Age over 49 linked to lower live birth rates with donor eggs
Estimated cumulative live birth rates were 80% among donor egg recipients aged 35–40, compared with 62.5% among those over 49.
Limit: Donor age was absent from the listed adjustments and could influence live birth rates
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
A retrospective cohort study analyzed 2,760 single-embryo transfers using donor eggs in 1,774 women between March 2021 and December 2024. Researchers grouped recipients by age. Their analysis accounted for embryo quality, measurements of the uterine lining, paternal age and other factors.
Live birth rates declined as recipient age increased. Women over 49 had lower live birth rates and higher miscarriage risk. One analysis estimated cumulative live birth rates—the chance of a live birth across transfers—at 80% for women aged 35–40 and 62.5% for those over 49. The authors suggested that the findings pointed to a late-onset effect of uterine aging.
Why it matters
The study addressed whether uterine aging may contribute to reproductive decline when donor eggs are used. The authors said the findings may help guide counseling and risk assessment at advanced maternal ages.
Caveats
This observational study could not establish that uterine aging caused the differences. The findings concern women receiving donor eggs, not women conceiving with their own eggs.
- Donor oocyte transfer
- Embryo quality
- Miscarriage
- Endometrial thickness
- Trilaminar endometrium prevalence
- Humans
The paper
University of Verona; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe
Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, Jul 24, 2026
