmic content with the cytoplasm from an egg donor. The purpose of this treatment option is to provide a more favorable environment in the patient’s own oocyte while using the patient’s own genetic material.

For more information, please contact Dr. Ahmet using the contact form below:

https://www.lowcostivf.net/contact/

Dr. Ahmet OZYIGIT,

MD; MSc Clinical Embryology; PgDip Endocrinology.