Archive for February, 2012

Egg Donation: Is it all it’s ‘Cracked Up’ to Be?

Monday, February 20th, 2012

When a woman chooses to donate her eggs to an infertile couple, she should know that there might be some health risks associated with this process. We will examine the possible side effects that could be experienced by the egg donor.

Some common side effects related to the medications used to produce extra eggs:

• Hot Flashes
• Vaginal Dryness
• Breast Tenderness
• Body Aches
• Problems Related to Sleep
• Headaches
• Mood Swings
• Respiratory Issues
• Problems with Vision
• Fatigue

In extreme cases, she could suffer renal/liver failure.

If not all the mature eggs are collected during the egg retrieval procedure or the eggs release prior to the egg retrieval procedure, pregnancy can occur with unprotected intercourse. This could result in an unexpected and probably unwanted pregnancy.

Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome a.k.a. OHSS is another side effect of this procedure. If this condition occurs, it will generally dissipate on its own. However, there are a few extremely rare cases of OHSS that have become severe enough to be life threatening.

There are complications that can occur, such as bleeding and/or infection, that could reduce the donor’s chances of becoming pregnant.

The Assisted Reproductive Technologies Textbook by Jansen and Tucker cited that the risk of OHSS varies depending on the clinic that is administering the hormones, from 6.6% to 8.4% of cycles with half of them considered severe.

Unfortunately, the long-term impact on egg donors has not been fully studied. Apparently, there is some evidence suggesting that egg donors can have an increased risk of ovarian cancer and negative effects on fertility.

One out of five women has reported psychological effects because they donated their eggs. These effects have been good and bad. It is important to note that two-thirds of the women who donated their eggs are happy they did.

According to this study, 20% of women did not recall knowing there were any risks to them physically from donating their eggs. This causes concern because some of the short-term effects can be severe. The long-term effects have not even been discovered yet, due to the lack of clinical studies on this subject.

Some of the most recent studies have found donors are at the least risk of suffering with OHSS when the final oocytes maturation was induced with GnRH agonist, rather than recombinant HCG. Both of these hormones produced approximately the same number of mature eggs and rates of fertilization. However, a study that was done in the Netherlands found ten documented cases of IVF deaths (rate of 1:10,000). All of the patients that died had been treated with GnRH agonists. None of these cases was published in scientific literature.

These are the reasons that egg donation may not be all that it’s ‘cracked up’ to be.

What are the Pros and Cons of Survivorship Life Insurance Options

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

Survivorship life insurance policy is a very special kind of life insurance policy as it provides insurance cove to both husband and wife. It is one of the best options for the financial security of your children if both the husband and wife die in sudden circumstances. It is also called second-to-die life insurance as the coverage is paid out only after the death of both the spouses. Like any other insurance policy a survivorship life insurance policy can be a term life insurance policy or a whole life insurance policy. Survivorship life insurance is mostly purchased by wealthy couples to avoid paying their estate taxes until the second spouse dies. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages of a survivorship life insurance policy as stated below:-

Advantages of Survivorship Life Insurance Policy

  • These policies are cheaper as compared to the individual life insurance polices as company has to pay the death benefit only once
  • It is an easy way to cover a spouse having health complications as combined life expectancy of both the spouses is high
  • It can be used as a tool for estate planning
  • It is one of the best way to avoid federal estate taxes
  • It can be used to defer estate taxes until the death of second life partner
  • It helps beneficiaries in financial crises by providing them with liquid cash

Disadvantages of Survivorship Life Insurance Policy

  • There is no option of alteration of the policy once it is written
  • The premium amounts cannot be changed after signings the policy so you must be careful before finalizing the deal
  • Younger life partner will have to pay more as rate of the premium depends upon the average of both the spouses
  • In order to execute these policies in a best form you need to establish a trust

You can get the complete information regarding survivorship life insurance options before sealing the deal with any insurance company. Survivorship policies become complicated if there is an occurrence of divorce among the spouses. Insurance company will offer you rider option in the case of divorce. You can use the Internet to get information about survivorship insurance policies in different states of America. For example you can find out cheap Colorado life insurance premiums in terms of survivorship policies by searching the over the Internet