What Does Donation Involve?
There are three phases to completing an egg donation:
Phase 1: Screening
Our first step is to make sure you meet the qualifications for being an egg donor. The screening process is usually quite brief.
Phase 2: Fertility Treatments
Once you’ve completed the screening process, our next step is to prepare your body to mature a number of eggs at the same time. The exact process used here depends on your doctor, but let’s describe how it generally works.
Fertility Treatments for Donating Fresh Eggs
As a fresh egg donor, immediately after retrieving your eggs, we’re going to attempt fertilization and implant the embryos into the recipient. This means that, in addition to preparing your body to mature multiple eggs at once, you’ll need to synchronize your menstrual cycle with that of the recipient. This usually translates into around eight total office visits.
Phase 2-1: Regulate and Coordinate Your Cycle
You begin by taking birth control pills for several weeks in order to regulate your cycle and coordinate it with the woman who is to receive your eggs.
Phase 2-2: Suspend Your Egg Release
Next, you’ll begin a daily injection of a medication called Lupron that stops your normal maturation and release of an egg that month. It is generally injected in your thigh (called a subcutaneous injection) using a very small needle, and is quite painless.
Phase 2-3: Mature a Number of Eggs
You’ll then begin a daily subcutaneous injection of pharmaceutical hormones in a higher quantity than you normally produce to signal your body to simultaneously mature a number of eggs. We need multiple eggs to give a woman a 40 percent to 80 percent chance of a pregnancy.
Phase 2-4: Prepare Your Eggs for Retrieval
Finally, you’ll take one last injected called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) to prepare the mature eggs for retrieval.
Important Guidelines
Since these medications are often taken on a daily basis, many donors find it more convenient to give themselves the injections at home, or arrange for a spouse or friend to give them the injections. Your doctor will provide instructions on how to give injections.
Be sure to note that during the time you are taking these medications over a two-week period, it is necessary to abstain from sexual intercourse to prevent accidentally becoming pregnant.
Fertility Treatments for Donating Frozen Eggs
As a frozen egg donor, your eggs will be frozen immediately after donation for future use. This means that it isn’t necessary to synchronize your menstrual cycle with that of the recipient, which removes Phase 2-1 above. The rest of the process is the same.
Phase 3: Egg Retrieval
The last phase of the medical protocol is called egg retrieval or egg capture. Your doctor will retrieve your eggs usually in an outpatient procedure in the doctor's office.
To avoid any discomfort and memory, you may be put to sleep by general anesthesia or with a form of a tranquilizer before the procedure begins.
To retrieve the eggs, a thin needle is inserted into the vagina and through the back of the vaginal wall to reach the ovary. The needle punctures the fine membrane follicle sacs that grow on the outside of the ovary (containing the eggs) and the fluid in the follicle is aspirated into a syringe attached to the needle. Because the egg is microscopic, it easily passes through the head of the needle.
The retrieval process usually takes about 30 minutes and is considered by most to be a painless procedure. There are no external cuts or incisions that cause scarring.
Recovery time can vary from person to person, but generally varies from mild to moderate discomfort, similar to mild or moderate menstrual cramps for several days. About 20 percent of donors experience more discomfort, requiring them to limit their activities for several days.
Although extremely rare, when more serious complications occur (in less than 1% of women who have an egg retrieval with IVF), hospitalization for a number of days may be necessary.
Summary
The entire egg donation process generally involves about 20 hours of your time over three to five months and does include compensation for your time and effort.
This website is brought to you in partnership with Bluegrass Fertility Center
and The World Egg Bank®.