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Questions & Answers about Being an Egg Donor
Why do many couples
need an egg donor’s help to get pregnant? Women who volunteer to serve as egg donors have a choice to give infertile couples a most precious gift: a baby to call their own. Egg donation is a simple medical procedure. Thousands of women donate eggs each year. This web page is intended to answer basic questions about the egg donation process. Please feel free to contact our Donor Egg Program Coordinator or make an appointment with our doctors for additional information. Why do many couples need an egg donor’s help to get pregnant?There are a number of reasons why infertile couples need donor eggs in order to have a baby. Some women suffer form early menopause in their 20’s and 30’s and run out of eggs before they have their children. Others lose their ovaries as a result of surgery for severe gynecological diseases such as endometriosis, pelvic infections, or ovarian cancer. The most common use of egg donation is to treat women in their 40’s who have run out of fertile eggs and are unable to get pregnant on their own. It turns out that the age of a woman’s eggs is the main factor that determines her fertility. A woman enjoys her peak fertility from her teens until her mid 30’s . This is the time of her life when she ovulates her best and most healthy eggs. By the time a woman reaches her mid 40’s she will have used up her healthy eggs. The majority of eggs that remain in her ovaries have abnormal chromosomes and are incapable of producing a healthy baby. Although a woman may run out of healthy eggs in her 40’s or lose her ovaries to premature menopause or surgery, her uterus remains a healthy place to have a baby well into her 50’s. Since it is the age of her eggs, or her lack of eggs, and not the health of her uterus that determines whether she can have a baby, obtaining healthy eggs from young fertile women is the perfect solution to many couple’s infertility problems. What does egg donation involve?Egg donation makes use of the in vitro fertilization or “test tube baby” procedure. There are three steps in the process:
Who makes a good donor?The best egg donors are healthy women aged 21 to 32. Women in this age range are at the peak of their fertility and are best suited to help others have a baby. It is helpful for donors to have been pregnant in the past as a “check” of their fertility, but not required. How often is the procedure successful?Egg donation is the single most successful treatment known for infertility. Over half of our couples will become pregnant with each egg donation treatment. This is extremely gratifying for the donors and the medical team participating in their care. Will I run out of eggs if I give them to someone else?No. It is a little known fact that a woman goes through perhaps a thousand eggs each month to select the single one that is ovulated. The body absorbs the eggs that don’t complete the development process. Fertility drugs simply allow more of these eggs to mature, excess eggs, which the body would ordinarily discard. No extra eggs are used up in the process. How long does the process take?The fertility medications are usually given over the course of approximately two to three weeks. You will need to plan for 4 -5 visits to the clinic for the doctor to perform tests to monitor the progress of the medications. These visits usually last 15 to 30 minutes and are performed in the morning between 8am and 11 am. Out staff makes every effort to accommodate our donor’s schedule. On the day of the egg harvest procedure you should plan to be in the clinic for half of the day. The egg retrieval is performed in the morning. You should plan to spend the rest of the day after the procedure resting at home. What are the side effects of the fertility medications?The fertility medications are all natural hormones or simple chemical derivatives of natural hormones. Doctors have had over 30 years experience with medications such as Pergonal and have found them safe and effective. Most of our patients and egg donors find that these medications have relatively few side effects. The side effects which people do notice are related to the action of the drugs. Lupron temporarily interrupts the production of hormones by the ovaries. This can result in hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and some mood swings. Pergonal and highly purified FSH causes the ovaries to make hormones and eggs. Some women complain of mood swings on these drugs, too. Most patients tell us that they don’t feel anything other than abdominal bloating as their ovaries grow in size as eggs develop. Can I accidentally get pregnant as a result of the egg donation procedure?Accidental pregnancies are unlikely. The reason is simple. Lupron given by itself prevents the development of eggs and is an excellent contraceptive. Although the other drugs stimulate the production of eggs, there is only a several day period (around the time of the egg harvest) that you could become pregnant. We will know exactly when this “critical interval” is and advise you to avoid intercourse during this time. What are the legal responsibilities of egg donors and patients?The law is extremely clear on this matter. Children born as a result of the egg donation process legally belong to the couple receiving the donated embryos. Egg donors have absolutely no responsibility for the future welfare or support of these children. Do I have to meet the couple who is receiving my eggs?No. In many instances we perform anonymous egg donation. Neither the egg donor nor the recipient couple is aware of the identity of the other party. We do ask for you to provide us with a picture of yourself (and your children if you have any) to aid our patients in their selection of a donor. Some recipient couples express a desire to meet their donor before the process begins. The choice to have an “open” arrangement is entirely up to the woman who is donating her eggs. CompensationPayment is contingent upon participation in the program. And may be prorated based on the number of steps completed in the procedure. Payment is not based on the number of eggs obtained. About the clinicOverlake Reproductive Health takes care of infertile patients from around the world. Dr. Kevin Johnson is a nationally recognized infertility specialist who has performed more than 500 in vitro fertilization procedures since 1989. Our nurses and staff take great pride in giving personalized care to each woman they meet. About our philosophy for taking care of patientsOvercoming infertility requires a team approach. As an egg donor, you are a critical member of the team that will bring tremendous happiness to a family’s life. Do not hesitate to call our nurses or doctors with any questions or concerns. We greatly value your input and assistance.
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