Most successful fertility treatments for women aged 43 and older rely on donor eggs, according to a British study published in Population Studies.
Researchers analysed data from the UK’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, covering more than 1.2 million assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment cycles performed between 1991 and 2018 and over half a million patients undergoing their first treatment.
The number of people starting fertility treatment each year rose from around 6,000 in 1991 to nearly 25,000 by 2018.
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Overall success rates nearly doubled, from 14.7 per cent to 28.3 per cent during the same period.
However, success rates using a woman’s own eggs showed a sharp age-related decline, dropping steeply after 40.
For women aged 43 and older, success rates with their own eggs remained below 5 per cent, while more than one-third of treatments using donor eggs were successful across all ages.
By 2018, donor eggs accounted for more than half of all ART births among women aged 43-44 and over 90 per cent among those aged 45-50.
“I was surprised to see how low ART success rates are for older women using their own eggs, and how stable they remain with donor eggs,” said the study’s lead author. “It’s striking how little the woman’s age matters compared to the age of the eggs. Our study shows that while ART has become much more effective in general, it currently cannot overcome certain biological limits.”
The study concluded that fertility restoration at advanced maternal ages is unlikely to succeed using a woman’s own eggs. “Egg donation and egg freezing appear indispensable for supporting fertility at advanced ages with ART,” the authors wrote.
