Egg Donor Procedures

Egg donation as a treatment for infertility is the process of harvesting healthy eggs from one woman and implanting them in another woman using in vitro fertilization. It comes with risks and rewards for both the egg donor and the receiver, and it's important to understand the procedure fully before choosing to become either party.

Who is Involved in Egg Donation?

• Egg receivers are heterosexual couples suffering from infertility, women who don't want to pass a genetic defect onto their children, and same-sex couples who turn to egg donation as a way to conceive and give birth to a child. Some people use a surrogate mother to carry the baby to term.

  Egg donors are healthy women who choose to donate their eggs. They undergo vigorous medical testing and are asked about their family's health history to ensure that they are suitable donors.

  Infertility clinics and doctors find suitable egg donors and match them up with couples and individuals looking to have children.

Becoming an Egg Donor

• Whether or not to become an egg donor is a serious decision. Preferred egg donors are healthy, college-educated women whose family has a healthy genetic history. The application process for becoming a donor depends on the individual clinic, but generally the prospective donor is asked about her individual health history, her family's health history, her educational and professional background, and her personality. She's usually required to submit baby and/or adult photos of herself as well.

  If a donor seems like a good candidate, the clinic will make her information available to prospective receivers. The process of matching a donor with a receiver can take several months.

  One this match as been made, the donor undergoes a physical and genetic exam, and begins the physical process of egg donation.

The Process of Donating Eggs

• A woman's ovaries typically release one egg a month. In order for a woman to donate her eggs, her ovaries have to be hormonally stimulated to create more than one egg during one menstrual cycle.

  The donor is injected with a class of drugs known as gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist analogues, which suppresses the release of luteinizing hormone by the donor's pituitary gland, creating an artificial menopause. This can be achieved by a single injection, multiple injections or even nasal spray.

  Now that her hormone levels have been suppressed, her ovaries must be stimulated to produce more than one mature egg. This is achieved by giving her multiple doses of a follicle-stimulating hormone or human menopausal gonadotropin. The donor typically injects herself with these hormones.

  A clinic will use ultrasounds to determine how the eggs are progressing. When the eggs are ready to be harvested, the donor's doctor will give her one injection of human chorionic gonadotropin. This triggers ovulation.

  Approximately 34 to 36 hours after this injection, the eggs will be retrieved via surgery. A needle is attached to an ultrasound probe and injected into the donor's vagina, pulling mature eggs out of follicles in the ovaries.

  A donor is under light anesthesia during the surgery and can usually return to school or work in one to two days. Apart from follow-up appointments to make sure that there are no complications, a donor's job at this point is done. She will receive compensation for her time and the risks involved, generally $5,000 to $10,000.

Risks of Donating Eggs

• During both the application and the donation phase, egg donors are warned about possible complications. Most donors experience discomfort during the experience, ranging from hot flashes and mood swings to abdominal pain and bloating. She may be allergic to the hormonal treatments. During surgery, other pelvic structures, like the bladder or uterus, may be punctured. The most serious risk is the possibility of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, which may result in death.

  The chance of suffering a serious complication during the egg donation process is rare, but the risks should be understood before anybody decides to become an egg donor.

What Happens to the Retrieved Eggs?

• While the donor's role in egg donation is complete, the process is just beginning for the couple or individual who receives the eggs.

  A successful extraction will result in 10 to 15 eggs. Fertility specialists will then fertilize the eggs and implant them into another woman using in vitro fertilization. The ultimate goal is a healthy child. For the woman who has received the donated eggs, this baby would be her biological child but not her genetic child.

  The first successful egg donation procedure happened on July 1983, and since then people trying to have a baby have had another powerful fertility option available to them.