Based on national registry reports, after age 42, the number of IVF cycles utilizing autologous oocytes is very small; after age 43, autologous oocyte use in US IVF cycles is almost non-existent. We here argue that the in vitro fertilization (IVF) field has created a self-fulfilling prophecy by basically abandoning the utilization of autologous oocytes after ages 42–43 years. This not only resulted in almost no IVF cycles with autologous oocytes being performed but also in abandonment of research that could lead to improvements in IVF outcomes in older women when using autologous oocytes. As a consequence, IVF has largely stagnated in this area. We further argue that third-party oocyte donation in clinical IVF should be considered a treatment failure, as it requires patients to choose a second rather than a first-choice treatment. Such a redesignation of third-party egg donation would not only be appropriate but could lead to necessary changes in physician attitudes, considering that women almost exclusively prefer to conceive with their autologous oocytes.

根据国家登记报告，42岁以后，使用自体卵母细胞的IVF周期数量非常少；43 岁以后，美国 IVF 周期中几乎不再使用自体卵母细胞。我们在此认为，体外受精 (IVF) 领域已经创造了一个自我实现的预言，在 42-43 岁之后基本上放弃使用自体卵母细胞。这不仅导致几乎没有进行自体卵母细胞的体外受精周期，而且还放弃了可能改善老年女性使用自体卵母细胞体外受精结果的研究。因此，体外受精在这一领域基本上停滞不前。我们进一步认为，临床体外受精中的第三方卵母细胞捐赠应被视为治疗失败，因为它要求患者选择第二种而不是首选治疗。考虑到女性几乎完全更喜欢用自体卵母细胞受孕，这种对第三方卵子捐赠的重新设计不仅是适当的，而且可能会导致医生态度的必要改变。