Several reports suggest increasing age in oocyte donors decreases the chances of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) success, while others describe no effect. The published data concerning gravidity and parity are similarly conflicting. To further address these questions, we retrospectively studied 445 consecutive donor IVF cycles at two large university-based IVF practices. Donor cycles were analysed for the number of oocytes retrieved, gravidity, parity, and age of the donor, and pregnancy outcome in recipients. The previous gravidity and parity of the donor were not associated with successful pregnancy in recipients. The number of oocytes retrieved was positively correlated with pregnancy. However, after adjusting for donor age, neither prior fertility nor the number of oocytes retrieved were significant predictors. In contrast, the donor's age was highly associated with recipient success. We conclude that the age of the oocyte donor is a significant predictor of pregnancy success and should be a major factor in selecting prospective candidates. The gravidity and parity of the donor are insignificant predictors, as are the total number of oocytes retrieved at the time of oocyte harvest.

US guided ET is simple and reassuring and appears to significantly improve pregnancy outcomes in ovum donation cycles by optimizing the placement of embryos.

We used microelectrodes to monitor the recovery (i.e., decrease) of intracellular pH (pHi) after using internal dialysis to load squid giant axons with alkali to pHi values of 7.7, 8.0, or 8.3. The dialysis fluid (DF) contained 400 mM K + but was free of Na + and C1-. The artificial seawater (ASW) lacked Na +, K +, and CI-, thereby eliminating effects of known acid-base transporters on pHi. Under these conditions, halting dialysis unmasked a slow phi decrease caused at least in part by acid-base transport we refer to as "base effiux." Replacing K § in the DF with either NMDG § or TEA + significandy reduced base effiux and made membrane voltage (Vm) more positive. Base effiux in K+-dialyzed axons was stimulated by decreasing the pH of the ASW (pHo) from 8 to 7, implicating transport of acid or base. Although postdialysis acidifications also occurred in axons in which we replaced the K + in the DF with Li +, Na +, Rb +, or Cs +, only with Rb + was base efflux stimulated by low pHo. Thus, the base effiuxes supported by K § and Rb § appear to be unrelated mechanistically to those observed with Li § Na § or Cs § The combination of 437 mM K § and 12 mM HCO~ in the ASW, which eliminates the gradient favoring a hypothetical K+/HCO~ effiux, blocked pHi recovery in K+-dialyzed axons. However, the pHi recovery was not blocked by the combination of 437 mM Na +, veratridine, and CO2/HCO~ in the ASW, a treatment that inverts electrochemical gradients for H § and HCOg and would favor passive H § and HCOg fluxes that would have alkalinized the axon. Similarly, the recovery was not blocked by K § alone or HCOg alone in the ASW, nor was it inhibited by the K-H pump blocker Sch28080 nor by the Na-H exchange inhibitors amiloride and hexamethyleneamiloride. Our data suggest that a major component of base effiux in alkali-loaded axons cannot be explained by metabolism, a H + or HCO~ conductance, or by a K-H exchanger. However, this component could be mediated by a novel K/HCO~ cotransporter.

Hydrosalpinges have been associated with poor in-vitro fertilization (IVF) outcome in some, but not all, studies, perhaps through endometrial effects. To determine whether hydrosalpinges affect IVF outcome via endometrial factors alone, we analysed the results of recipients of donor oocytes with hydrosalpinges, thereby controlling for confounding variables, while isolating the intrauterine environment. We retrospectively analysed 110 patients who underwent 121 donor oocyte cycles in a university-based assisted reproduction programme. Thirteen cycles involving recipients (n = 10) with hydrosalpinges were compared to 108 cycles involving recipients (n = 100) without hydrosalpinges. Pregnancy, implantation, miscarriage, and ectopic pregnancy rates were compared between women with and without hydrosalpinges. There were no significant differences between the hydrosalpinx and no hydrosalpinx groups with respect to donor age, recipient age, or number or grade of embryos transferred. Patients with a hydrosalpinx had significantly lower embryo implantation rates (7.1 versus 19.3%, P < 0.05) and significantly higher miscarriage (75.0 versus 14.9%, P < 0.05) and ectopic pregnancy rates (33.3 versus 0.0%, P < 0.05) than normal controls. We conclude that the presence of a hydrosalpinx adversely affects early pregnancy events by altering the intrauterine environment.