What is AMH Testing?
AMH testing is a common initial fertility test that plays an important role in the egg donation process. AMH is a type of fertility hormone connected to egg production, and AMH testing provides useful information for people seeking fertility treatment. Read on for more information about AMH testing and why it matters.
What Is AMH?
AMH stands for anti-Müllerian hormone, and is produced by the small fluid-filled sacs in your ovaries, called follicles. Each follicle contains an immature egg, or oocyte. To understand AMH levels more, let’s review how egg development occurs in the ovaries.
Most people with ovaries have around 1,000,000 follicles at birth. However, this number decreases over time, and no new follicles develop. By the time a person reaches puberty, only around 300,000 follicles remain. Once puberty begins, only one oocyte develops into a fully mature egg each month that may be fertilized with sperm, while many more simply reabsorb back into the body in a process called atresia. By age 37, only around 25,000 follicles remain.
Each follicle has a cell which produces AMH. Together, the amount of AMH produced by all your remaining follicles equals your total AMH level, which can be measured through a blood test. As the total remaining quantity of follicles decreases, so does the AMH level.
How Does AMH Testing Connect to Ovarian Reserve?
Because the total level of AMH directly relates to the remaining number of follicles, AMH testing can estimate how many eggs you have left, also known as your ovarian reserve. High AMH levels can suggest a higher number of remaining potential eggs, while low AMH levels suggest a smaller ovarian reserve. “Normal” levels of AMH adjust with age, as do the ranges considered to be high or low.
If you are considering fertility treatment, AMH testing can help estimate how your body may respond to hormone medications and predict results of ovarian stimulation and egg retrievals. In some cases, patients with especially low AMH levels may consider using donor eggs. However, it’s important to remember that AMH testing only provides context and knowledge to help patients make an informed decision. The test results do not define your fertility or dictate your journey.
It’s also useful to note that AMH testing only evaluates the quantity of remaining eggs. It cannot provide any information about those eggs’ quality. As egg quantity diminishes with age, so does egg quality, with increased chance of chromosomal abnormalities over time.
How Does AMH Relate to Egg Donors?
Egg donors undergo a comprehensive medical screening process, which often includes AMH testing to predict how many eggs might be retrieved during the donation process. Again, AMH testing does not indicate anything about the quality of a donor’s eggs. However, the egg donor approval process screens out candidates with risk factors for genetic disease or diminished egg quality (such as candidates who smoke). In addition, SIMPLIFY chooses donors who fall within the generally accepted peak window of egg quality (ages 21-29).
SIMPLIFY Offers AMH Testing through PNWF
Our partner clinic, Pacific NW Fertility (PNWF), provides initial fertility testing for patients and comprehensive screening for egg donor candidates. AMH testing is just one of many diagnostic tools to help inform and plan your fertility journey. For more information on AMH testing and egg donation, reach out to us today.