The UK needs egg donors!
Thanks! |
Egg donors are always needed!
How to become an egg donor?
Basic qualifications for becoming an egg donor:
1) You must be between 18 and 35 years old
2) You must have blood tests to show you are free of infectious diseases HIV, Hepatitis B (HBSAg test), hepatitis C (HCV test) and venereal diseases (VDRL test). We will also need a karyotype (chromosome analysis). You will also need further tests to make sure you are fit to have an operation.
3) You should be free of inheritable conditions (of which the most common is Cystic Fibrosis). Therefore if someone in your family suffers from an inheritable disease, you will need to inform us or your doctor.
4) We may also need to write to your GP to get a medical history, and we will need your consent to do this.
5) We will need to see you before going forwards to discuss the implications of the process, and answer any questions you may have.
What happens next in the egg donation process?
If the above conditions apply to you, please register with our egg donors database. We work hard to match you with a suitable recipient, and once we have a match, we will contact you.
How does egg donation work?
When we find you a match, you will be administered a course of treatment designed to produce more than a single egg in a single menstrual cycle. This is called ‘controlled ovarian hyperstimulation’.
What is ‘Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation’?
During your normal menstrual cycle, a single egg is produced every month. The medical staff would like to have more than 1 egg for the egg donation process, in order to make it worthwhile. Therefore you will have to take a brief hormonal therapy (consisting of Follicle Stimulation Hormone or FSH) to produce several eggs. This hormonal therapy also involves the injection of a suppressor to temporarily block your natural menstrual cycle. The therapy is a simple replacement of your menstrual cycle and lasts about 10 days. It unfortunately does involve a series of syringes. If you need help, ask a family member or local medical practitioner. You will also need at least 2 ultrasound scans to follow the follicular development.
Just before ovulation, the follicles are aspirated in an operation called ‘egg retrieval’. Don’t worry, the procedure is performed under anaesthesia by qualified medical staff and you won’t feel a thing. You will lose a maximum of one day of work for this procedure. For you, that marks the end of the process. After about 15 days, your cycle will return and proceed as normal.
How many times can I go through the egg donation process?
The legal limit is 10 families in the UK. Other countries have individual conditions. Clinically, the process will not affect your ability to have children, therefore you can repeat the process up to the legal requirement.
What risks are involved in egg donation?
The risks of the process are the same as any patient undergoing IVF. This means a small amount of risk of ‘hyperstimulation’ through the hormonal therapy, and the obvious risks involved in having an operation. Please therefore feel free to call us or your doctor if you feel anything is not right. However, remember that throughout the world, patients do the same process every day without problems. You are still more at danger crossing the road!
Will I meet my recipient?
You will never meet your recipient. However, in the UK egg donors are required to leave identifying information. This is in order that any offspring wishing to do so can contact you, after reaching 18 years of age. This is termed ‘traceable’ donation. For your part, you may request information on whether live births have resulted from the process.
In other countries, the egg donation procedure is anonymous and you cannot be identified. If you are willing, click on the ‘willing to travel box in the registration form. IVFAgent will be in touch as soon as we have interest in your offer.
Want to know about the egg donation Law in your country? Use our database:
Please, select country and donation type.
What happens if I don’t want to go through with the process?
Egg donation is an altruistic process and you should always remember that someone waiting for your eggs is desperate to start a family. Please keep this in mind when you are going through the process. However, you can always change your mind up until the eggs have been placed in the uterus of the recipient. Obviously, life is complicated and many things can occur during the process, so you are not liable for any penalty if you pull out. But, please make sure you consider the implications before making a final decision. |
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hi, egg donation is something i have thought long and hard about but i have previously had miscarriages and i have diabetes. i got gestational diabetes and it never went. are these issues? many thanks
Dear Natasha
I’m sorry you had miscarriages, but on the positive side knowing you have diabetes means you can control this factor from the outset. You should be able to carry through a pregnancy without too much risk if you take the advice of your doctor from the start of pregnancy. The miscarriages may have been due to the diabetes, but could also have been caused by other factors.
With egg donation, there is obviously still a risk of miscarriage, but if this was caused by a factor within your eggs it will be resolved with egg donation.
My advice is to seek the advice of your GP, and then seriously consider egg donation.
Yours sincerely
Martin Wilding
Hi,
I am 33 years old, i have 4 beautiful children, I have often thought about helping people who want children, i would like to know if i was an egg donor are you only accepted in return for ivf treatment for yourself, as i dont want to sound awful but would use money to benefit the children i already have, and put it towards a once in a lifetime treat for them, This is because i value my life with them and want to provide the best for them, while giving someone else the opportunity to to have a family and experience the same as myself.
Dear Joanne
Thank you for your question. The donation of eggs in return for IVF treatment yourself is termed ‘egg sharing’. What you are thinking of is egg donation itself. This means you are prescribed a therapy and eggs are then retrieved from your ovaries, and used to help others. In the UK, egg donors are permitted £750 per donation cycle. But, as you say, better than this is perhaps the satisfaction of helping others have a family.
If you want to register as a potential donor, please go to:
https://www.ivfagent.com/system/users/registration
and select ‘donor’
Dr Martin Wilding
Why is the cut off age at 35? I am 43 and am looking into offering some help.
Dear Julie
Unfortunately the age limit for egg donors is imposed by Law.
Thank you anyway for your kind offer.
hey i would like to donate my eggs im young i am 23 but my only concern is if i donate is there any chance it will stop me from having a family off my own one day ?. And what will they do to me to take the eggs from me x
Dear Lauren
Please go ahead. It certainly won’t stop you having your own family, and in the meantime you will help others create a family.
Martin Wilding
I wish To become an egg donor, yet I am a carrier of the Cystic Fibrosis gene. However, no-one inside my family has ever had it, thus I was wondering whether merely being a carrier of the gene would cause the disease.
If you answer this please KNOW the answer, don’t simply guess.
If you are a carrier of the Cystic Fibrosis mutation, you are lucky no-one in your family has ever had it. Please ask your partner to check themselves before you try for a baby.
As for egg donation, the recipient should also get tested, and if negative the process can go ahead without risk.