ARE YOU BORN WITH ALL YOUR EGGS?
If you're considering becoming an egg donor, you may be wondering about the number of eggs needed for donation. Are you born with all your eggs, or does your body make more eggs over your lifetime?
HOW MANY EGGS ARE IN YOUR OVARIES?
Conventional science has taught us for years that women are born with all of the ovary eggs they will ever have. The theory has been that a woman is born with one to two million immature eggs at birth, and will slowly begin losing them over the course of her lifetime. Many of those eggs will be lost before puberty sets in through a natural process called ovarian follicle atresia, leaving a woman with around 300,000 eggs at the time of puberty.
Of those eggs left at puberty, it is estimated that a woman may lose as many as a thousand eggs per month over her fertile years. Of the roughly 400 follicles that will reach ovulation over the course of a woman’s fertility, a woman can expect 20 follicles to mature each month with just one egg being released.
DOES THE QUALITY OF EGGS IN YOUR OVARIES DECREASE OVER TIME?
Science goes on to tell us that only the best quality eggs will be released and that, over time, the overall quality of these eggs begins to diminish as menopause approaches. This is commonly believed to be the reason women of an advanced maternal age may have difficulty achieving pregnancy with their own eggs.
DO OVARIES PRODUCE EGGS AS YOU AGE?
New studies are beginning to suggest that a woman may, in fact, be able to produce new eggs in her lifetime. The theory is based around the existence of stem cells found within the ovaries. This theory stems from a finding back in 2004, when researchers encountered germ cells called oogonial stem cells in the ovaries of female mice.
In 2012, a study conducted by scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Edinburgh and published in PLOS Genetics found the same stem cells inside of a human female’s ovaries. These cells are capable of dividing and generating new oocytes which then become new eggs. Advanced medical tools allow scientists to see how many times a cell has divided over its lifetime, and if conventional science stands true, all human eggs would have the same number of divisions, as all eggs should be present at birth.
However, scientists have found that some of these cells have many more divisions which suggests that new eggs were forming over a woman’s lifetime. While the research is still in its infancy and has only been conducted on mice at this point, it suggests that fertility and egg development may continue long after birth.
Whether or not your body produces more eggs, only 10 to 20 eggs are donated during egg retrieval. Donors usually have ample eggs to donate and use for their own family building. Learn more about what to expect during your egg donation journey on our Egg Donation Process page.
GET STARTED
If you're considering becoming an egg donor, but you haven't taken that next step, we're here to help. To learn more about becoming an egg donor with Growing Generations contact us online or apply today.