Thinking of Becoming an Egg Donor?

Many couples who wish to have a baby but are finding it difficult or impossible to do so using their own sperm or eggs can now realize their dream by using sperm or eggs donated by someone else. The practice of donating sperm is a fairly simple procedure and has been around for quite some time. More recent though is the practice of donating eggs for use by women who are unable to produce enough healthy eggs of their own.

Egg donation is a complex process and therefore pays well. If you are someone who is considering becoming an egg donor in response to an advertisement or because someone you know has requested you to do so, it is important to learn all you can about the process, and give very serious thought to all that is involved before committing yourself. This article is about suggesting some of the issues you need to consider and be informed about before taking a decision.

Donating your eggs involves surgery, taking hormones and fertility drugs and possibly, putting on weight. But first, you have to be accepted into an egg donation program. All women do not automatically qualify to donate eggs. Different egg donation programs have different requirements of their prospective donors, but certain criteria are standard for all of them and there are certain legal requirements all programs must cater to.

Most programs require you to be between 21 to 35 years of age which is considered to be the peak reproductive period. Also, while at 21 you can legally contract to donate your eggs, 35 has been kept as the upper limit as older women are likely to have abnormal eggs that could prevent conception or lead to birth defects. Also, older women tend not to react favorably to fertility drugs that they need to take before donating their eggs.

You would be required to undergo a number of medical tests before being accepted into the program. These tests would include a physical and gynecological examination, and blood and urine tests to detect any existing health problems. Genetic tests as also your medical and family history would be required to rule out the possibility of passing on hereditary/genetic problems. You would be asked about addictions with regard to tobacco, alcohol and prescription or illegal drugs.

Although genetic tests involve a simple blood test, the results could impact your ability to get medical insurance in the future. So you need to check whether they will provide or refer you to a genetic counselor and if and to who exactly the program will make your test results available.

Besides these tests, you will also have to undergo psychological evaluation. Donating your eggs is no simple matter. It involves complex emotional, ethical and social issues that you need to look at and come to terms with before going ahead. This is necessary so as to ensure your ability to fulfill the on complex process involved in donating your eggs as also, to avoid any post donation regrets or emotional trauma. Remember, once you donate your eggs, you have no control over their fate, only the recipient does. She will be the legal birth mother although the baby is genetically related to you.

If you are an anonymous donor, some programs may require you to participate in an intelligence test also. The program will attempt to match you to a recipient who has similar physical and mental attributes as you do.

Egg donation requires you to dedicate time for the process, and it does take time. You will need to take medication for around three weeks and make several visits to the program for various tests. This could interfere with your daily routine, your work and your family responsibilities. You would need to make suitable arrangements to allow you to proceed with the program.

You will need to make some lifestyle changes. Drinking alcohol, smoking or taking illegal drugs will not be permissible. You will have to consult and get permission from relevant program authorities before taking prescription or non-prescription medication and you will have to abstain from unprotected sexual intercourse during specific periods of the donation program.

Some programs require their donors to commit to donate eggs several times, before accepting them for the program. Although there is no fixed limit to the number of times you can donate eggs, you need to be careful before agreeing. Firstly, because your eggs could be used to create a number of genetic half-siblings that could possibly end up relating to each other giving rise to a whole host of ethical and other problems. Secondly, since you don’t know how you are going to react to the medications or the procedures you need to undergo for the donating process, it may be a little premature to agree to donate a number of times.

Take time to study all aspects of the egg donation process, get fully informed, get counseled, look at the long term before going forward.