Has your doctor advised you to use donor eggs because you have a poor ovarian reserve?

We see many older infertile patients who are upset because their doctor has told them that their chances of getting pregnant with their own eggs are poor because they have a low AMH level and a poor antral follicle count and that because their ovarian reserve is poor, they should not try to have a baby with their own eggs. These doctors advise them to directly use donor eggs, and because these patients are very vulnerable because they are so unhappy, desperate, uninformed, and gullible, they allow doctors to take advantage of their ignorance, and exploit them.

Other doctors take advantage of these patients by using unproven experimental treatment protocols such as ovarian PRP ( also known as ovarian stem cell therapy), which is marketed under the name of ovarian rejuvenation. This is a scam that doesn't work m but because patients are so desperate, they clutch at straws and are happy to do whatever the doctor tells them, even though this is just a money- making racket. Please use your common- sense and remember that if PRP was an effective treatment, then every good IVF clinic in the world would offer this because it's such a simple treatment to do that everyone can do it! The reason good clinics don't do it is that they know it doesn't work, and it is just being abused as a way of cheating patients.

We think it's cruel to give patients false hope, but unfortunately, many doctors continue doing this because they are more interested in making money rather than in providing the right treatment to patients.

We spend a lot of time counseling and educating our patients, so they have realistic expectations and can make well-informed decisions for themselves.

We tell them that while it’s true that statistically their chances of getting pregnant are reduced if they have poor ovarian reserve, the final outcome is ultimately a question of probability, and poor ovarian reserve doesn't mean that you can't have a baby with your own eggs!

There’s a big difference between poor ovarian reserve and poor ovarian response because the reserve is static, and while this can easily be measured by doing an antral follicle count and checking your AMH level, the ovarian response is dynamic, and can only be assessed by doing an IVF cycle.

While we cannot do much about your ovarian reserve, your ovarian response will change dramatically, depending on who your doctor is, and how well they tailor the treatment protocol to your needs.

This makes a big difference, so even if you have had IVF failure because of poor ovarian response and your doctor is pushing you to use donor eggs, we would strongly suggest that rather than change your eggs, you should first consider changing your doctor. Using a more aggressive superovulation protocol to help you produce more eggs of better quality should be your first choice before actually considering donor eggs. Donor eggs are a Plan B option that you can always explore if needed, rather than doing it prematurely and then regretting the fact that you didn't try once with your own eggs! At the end of the day, you should have peace of mind that you gave yourself the best chance at getting pregnant – this can be invaluable. And if the cycle with aggressive superovulation also fails, it becomes much easier to come to terms with the fact that using donor eggs is your best option!