Does race and ethnicity impact fertility? The short answer is yes. As you probably know, fertility is affected by many things that you can’t control. The most common of these include factors such as age, genetics, and medical conditions. However, race and ethnicity can influence fertility rates, access to care, and treatment outcomes. This is a difficult topic to cover, but it’s important to explain how ethnic groups struggle with fertility and how egg donors of different racial backgrounds can help.

  • Race and ethnicity can influence fertility rates and access to reproductive care.
  • Black women and Ashkenazi Jewish individuals face higher infertility risks.
  • East Asian women may have lower success rates with fresh embryo transfers.
  • Diverse egg donors help Intended Parents find matches that reflect their background.
  • Jewish, Asian, and African American donors are high in demand.

Understanding the Basics

Infertility is the inability to achieve a pregnancy after 12 months of appropriately timed intercourse . Approximately 1 in 8 couples in the US are affected by infertility — that’s somewhere between 10% and 15%.

“Race” refers to physical characteristics that are associated with biology. “Ethnicity” refers to shared cultural practices, such as language, religion, ancestry, and beliefs. Both race and ethnicity can influence reproductive health.

Infertility in the Black Community

Black women are at least 1.5 times more likely to experience infertility than women of other races. According to a 2014 national survey, Black women were almost twice as likely to experience infertility as white women.

Further research has noted that Black and Mexican-American individuals are less likely to seek out care for infertility than those who are white or Asian. There can be many reasons for this such as major racial disparities in access to infertility care, as well as challenges with the medical system, a lack of Black and Mexican-American sperm and egg donors, and cultural difficulties in seeking help.

Infertility in the Jewish Community

The national average of infertility is 1 in 8. But in the Jewish community, it is much higher: 1 in 6. This reality is made more difficult to bear by pressures for Jewish couples to produce many children (one of the commandments in the Torah is to “be fruitful and multiply.”)

Ashkenazi Jews face yet another obstacle when it comes to becoming parents. Sadly, this particular ethnic community is more prone to illnesses and genetic disorders and conditions such as:

  • Cystic fibrosis
  • Gaucher disease
  • Tay-Sachs disease
  • Familial dysautonomia
  • Canavan disease
  • Fanconi anemia
  • Niemann-Pick disease
  • Bloom syndrome
  • Mucolipidosis type IV

An estimated one in four people of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage is a carrier of a serious genetic condition. This high rate of genetic conditions means that Ashkenazi Jewish couples or individuals are highly recommended to

undergo routine preconception or prenatal expanded carrier screening. It also means that many hopeful parents may choose third-party reproduction instead.

Fertility Outcomes for East Asian Women

Research shows that women of East Asian descent (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese) are found to have longer periods of infertility before seeking help. This may affect their chances of success with assisted reproductive technology (ART).

Also, East Asian women have poorer outcomes from fresh embryo transfers. A study involving Caucasian and Asian women on the ART database found that Asian women experienced lower rates of cumulative pregnancies (33.3%) than Caucasian women (41.3%). East Asian women also had lower live birth rates (26.9%) than Caucasian women (34.9%). Overall, East Asian women were found to be a third less likely than Caucasian women to get pregnant following a fresh embryo transfer.

Some studies in breast cancer incidence have shown that hormone metabolism plays a role in population differences. One study showed that Asian American women had significantly higher levels of estrogen than Chinese women in China.

Embryonic transfers usually take place shortly after the eggs are retrieved, and high estrogen levels may influence whether the endometrium is receptive to having the embryo implant. Further research has shown that high estrogen levels may reduce pregnancy rates in fresh embryo transfers in IVF by disrupting the implantation of the embryo into the endometrium.

Why Diversity in Egg Donation Matters

As we’ve explained above, there is substantial evidence that certain ethnic communities are at a higher risk of infertility issues, genetic defects, or both. These issues can significantly impact a person’s ability to start a family, leaving third-party reproduction as their only hope.

Understandably, many Intended Parents want to have a child who shares their physical characteristics. As a result, many Intended Parents seek egg donors of Jewish, Asian, and African American descent.

If you’re of Jewish, Asian, or African American heritage and you are considering becoming an egg donor, there are many Intended Parents on our waiting list who are looking for someone just like you. You may be the donor who makes their dream come true!

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Staci Swiderski, CEO and owner of Family Source Consultants, has been a prominent leader in reproductive medicine for over two decades. Through her strategic vision and dedication, she has developed Family Source Consultants into a globally recognized agency specializing in comprehensive egg donation and gestational surrogacy services. Under Staci’s leadership, the agency has become a trusted partner for intended parents, surrogates, and egg donors worldwide, known for its rigorous standards, compassionate support, and commitment to excellence in third-party reproduction.

Her professional insight is uniquely informed by her own family-building experiences. As an intended parent, Staci welcomed her son via gestational surrogacy in 2005, and as a known egg donor, she assisted an infertile couple in expanding their family. These experiences lend a rare depth to her leadership and have fueled her ongoing dedication to ethical, empathetic, and professional support within the field of reproductive medicine.