How Egg Donation Works
Egg donation is a medical procedure in which a young woman donates an egg to another woman to help her conceive.
Choosing to donate is a selfless act and it requires a big commitment due to the the medical screening, and treatment procedure involved.
If you are thinking about becoming an egg donor, you must do plenty of research about how egg donation works and the requirements for donating
Let's explore the main steps and the possible risks.
How egg donation works
The donation process involves of two steps.
First step: ovarian hyperstimulation, the woman receives several hormonal drugs which make the ovaries to produce multiple mature eggs
Second step: egg retrieval, mature eggs are removed from the woman through a surgical procedure called transvaginal ultrasound aspiration.
Once the eggs are retrieved, they will be fertilized with the sperm of the prospective parents, also sperm from a donor can be used to create the embryos. Sometimes, eggs can also be frozen.
Some intended parents pursuing a surrogacy process sometimes need also to use an egg donor, for example gay couples.
Egg freezing can be good option for women wanting to keep their fertility for the future. Some reason to follow these options are because they want to postpone childbearing because the want to follow educational, career or other personal goals, and sometimes a disease has been diagnosed and they need to wait until being completely recovered.
Risk of Donating Eggs
Egg donation is a quite safe medical procedure, but like any other procedure is not 100% risk free, some side effects could appear during the donation process, like
- Blood draws and injections
- Fertility medication side effects
- Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS)
- Egg retrieval complications
It's important to know about what potential consequences and egg donation risks could be, informed decision when there's no.
Whether you are a potential egg donor considering help someone build their family or a prospective parent, your fertility decisions are extremely personal, and it's recommendable to get in contact with a fertility specialist before making any decisions.