The donation of oocytes to known recipients.

The supply of donated oocytes from an in vitro fertilization programme has always been inadequate, especially following the successful cryopreservation of human embryos. There have been no previous reports of women donating their oocytes to known recipients. All of 7 women who donated all their oocytes to known recipients responded to a posted questionnaire. No differences in social characteristics between this group and another group of infertile women treated on an in vitro fertilization programme, who donated some of their excess oocytes anonymously were noted, except that the known donor group had a relatively high average parity, i.e. 3. No differences in attitudes towards donating oocytes were noted between these groups except that the known donor group felt a significantly greater connection towards the potential child.