I’m breastfeeding. Can I donate?
No, not yet. Sorry. Finish breastfeeding and we’ll happily take you on!
Don’t I need ALL my eggs so I can fall pregnant?
You’re born with about two million eggs. By puberty, only 300,000 immature eggs are left: every month, a group of eggs grow and develop so your body ovulates once each cycle.
And long-term? Any chance of me damaging my ability to have children?
Egg donation doesn’t cause infertility. Fertility medication has no proven long-term effects at all.
Does it take a lot of time to donate?
Not too bad, but it does take some commitment from you.
What medicine do I take? When? And how do you know when I’m ready to donate?
You will be injected with a very fine needle (into the fat, not the muscle) with special hormones and given tablets from day three or four of your menstrual cycle. Your eggs then develop in small follicles and are scanned and measured on day eight of your cycle.
Can I have sex during egg donation?
Not in the clinic. But, yes, it’s fine at most other times.
So fertility medicine does exactly what?
It helps your body to rescue many of the immature eggs (usually around ten) that would otherwise have been lost during your normal menstrual cycle.
OK, you have my eggs. What about those you don’t need?
Our clinics will fertilise all the eggs that you donate with the father’s sperm. Some won’t take, but some will become embryos which are allowed to grow for a few days.
Are we talking surgery here?
No, no cutting at all. You will be under procedural (conscious) sedation, a medical term for very light anaesthestics or sedatives to minimise pain and discomfort.
I’m a bit worried that there may be something you’re not telling me. Surely there must be side effects?
Some women experience none.
Some have reported a bit of PMS during the two weeks of hormone treatment; usually mild allergic sensitivity, breast tenderness, abdominal bloating, headaches or mood swings.