Iranian Society of Gynecology Oncology

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

1 Psychosomatic Medicine Research Center, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Vali Asr Hospital, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

3 Population Health Research Group, Health Metrics Research Center, Iranian Institute for Health Sciences Research, ACECR, Tehran, Iran

4 School of Humanity Sciences, University of Science and Culture, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background & Objective: Oocyte donation is an assisted reproductive technique. The infertile couples' demand for using this technique has increased in recent years. This study aimed to evaluate psychiatric disorders, personality characteristics and intelligence quotient among women who are candidates for oocyte donation.
Materials & Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Thirty-nine parous women were entered into the study. A psychiatrist interviewed participants regarding the psychiatric axis I disorders. Also, participants were asked to answer the Millon Clinical Multi axial Inventory (MCMI III) and Raven’s Standard and Progressive Matrices (RSPM).
Results: The mean age of participants was 28.79 (SD = 4.1) years and it was 11.17 years (SD = 2.6) for education. The mean of donation frequency was 1.35 (SD =0.6). Twenty-one donors (53.8%) had only financial motivation and eleven (28.2%) had only altruist object. Twenty-eight (71.8%) women did not have any psychiatric axis I disorders while eight women (20.5%) had at least one disorder. Eleven participants (28.4%) suffered from at least one personality disorder. The mean intelligence quotient was 99.3 (SD =14.2).
Conclusion: The results showed that oocyte donors might suffer from mental disorders and intelligence quotient problems irrespective of age, education, job status and motivation for donation. In conclusion, it seems that psychological assessment and help service is necessary for oocyte donors before any donation procedure.

Keywords

Main Subjects

1. Pennings G, de Mouzon J, Shenfield F, Ferraretti AP, Mardesic T, Ruiz A, et al. Socio-demographic and fertility-related characteristics and motivations of oocyte donors in eleven European countries. Hum Reprod. 2014;29(5):1076-89. [DOI:10.1093/humrep/deu048] [PMID]
2. Lindheim SR, Chase J, Sauer MV. Assessing the Influence of Payment on Motivations of Women Participating as Oocyte Donors. Gynecol Obstet Invest. 2001;52(2):89-92. [DOI:10.1159/000052949] [PMID]
3. Acharya S, Bryant L, Twiddy M. Altruism or obligation? The motivations and experience of women who donate oocytes to known recipients in assisted conception treatment: an interpretative phenomenological analysis study. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 2017;38(1):4-11. [DOI:10.1080/0167482X.2016.1233171] [PMID]
4. Purewal S, Vanden Akker O. 'I feel like they were mine and I should be looking after them': an exploration of non-patient women's attitudes towards oocyte donation. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 2009;30(4):215-22. [DOI:10.3109/01674820903348732] [PMID]
5. Kazemi A, Delavar MZ, Kheirabadi G. Psychiatric Symptoms Associated with Oocyte-Donation. Psychiatr Q. 2016;87(4):749-54. [DOI:10.1007/s11126-016-9424-4] [PMID]
6. Sims JA, Thomas KM, Hopwood CJ, Chen SH, Pascale C. Psychometric Properties and Norms for the Personality Assessment Inventory in Egg Donors and Gestational Carriers. J Pers Assess. 2013;95(5):495-9. [DOI:10.1080/00223891.2013.775137] [PMID]
7. Williams KE, Stemmle PG, Westphal LM, Rasgon NL. Mood disorders in oocyte donor candidates: brief report and implications for future research. Hum Reprod. 2011;26(4):847-52. [DOI:10.1093/humrep/deq394] [PMID]
8. Levy D, Minjarez DA, Weaver T, Keller J, Surrey E, Schoolcraft WB. Oocyte donor screening a retrospective analysis of selection process and prospective donor exclusions. Fertil Steril. 2007;88:S266-7. [DOI:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.07.905]
9. Maxwell KN, Cholst IN, Rosenwaks Z. The incidence of both serious and minor complications in young women undergoing oocyte donation. Fertil Steril. 2008;90(6):2165-71. [DOI:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.10.065] [PMID]
10. Choi S-H, Shapiro H, Robinson GE, Irvine J, Neuman J, Rosen B, et al. Psychological side-effects of clomiphene citrate and human menopausal gonadotrophin. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 2005;26(2):93-100. [DOI:10.1080/01443610400022983] [PMID]
11. Toren P, Dor J, Mester R, Mozes T, Blumensohn R, Rehavi M, et al. Depression in women treated with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist. Biol Psychiatry. 1996;39(5):378-82. [DOI:10.1016/0006-3223(95)00473-4] [PMID]
12. Bracewell-Milnes T, Saso S, Bora S, Ismail AM, Al-Memar M, Hamed AH, et al. Investigating psychosocial attitudes, motivations and experiences of oocyte donors, recipients and egg sharers: a systematic review. Hum Reprod Update. 2016;22(4):450-65. [DOI:10.1093/humupd/dmw006] [PMID]
13. Adib Moghaddam E, Kazemi A, Kheirabadi G, Ahmadi SM. A mental health intervention program for the oocyte donors: protocol for a mixed methods study. Reprod Health. 2020;17(10):1-5. [DOI:10.1186/s12978-020-0864-9] [PMID] [PMCID]
14. American Psychiatric Association AP APA. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV. Washington, DC: American psychiatric association; 1994.
15. Millon T. Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III. Second ed. Bloomington, MN: Pearson Assessments; 1997.
16. Millon T, Davis R, Millon C. Grossman III S. MCMI-III manual. 3 ed. Minneapolis, MN: Pearson Assessments; 2006.
17. Sarifi AA, Moulavi HKN. THE Validity oF MCMI-III (Millon, 1994) Scales. Knowledge & Research in Applied Psychlogi. Knowl Res Appl Psychol. 2008;9(34):27-38.
18. Raven J. The Raven's Progressive Matrices: Change and Stability over Culture and Time. Cogn Psychol. 2000;41(1):1-48. [DOI:10.1006/cogp.1999.0735] [PMID]
19. Rahmani J. The reliability and validity of Raven's progressive matrics test among the 1-MSc Student: Shahid Madani University; 2008.
20. Oluboyo A. Evaluation of Selected Trace Elements and Glutathione Peroxidase Levels in Female Infertility. J Obstet Gynecol Cancer Res. 2022;7(5):374-81. [DOI:10.30699/jogcr.7.5.374]
21. Hajebi A, Motevalian SA, Rahimi-Movaghar A, Sharifi V, Amin-Esmaeili M, Radgoodarzi R, et al. Major anxiety disorders in Iran: prevalence, sociodemographic correlates and service utilization. BMC Psychiatry. 2018;18(261):1-8. [DOI:10.1186/s12888-018-1828-2] [PMID] [PMCID]
22. Mohammadi MR, Ghanizadeh A, Rahgozar M, Noorbala AA, Davidian H, Afzali HM, et al. Prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder in Iran. BMC Psychiatry. 2004;4:2. [DOI:10.1186/1471-244X-4-2] [PMID] [PMCID]
23. Klock SC, Covington SN. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) profiles in the assessment of ovum donors. Fertil Steril. 2010;94(5):1684-8. [DOI:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2009.08.064] [PMID]
24. Taghizadeh Z, Omani samani R, Kazemnejad A, Reisi M. Self-concept and self-discrepancy among the women receiving and donating oocyte. Hayat. 2015;21(3):50-62.
25. Sydsjö G, Lampic C, Brändström S, Gudmundsson J, Karlström PO, Solensten NG, et al. Personality characteristics in a Swedish national sample of identifiable oocyte donors. Int J Obstet Gynaecol. 2011;118(9):1067-72. [DOI:10.1111/j.1471-0528.2011.02953.x] [PMID]
26. Bartlett JA. Psychiatric Issues in Non-Anonymous Oocyte Donation: Motivations and Expectations of Women Donors and Recipients. Psychosomatics. 1991;32(4):433-7. [DOI:10.1016/S0033-3182(91)72047-1] [PMID]
27. Khamsi F, Endman MW, Lacanna IC, Wong J. Some psychological aspects of oocyte donation from known donors on altruistic basis. Fertil Steril. 1997;68(2):323-7. [DOI:10.1016/S0015-0282(97)81523-3] [PMID]
28. Greenfeld DA, Greenfeld DG, Mazure CM, Keefe DL, Olive DL. Do attitudes toward disclosure in donor oocyte recipients predict the use of anonymous versus directed donation? Fertil Steril. 1998;70(6):1009-14. [DOI:10.1016/S0015-0282(98)00379-3] [PMID]
29. Kalfoglou AL, Gittelsohn J. A qualitative follow-up study of women's experiences with oocyte donation. Hum Reprod. 2000;15(4):798-805. [DOI:10.1093/humrep/15.4.798] [PMID]
30. Snowdon C. What Makes a Mother? Interviews With Women Involved in Egg Donatfon and Surrogacy. Birth. 1994;21(2):77-84. [DOI:10.1111/j.1523-536X.1994.tb00239.x] [PMID]
31. Platts S, Bracewell-Milnes T, Saso S, Jones B, Parikh R, Thum M-Y. Investigating attitudes towards oocyte donation amongst potential donors and the general population: a systematic review. Hum Fertil. 2021;24(3):169-81. [DOI:10.1080/14647273.2019.1602736] [PMID]
32. Winter A, Daniluk JC. A Gift From the Heart: The Experiences of Women Whose Egg Donations Helped Their Sisters Become Mothers. J Couns Dev. 2004;82(4):483-95. [DOI:10.1002/j.1556-6678.2004.tb00337.x]
33. Yee S, Hitkari JA, Greenblatt EM. A follow-up study of women who donated oocytes to known recipient couples for altruistic reasons. Hum Reprod. 2007;22(7):2040-50. [DOI:10.1093/humrep/dem103] [PMID]
34. Warren NL, Blood J. Who Donates? Why Donate? An Exploration of the Characteristics and Motivations of Known Egg Donors: the Victoria, Australia Experience. J Couns Fertil. 2003;10(3):20-3.