Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR): Can I Still Build My Family?

What is Diminished Ovarian Reserve?

Diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) is a term used to describe a decrease in the quantity—and often quality—of eggs remaining in the ovaries. While it can sound intimidating, especially for those hoping to build a family, it’s important to understand what it means and what options still exist. For many, a diagnosis of DOR is not the end of the road, but rather a point where the journey may take a different, and still meaningful, direction.

Ovarian reserve naturally declines with age, but in some individuals this decline happens earlier or more rapidly than expected. DOR can be diagnosed through blood tests such as Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH), Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH), and through ultrasound assessment of antral follicle count. Causes can include genetics, medical treatments like chemotherapy, ovarian surgery, autoimmune conditions, or sometimes no clear cause at all. What makes DOR especially challenging is that it often comes with uncertainty—responses to fertility medications may be lower, and IVF cycles may yield fewer eggs.

Emotionally, a DOR diagnosis can feel heavy. It can challenge expectations, timelines, and the deeply personal vision many people hold of how parenthood will unfold. Grief, frustration, and fear are common and valid responses. At the same time, understanding the full landscape of reproductive options can help shift the focus from what’s been lost to what is still possible.

This is where donor eggs become an important and hopeful part of the conversation.

Using donor eggs is one of the most successful fertility options available for individuals with diminished ovarian reserve. Because donor eggs typically come from young, thoroughly screened donors, success rates are often significantly higher than IVF cycles using one’s own eggs when DOR is present. For many intended parents, this option offers not just improved odds, but renewed hope.

Choosing donor eggs does not eliminate the experience of pregnancy for many recipients. The intended parent often still carries the pregnancy, gives birth, and forms the profound emotional bond that begins long before delivery. The child is shaped by the environment, love, values, and care they receive—elements that define family far more than genetics alone.

Navigating A New (and pretty amazing) Path To Parenthood

For some, the idea of using donor eggs may initially come with hesitation or complex emotions. This is completely normal. Many people need time to process, ask questions, and redefine what parenthood means to them. Yet countless families who once stood at this crossroads now describe donor egg conception as the very thing that made their dream possible.

Diminished ovarian reserve may change the path, but it does not eliminate the destination. With today’s reproductive technologies and the generosity of egg donors, parenthood remains very much within reach. What matters most is not how a family is formed, but that it is—through resilience, intention, and hope.

Meet the Founder of Cloud9 Conception

Shelby is a two time prior egg donor, IVF advocate, and founder of Cloud9 Conception, LLC. She has worked in the field of fertility for over 7 years, during which time she has dedicated herself to the specialized role of third party reproduction in IVF. Her professional and personal mission is to make Egg Donor IVF more accessible and personal for those building their families.