Employees of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City have observed more than 50 women, each of which acted as an egg donor at least 5 times for an average of 8 years.
By the 5th cycle of egg retrieval average age of the study participants was 28.7 years. On average from 21 to 24 eggs were received from each woman-donor during one cycle.
Examination and survey of donors several years after the last donation of eggs did not reveal the presence of any abnormalities of the reproductive system, especially of those that could be associated with egg donation.
Data obtained by the scientists from the United States coincide with the conclusions of the authors of another study on the same topic, which was carried out about 2 years ago by the employees of the Center for Reproductive Medicine in Brussels, Belgium.
They interviewed about 200 women, former egg donors, 60 of which have decided to give birth to a child themselves a few years after the last donation.
57 of 60 egg donors reported that they have successfully conceived, carried and given birth to children without the assistance of reproductive technologies, and 2 of 3 women, who had visited a reproductologist had to do so due to the problems with sperm quality of their husbands.
Thus, existing in many countries restriction to become an egg donor no more than 3 times could be safely increased to at least 5 times, or even more - it does not affect the donor's health.
Frankly, I do not really understand where did the statement of a question on limiting the number of donor cycles for the reasons of donor health safety come from. During the reproductive period a certain number of follicles from the ovarian reserve of a woman is released per each menstrual cycle, but only one of them turns into an egg (the others perish), while upon superovulation stimulation - most of them.
Therefore, the assertions that ovarian hyperstimulation depletes ovarian reserve (which, as previously thought, is absolutely irreparable), are, to put it mildly, unsubstantiated - the number of used follicles remains absolutely the same, just instead of one of them, the majority of them is involved into the process. As for the stimulation procedure itself, with its proper performance it is quite safe. So, from my point of view, this problem is farfetched.
I would rather agree with another reason for restrictions for donors of male genetic material: to avoid inbreeding in the future. Although this reason also seems to me far-fetched, just like the risk of contracting with HIV through mosquito: theoretically, maybe, and perhaps, there have been no such cases in practice.
