The following is a summary of “Oocyte donation outcomes in endometriosis patients with multiple IVF failures,” published in the August 2023 issue of Reproductive BioMedicine Online by Maignien et al.

What are the reproductive outcomes and prognostic factors of live birth rates for endometriosis patients referred for oocyte donation following multiple IVF failures? Observational cohort study including all women with endometriosis-related infertility who were referred for oocyte donation between January 2013 and June 2022. Endometriosis was diagnosed using published imaging criteria and verified histologically in women with a history of endometriosis-related surgery. The primary indicator was the cumulative live birth rate (CLBR). 

Using univariate and multivariate analysis, the characteristics of women who had a live birth were compared to those who did not to identify fertility outcome determinants. After 244 unsuccessful autologous IVF cycles, 57 patients underwent 90 oocyte donation cycles. The mean SD population age was 36.8 ± 3.3, the mean duration of infertility was 3.6 ± 2.2, and the mean number of autologous IVF/ICSI cycles per patient was 4.4 ± 2.3. About 3 patients (5.3%) had superficial peritoneal endometriosis, two patients (3.5%) had ovarian endometriomas, and 52 patients (91.2%) had deep infiltrating endometriosis, of which 30 patients (57.7%) had bowel lesions. 

About 30 patients (52.6%) were diagnosed with adenomyosis. Overall, the CLBR percentage per patient was 36/57 (63.2%). After multivariate analysis, only nulligravida (P=0.002) remained an independent negative predictor of the live birth rate. Surgical history did not affect reproductive outcomes. This study indicates that oocyte donation appears to be a viable option for increasing the live birth rate among women with endometriosis-related infertility and repeated IVF failures.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1472648323003346