Search

To date, ovum donation (OD) has involved luteinizing hormone (LH) synchronization between recipient and donor for normally cycling women, and a complex steroid replacement regimen given on a sequential and incremental basis for women with primary or secondary ovarian failure. The authors designed a simple hormonal regimen applicable to both normally cycling women starting early in the cycle, and to those with ovarian failure. It consists of administering 2mg estradiol (E2) valerate orally three or four times daily, augmented with either 100mg progesterone (P) in ethyl oleate intramuscularly daily or 100mg oral progesterone (P) orally three times daily, starting on the day preceding the recovery of the donated oocytes. Gamete intrafallopian transfer procedure was undertaken for women with patent tubes and in vitro fertilization for those with obstructed tubes. The authors report their preliminary experience with 17 women who underwent ovum donation.

Sixty-two women with unexplained infertility were studied. Fifteen (group 1) had timed intrauterine insemination (IUI), 25 (group 2) were treated by Pergonal (Serono Laboratories, Ltd., Welwyn Garden City, England) superovulation, and 22 (group 3) underwent Pergonal superovulation combined with IUI. Where Pergonal treatment was followed by insemination, a significantly greater pregnancy rate per cycle (P<0.05) was achieved, whether this group of patients was compared with those treated by IUI alone or with those treated with Pergonal alone. Moreover, the pregnancy rate in group 3 was comparable to that reported following gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT). The authors therefore suggest this form of treatment for patients with unexplained infertility prior to their referral to the more invasive procedure of GIFT.