Lupron & Progesterone

One Assisted Reproductive Technology procedure is egg donation. An infertile female may seek donor eggs, usually up to 15 eggs (ova, oocytes), when she does not have eggs that can be successfully fertilized, due perhaps to advanced reproductive age. Alternatively, a female may seek donor eggs if she has early onset of menopause, or was born without ovaries.

Lupron and Progesterone are both hormones that are important in cases of egg donation.

Both the egg donor and the egg recipient will take Lupron, as prescribed by the fertility specialist, so as to get their reproductive cycles in sync. The egg donor will also take a fertility drug to help her develop several mature eggs for fertilization, while the egg recipient will receive estrogen and progesterone to prepare the uterus for pregnancy.

Here is a brief overview of Lupron and Progesterone and how they are used in egg donation cases:

Lupron is a synthetic hormone, or birth control pill, taken in cases of egg donation. Lupron is used to get the reproductive cycles of both the egg donor and the egg recipient in sync. This is so that when the egg donor ovulates, the uterine lining of the egg recipient can support an embryo.

Once the egg donor’s eggs are mature, the eggs will be removed by a doctor, using a needle and ultrasound for guidance. And from now on, the procedure is just like that in IVF. The donor’s eggs will be combined with male sperm (our partner's or a donor's sperm) in a dish in a laboratory. A few days later (2 to 5 days), each of the fertilized eggs will be a ball of cells called an embryo.

The doctor then inserts 2 to 4 embryos into the woman’s uterus through her cervix using a thin catheter. Typically, any extra embryos, which are not used at this time, are frozen in case the cycle doesn't succeed, and needs repeating. If the treatment does succeed, an embryo will implant in the uterine wall and continue to grow into a baby.

Risk of multiple births is possible, and typically multiple births occurs in 40% of ART pregnancies, using donor eggs.

Progesterone, which is sometimes called the "hormone of pregnancy", is a C-21 steroid hormone which is taken by the egg recipient to support pregnancy. This hormone is produced by the corpus luteum and is vital for building and maintaining the uterus lining into which the fertilized egg can implant and grow.

Progesterone levels increase after ovulation and this hormone helps prepare the uterus for implantation, by converting the endometrium to its secretory stage. At the same time, it makes the mucus thick and impermeable to sperm. If the levels are insufficient, or if they are produced for too little time, the egg cannot survive. This is known as a defective or inadequate luteal phase.

If pregnancy does not occur, progesterone levels decrease, leading to menstruation. Menstrual bleeding is progesterone withdrawal bleeding. After pregnancy, the drop in progesterone levels help trigger milk production.

Article Source: http://www.parentingarticlelibrary.com

You can find helpful information about lupron and everything you need to know about progesterone at Aha! Baby.

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