Pregnant donor oocyte recipients: The lived experience

The purpose of this study was to describe pregnant, recipient women's experience of using donor oocytes within the past two to six months for conception. Participants were eight women between the ages of 33 and 46 years (mean age = 40.6 years), who were English speaking, Caucasian, married and well educated. All of the women were recruited at a large urban infertility center located in the Midwestern part of the United States. The women used their husband's sperm and the oocytes from either a known or an anonymous oocyte donor to establish embryos during in vitro fertilization procedures. The women were between 9 and 23 gestational weeks pregnant at the time of data collection. Two open-ended audiotaped interviews took place with each of the participants. The initial interview began with the question, "What has it been like for you to be a recipient of a donated egg?" The second interview was conducted to expand and clarify any information obtained during the first interview. Each participant also completed a demographic questionnaire and the investigator recorded field notes and kept a journal to document important information and methodological decisions. Analysis of the data followed Colaizzi's approach for phenomenology. Six major themes emerged from the women's description of their experience, which were: desiring motherhood, accepting donor oocytes, deliberating decisions, contemplating disclosure issues, looking to the future, and caring and non-caring behaviors. The women reported their desire for motherhood and the motivation and various paths their lives took towards their eventual acceptance of donor oocyte treatment. Decision making pertaining to the type of donor, donor characteristics, and disposition of cryopreserved embryos was a complex process for recipient women. Disclosing the nature of the conception to family members, friends and the resulting child varied among donor oocyte recipient women. The impact of advancing maternal age and the multifaceted issues of parenting a donor oocyte child were future concerns described by the women. Lastly, caring and non-caring behaviors of family members, friends and health care professionals were identified. In conclusion, pregnant, donor oocyte recipient women describe a challenging experience but are grateful for their pregnancies.