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Egg donation - for donors |
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What is the difference betweek a down regulation cycle and a flare cycle?
It is common for egg donors to be treated using down regulation - in other words, a pituitary suppressant such as lupron is taken from mid-cycle to the end of the woman's period, then stimulation drugs are taken in conjunction for the 10-14 day stimulation phase. But there are other methods.
In a flare cycle, both the suppressant drugs and the stimulation drugs are started at the same time, after the woman's period. This makes the whole cycle shorter, only lasting about 10-14 days as opposed to 3-4 weeks.
'Traditionally' a down-regulated cycle was thought to be more reliable, but this now seems to be be a more matter for clinical judgement than a simple assessment of success rates.
January 2003
