Fertility Drugs and Egg Donation

Whether you are the donor or the recipient of donated eggs, fertility drugs are necessary. The fertility drugs used for egg donors include:

• clomiphene (pronounced "klo'-muh-feen") - used to stimulate hormones in your brain to prepare eggs for ovulation
• gonadotropins (pronounced "go-nad'-uh-trow-pins") - stimulate your ovaries to produce eggs, stimulate the production of luteinizing hormone, which prepares your uterus to receive a fertilized egg
• bromocriptine (pronounced "bro-mow-crypt-een") - used to reduce prolactin levels. High prolactin levels decrease estrogen production, which inhibits ovulation.

For egg donation recipients, the primary hormone used to prepare the uterus for reception of the fertilized egg is progesterone. Hormones will need to be taken approximately three months (12 weeks) following transfer of embryos, until the placenta begins producing appropriate levels of hormones.

As with any medications, fertility drugs can have side effects. The most common side effects associated with fertility hormones are those comparable to pre-menstrual snydrome, i.e. mood changes, irritability, achiness, fatigue, and emotional sensitivity.