Women who become pregnant using donated eggs have at least three times the risk of developing serious complications, a major study has found.
Such cases are four times as likely to suffer pre-eclampsia and have a threefold risk of high blood pressure in pregnancy compared with other women having fertility treatment, according to new research.
Previous studies have suggested increased risks for those who become pregnant using donor eggs – but it has not been known whether the increased dangers are linked to the older age of women who can no longer produce their own eggs.
Most women who seek donor eggs are over the age of 40, with increasing numbers going abroad because of a shortage of donors in this country.
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Researchers said it was possible that the problems stemmed from changes in the embryo’s immune tolerance when it encountered female genes with different traits to those of the egg recipient.
In future, it might be possible that egg donors and recipients would be matched on genetic factors, to improve immune tolerance, doctors said.
Read the full, original story: Risks of donor egg pregnancies revealed
