Schneider, Jennifer, Jennifer Lahl, and Wendy Kramer, “Long-term Breast Cancer Risk Following Ovarian Stimulation in Young Egg Donors: A Call for Follow-up, Research and Informed Consent,” Reproductive BioMedicine Online 34, no.5 (May 2017), doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2017.02.003

URL: www.donorsiblingregistry.com/sites/default/files/Egg%20Donor%20Breast%20Cancer%20Article.pdf

Abstract

In the USA and other countries, oocyte donation is gaining increasing importance. Although sufficient data exist on procedure-associated short-term risks for oocyte donors, such as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, long-term follow-up studies of egg donors are lacking and their health risks are unknown. The lack of information may be misleadingly interpreted as lack of risk. Long-term hormone replacement therapy is recognized as a risk factor for breast cancer; the breast cancer risk of ovarian stimulation for egg donors is unknown but is a possibility. This commentary describes five individual cases of egg donors who developed breast cancer (four out of five women in their 30s) despite negative genetic testing results. Additionally, we summarize available studies of breast cancer in infertile women who experienced IVF. We emphasize the need to create egg donor registries that will facilitate long-term studies on egg donors. Until this information is available, we call for more realistic explanations to egg donors about the lack of knowledge of long-term risks as well as more transparent informed consent documents. 

Oocyte (or egg) donation, like many artificial reproductive technologies (ART), has received limited research attention on the potential long-term health risks for those involved, particularly women and the children born through ART. These concerns, along with questionable informed consent from women who do not fully understand the long-term risks, calls for greater caution and research on the practice of oocyte donation.