The outcome of in-vitro fertilization treatment by egg donation and intracytoplasmatic sperm injection for severe male factor infertility: a preliminary report

Due to a paucity of donated eggs, we have excluded, until recently, couples with severe male factor infertility from our egg donation programme, except for those who accepted insemination with donor spermatozoa. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of a shared in-vitro fertilization (IVF)-embryo transfer treatment whenever the recipients have severe oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (OTA) and need intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) for egg fertilization. The results from 163 consecutive couples with ovarian failure who underwent 273 cycles of IVF with donated eggs and augmented with ICSI were analysed. The rate of diploid fertilization was 54.7%; in 92.3% of the cycles, at least one embryo was available for transfer, Forty-seven clinical pregnancies were achieved, representing 18.6% conceptions per transfer. The highest pregnancy rate was achieved in menopausal patients aged 40-45 years (26.2% per cycle) and the lowest in patients >45 years old (10.8% per cycle, P = 0.03), Overall, 28.8% of the couples achieved a clinical pregnancy. A total of 196 treatment cycles resulted in 46 clinical pregnancies (23.5%) among the donors. No statistical differences were found in pregnancy rate achieved by the donors when compared with the recipients. We conclude that ICSI with egg donation is a reliable treatment in patients with ovarian failure and severe OTA.