8am-4pm Mon-Fri
Introduction
An egg donor is a motivated, young, healthy woman wishing to help another women towards her dream of having a child. Egg donors are required to be between the age of 18 and 35.
A woman may look for help from an egg donor if she does not produce any eggs herself, or if the eggs she does produce are unlikely to give her a healthy child. This could be due to a variety of reasons such as:
- Premature menopause experienced by young women.
- Ovaries that cannot produce eggs due to the effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy used to treat cancer.
- Chromosomal abnormalities that could lead to a high risk of having a disabled child.
- Failed treatment of infertility.
These women and their partners are seeking the ultimate gift, the chance to start a family that would not otherwise be possible without donated eggs. There is currently a shortage of donated eggs from anonymous donors so women who need them often face a disappointing wait for treatment.
Criteria
In order to become an egg donor women are required to:
- be under 36 years of age on the day of egg collection
- be within a healthy weight range with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of less than 35
- be a non-smoker and have no history of smoking
- have no personal or family history of inherited illness or disability
- screen negative for certain infections or genetic disorders
- have a good ovarian reserve (assessed by a diagnostic scan and FSH blood test)
What is Involved?
Before being accepted as a donor
You will be invited to attend an initial personal consultation at a mutually convenient time to discuss the implications of donating eggs and what the treatment involves including any associated risks. We will discuss your current health, lifestyle and your medical history.
Should you wish to proceed further, an appointment will arranged for you to have screening tests and meet with our independent counsellor.
Donating
Similar to an IVF treatment cycle, you will follow a schedule of daily injections (which you can do yourself, or get your GP or a friend to do) for two to three weeks, to stimulate your ovaries to produce eggs. Over this time you will need to attend the hospital on three or four occasions for blood tests and scans to check how the eggs are developing. Some of these appointments may be able to be arranged at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin, or at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, if this is more convenient for you.
Following ovarian stimulation will have an outpatient egg recovery procedure under sedation which lasts about 30 minutes. You will need to take this day off work and will not be able to drive for 24 hours following the procedure.
HFEA
The Aberdeen Fertility Centre is licensed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority which sets standards for all UK fertility centres. Please visit www.hfea.gov.uk for further information.
Directions issued by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority from 1st April 2012 state that all donors may be compensated up to a fixed amount to cover all financial losses. An egg donor can receive compensation of up to £750 per cycle of donation, to reasonably cover any financial losses incurred in connection with the donation.
Donor Information
Recipients may be given non-identifying information about their donors if they request it. People born as a result of donation will be able to find out the identity of their donor when they reach the age of 18 if they wish.
As a donor
- You will not be told the identity of the recipients of your eggs
- You have no legal right of access to, or parental or financial responsibility for, any children resulting from your egg donation
- You will be able to find out how many children are born the year of their birth and the sex of the child, as a result of your donation
- You may be contacted in the future by people over the age of 18 born as a result of your donation
Contact Us
If you think you could help by becoming an egg donor you can contact us directly by phone on 01224 553582 or e-mail to donation@abdn.ac.uk. For additional information regarding egg donation you may find the National Gamete Donation Trust website useful www.ngdt.co.uk