The effect of integrated third-party reproduction counseling on egg donation recipient's attitude towards assisted reproductive techniques

Infertility is defined as the inability of a couple to conceive naturally after one year of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. Regarding to the adverse effects of infertility on couples’ lives and the importance and necessity of counseling in egg donation and the absence of comprehensive counseling in infertility centers; thus, this study was performed with aim to determine the effects of integrated third-party reproduction counseling on egg donation recipients’ attitude towards assisted reproductive techniques.
This field trial study was performed in 2015 on 53 infertile women who were candidates for egg donation and had referred to Isfahan Fertility and Infertility Center. They were randomly allocated to control and experimental groups. The women in the experimental group received integrated third-party reproduction and infertility counseling during six 60-minute sessions. The women’s attitude towards assisted reproductive techniques was assessed before and one month after the intervention using a 32-item questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS software (version 20) and independent t-test, paired t-test, Mann-Whitney test, Fisher’s exact test, and Chi-square test. P In the experimental group, there was a significant difference between the scores of women’s attitude towards assisted reproductive techniques before the counselling and one month after counselling (39.33±5.41 vs. 51.98±5.02) and the mean score of its 7 dimensions (P Integrated third-party reproduction and infertility counseling (egg donation, sperm donation, fetus donation, and gestational carrier) can improve egg donation recipients’ attitudes towards assisted reproductive techniques.