We have designed this page to give you all the basic information you need if you are considering being an egg donor. We think it is essential that you fully understand what will be involved and have the opportunity to consider any implications for the future. This information will be discussed with you in more detail when you attend the unit and before you make a final decision.
Who needs donated eggs?
There are a number of reasons why couples consider egg donation. Some women are unable to produce eggs. This might be because their ovaries have not developed properly but can also be caused by premature menopause or be the result of surgery or certain types of drug therapy. Other women have a genetic abnormality which would be transmitted to the child if their own eggs were used.
Who is suitable to be an egg donor?
You will need to be a fit, healthy woman of 35 years of age or under and have at least one healthy child of your own. There should be no family history of hereditary disease. You may either donate on an entirely anonymous basis, on behalf of someone you know, or directly to a relative or friend. Egg donation is done on a purely voluntary basis. There can be no payment. However, travel expenses for anonymous donors will be reimbursed.
Tests that have to be done before a donor is accepted
Following a medical consultation, you would be required to undertake blood screening for Hepatitis B and C, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. We need to know your blood group and to ensure that you are not a carrier of Cystic Fibrosis or any other genetic conditions. In addition, a vaginal ultrasound scan of the pelvis would be necessary at the time of the consultation.
What proceedures are involved with egg donation?
In a normal menstrual cycle several follicles begin to grow, but only one follicle containing an egg will develop to maturity. Although it is possible to donate this one egg, the chances of it fertilising and resulting in an ongoing pregnancy are small. To increase the chances of success, hormone injections are used to stimulate the follicles in order to produce several eggs. The treatment involved is similar to the process that women undergo when they have IVF treatment.
The development of the follicles is monitored by regular internal ultrasound scans. This is a safe, simple and painless procedure that enables us to measure the developing follicles. A blood test is taken after each scan to monitor the hormone levels. Usually four to five scans and blood tests are required during each treatment cycle. The scans and blood tests are carried out here in the unit before 10.00 each morning. The follicles usually take 10 - 12 days to grow to a size that indicates that most of them contain an egg. Egg collection is classed as a minor day case procedure. You would be given sedation and local anaesthetic. You will not feel any pain. This takes about twenty minutes.
Someone must take you home and stay with you for the rest of that day. You are advised to take it easy for two or three days following the egg collection. Some women may experience abdominal distension and discomfort for a few days after the procedure. A small amount of bleeding may occur as a result of the egg collection. Your period would usually start ten to twelve days later.
What medication will I be given?
The most commonly used drugs are called Buserelin and Puregon or Gonal F. The injections are small injections underthe skin and can be done at home in the morning. You would be taught how to administer these yourself.
Are there any side effects or risks in taking these drugs?
The injections of Puregon or Gonal F can make you feel bloated and experience pre-menstrual like symptoms. However, these effects last only whilst on the medication and would disappear with your next period.
Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome
You would be carefully monitored throughout the treatment cycle but some woman’s ovaries are extremely sensitive to the stimulation drugs. They can produce a very large number of follicles and high blood hormone levels. This is known as ‘Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome’. The ovaries become enlarged and there is a swelling of the abdomen.
About 5% of women who go through ovarian stimulation during IVF treatment develop ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. The common symptoms are abdominal swelling, lower abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. These symptoms often settle on their own in a few days. If they do not, hospital admission is required as more severe complications can occasionally arise.
If we are worried about your ovaries over responding the treatment cycle will be cancelled. However, some women may not show any symptoms until after egg collection. It is uncommon for the hyperstimulation to be severe in women who do not become pregnant.
After egg collection it is very common to have some degree ofabdominal discomfort which usually lasts for a couple of days.This is not due to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. If you have any symptoms or worries, please call us on 0208 38338168, 0208 383 8188/9 during working hours. Out of hours you can call the hospital on 0208 383 1000 and ask to speak to the IVF Doctor on call.
Please note that fertility is increased as a result of a treatment cycle. If you became an egg donor it would be important to take precautions against pregnancy by using a cap, sheath oravoiding intercourse during the treatment and until your period following treatment.
Human Fertilisation and Embryology
Authority (HFEA)
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is the organisation that regulates the work carried out in IVF clinics. It maintains a Register of highly confidential information and each clinic is legally required to collect certain information about donors including their name, physical characteristics and ethnic origin. Knowledge of the identity of the donor is restricted to the staff at the IVF unit and the HFEA who maintain the Register. Donors are encouraged to provide additional non-identifying information about themselves and recipients can request to see this information. The IVF unit is not allowed to reveal identifying information about a donor who has asked to be anonymous (unless there are exceptional circumstances - see Disclosures below).
Any child born as a result of egg donation will be genetically related to your own child(ren). In genetic terms they will be half brothers and sisters. From 2008 people aged 16 (if contemplating marriage) will be able to ask if they were conceived as a result of sperm, egg or embryo donation and, if so, whether they are related to the person they want to marry. From 2010 the right to this information will apply to 18 year olds. However, the law does not allow them to know the names or other identifying details about the donor.
Will anonymous donors remain anonymous?
The government is currently considering what general information people will be given if they apply to the Register and whether the law should be changed to make it possible for future donors to be identified. No decision has yet been made but the government has confirmed that all past donors will remain anonymous.
We ask you to complete a personal questionnaire giving the kind of information that young people are likely to want if they know they were conceived by egg donation. We believe this is a very important document which parents may find helpful if they choose to talk to their child(ren) about the donor who made their child’s life possible. All this information is non-identifying.
Disclosure
If a child should be born with an abnormality, and it was shown that this abnormality was a result of a donor knowingly withholding medical information, the child may be able to seek compensation for damages under the Congenital Disabilities (Civil Liabilities) Act 1973. In these circumstances information potentially identifying the donor could be disclosed.
Who are the legal parents?
Any woman who gives birth to a baby is the legal mother. Her partner or husband is the legal father if he has provided the sperm. The child’s birth certificate would state that the recipients were the legal parents. The donor has no legal responsibilities or rights in relation to any child that is born.
What should I tell my own child(ren)?
Your child(ren) will be genetically related to any child that is born as a result of your donation and this fact will be recorded on the HFEA Register. You will need to consider what you would want your child(ren) to know about your decision to be a donor. We encourage you to think carefully about this and weigh up all the implications. This will be discussed in more detail during your session with the counsellor.
Counselling
There are many issues you may wish to consider before making a final decision about being an egg donor. It is essential that you are fully informed and have had sufficient opportunity to explore the implications for you and your family if you do decide to donate. For this reason, we arrange for you and your partner to see one of our counsellors who will talk through the ethical,legal and practical details of egg donation. It is also a useful chance to explore the potential social and emotional issues for you now and in the future.
What if I change my mind?
You would be free to change you mind and withdraw your consent at any time up to the time of embryo transfer.
What next?
If you have read this information and are interested in being an egg donor, please complete our questionnaire. If you would like to discuss anything please call Sister Turner on 0208 383 8168. You will be sent an appointment to see the doctor and the counsellor working with the egg donor programme. These appointments will be arranged together and will last approximately two and a half hours. We strongly recommend that you attend with your husband or partner.
