Co-IVF pregnancies may boost risk of serious complications, study suggests

Women in same-sex relationships who choose to undergo fertility treatment using their partner’s egg may face a higher risk of complications for themselves and their baby, a first-of-its-kind study has suggested.

Co-IVF – also known as reciprocal IVF – is an option for lesbians and trans men who want to start a family.

Embryos are created from the egg of one partner and donor sperm before being implanted into the second partner to carry the pregnancy.

Experts said this practice has “increased dramatically” in the UK and women deserve to be fully informed about the extra risks.

The review by experts at King’s College London, Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Leeds included data from five studies with more than 9,000 patients.

The team compared co-IVF to traditional fertility treatment, which involves one partner getting pregnant with an embryo comprising their own egg and donor sperm.

The analysis found co-IVF may come with a greater risk of conditions such as pre-eclampsia, which causes high blood pressure and protein in the urine, and gestation diabetes, a type of diabetes that develops in pregnancy.

Although there was evidence of better live birth rates, co-IVF was also linked to lower birth weights in babies.

The researchers said “ethical considerations must be made to avoid harm whilst respecting patient autonomy and informed consent” when it comes to co-IVF.

Figures suggest IVF cycles among same-sex female couples in the UK increased almost seven-fold between 2008 and 2018, from 320 to 2,151 IVF.

Co-IVF is not offered routinely on the NHS but may be available in some areas depending on integrated care board policies, although this varies.

Prior to late 2024, co-IVF also required enhanced screening for the likes of hepatitis B, hepatitis C or rubella, with tests costing up to £1,000, but this is no longer required.

Professor Susan Bewley, co-lead of the study and emeritus professor of obstetrics and women’s health at King’s College London, said: “Rates of co-IVF have increased dramatically in the UK.

“It’s important that couples going into the process are aware of potential complications that might happen because the baby is genetically unrelated to the pregnant woman.

“All women deserve full, unbiased information about the extra risks to mother and baby associated with carrying a donor-egg pregnancy – so they can make their own decisions about whether the risk outweighs the benefit.”

While researchers described the findings – published in the Journal of Homosexuality – as “worrying”, they stressed larger studies are needed.

Elizabeth Choong, first author and an undergraduate student in medicine at the University of Leeds, said: “Numbers of same-sex female couples choosing co-IVF are increasing, so it is vitally important that the risks they face in undergoing this procedure are clearly explained from the outset.

“We hope our research can help keep same-sex couples fully informed before they make any family planning decisions.”

Catherine Meads, professor of health at Anglia Ruskin University, said: “These worrying preliminary findings need to be investigated in a much larger-scale study to determine the precise additional risks when women opt to undertake a pregnancy with a donated egg.”