Obesity does not impact implantation rates or pregnancy outcome in women attempting conception through oocyte donation

Objective: To independently evaluate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on implantation, pregnancy, and incidence of spontaneous miscarriage using the donor oocyte recipient model. Design: Institutional Review Board-approved retrospective data analyses of donor oocyte cycles from 1999 to 2004. Setting: Private assisted reproductive technology (ART) center. Patient(S): Five hundred thirty-six first cycle recipients of donor oocytes. Intervention(s): Data were collected from the first cycle of each donor oocyte, recipient included in the study. The body mass index (BMI) of each recipient was calculated using the formula weight (in kilograms)/height (in meters squared). Patients were divided into four groups based on BMI: underweight, normal, overweight, and obese. Pregnancy outcomes in each group were compared. Main Outcome Measure(s): Body mass index, implantation rate, pregnancy rate (PR), miscarriage rate. Result(s): There were no statistically significant differences in the implantation rates, ongoing PRs, or spontaneous abortion rates among patients in the four BMI groups. When further divided into those patients receiving blastocyst vs. day 3 transfers, there was still no effect of BMI on implantation rate, PR, or loss rate among the blastocyst or day 3 donor oocyte recipients. Conclusion(s): Body mass index has no adverse impact on implantation or reproductive outcome in donor oocyte recipients. Therefore, obesity does not appear to exert a negative effect on endometrial receptivity. (c) 2005 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.