The effect of aging on fertility.

In the developed world, deferment of marriage and postponement of child-bearing in marriage are resulting in unprecedented numbers of couples who desire pregnancy relatively late in life. These factors combine with a decline in fertility and an increase in pregnancy wastage with advancing age to present new challenges for the clinician treating infertility. Experience with young oocytes donated to older women indicates that the major responsibility for the decline in fertility with age can be attributed to aging oocytes. Oocyte donation offers new hope for infertile older woman, but important moral and social questions remain unanswered.