Egg Donation Process

Giving birth can be one of the most beautiful experiences for a woman. Although rife with challenges, health issues and various other grave considerations, childbirth is something that almost every woman looks forward to sometime or the other in her life. The idea of conceiving new life within her body can mean a lot to a woman. It is like leaving back a part of your being in the world, for when you yourself cease to exist in this physical world. It is like living another life, even after your present life is over, through your offspring whom you conceived from your own flesh and blood. Sadly, however, not all women are equally endowed in this matter and some women would never experience the raptures of giving birth to an offspring, had it not been for the phenomenon of egg donation. The subsequent paragraphs deal with the egg donation process in detail.

What is Egg Donation?

Before we proceed towards looking at the egg donation process, let's first understand the full implications of the phenomenon of egg donation. Sometimes, a woman may donate one ovum or several ova for the purpose of assisting in reproduction of other women having infertility issues and other adverse reproductive condition, or for the purpose of biomedical research. Most of the time, donated eggs are used for assisted reproduction. For this purpose, the eggs or ova undergo in vitro fertilization process under which they get fertilized in a laboratory environment. The donor of the ova may be anonymous (unrelated and unknown to the recipients), designated (known to the recipient, usually a relative or friend) or participants of shared oocyte programs.

The recipients of such third party ova usually consist of female individuals whose reproductive conditions do not allow them to bear genetic offspring or who have crossed the fertile period of her life due to advanced reproductive age. Sometimes, birth defects affecting the reproductive system such as absolute or partial absence of certain reproductive organs may also prompt such women to seek donated eggs. Any damage or disorder to the reproductive organs, such as ovarian cysts and malignant growths, leading to their surgical removal, and other gynecological problems may also render a woman unable to conceive. Such individuals also benefit from third party reproduction programs.

Egg Donation Procedure

There are a few steps that are involved in the entire egg donation procedure. After a donor is recruited, she is made to undergo a thorough medical screening to ascertain the soundness of her health and the health of her ova. The medical screening includes a pelvic examination, a test of her hormone levels and a screening for infections and other diseases that might affect the health of her ova. An ultrasound screening is conducted to examine the reproductive organs of the donor to determine whether or not there are any abnormalities or deformities in those organs. Next comes a psychological evaluation to ascertain whether the donor is mentally prepared and emotionally equipped for donating her eggs. This is followed by the donor signing a legal contract with the laboratory. On signing such a legal contract, the donor relinquishes any rights of custody and ownership over any child that results from any pregnancy which may be induced by her donated ova.

Thereafter, IVF stimulation therapy is initiated. The donor is given birth control medications in order to synchronize her menstrual cycle with that of the recipient. This is followed by hormone regulating medication which obstructs the normal ovarian functions of the donor. Thereafter, to stimulate the production of ova and accelerate the rate of maturation of such ova, follicle stimulating hormones are administered to the donor. The entire process is supervised by medical experts to keep an eye on the growth and development of the donor's ova, and to monitor how the donor reacts to the hormones that are administered as part of the egg donation process.

Next comes egg retrieval. Once the follicles have matured sufficiently, the doctor decides the date and time on which the ova would be retrieved for fertilization. About 36 hours preceding retrieval, the donor receives one last shot of hCG hormone as a means of preparing her ova for harvesting. The process of retrieval requires a minimal surgically invasive procedure and takes somewhere around twenty five to thirty minutes. After the extraction is over, the donor may be released after a couple of hours of resting and observation and she may resume her usual activities form the very next day.

How Long Does It Take to Donate Eggs?

Once a donor is recruited and after she has undergone medical screening, psychologically evaluated and has signed the legal contract, the rest of the process - right from IVF stimulation to egg retrieval - takes somewhere between three to six weeks, depending upon the variations between the donor's and the recipient's reproductive cycles.

Egg donation is a noble cause and it is extremely encouraging to look at the motivational statistics that point towards altruism as the sole motivation for the majority of women to act as donors. Only a small percentage quote monetary considerations as their motivation to donate eggs. The process of egg donation is not completely devoid of risks, though the incidence of such risks are negligible, given the thorough medical and psychological screening that the donors are made to undergo. Egg donation risks may include adverse reaction to administered hormones, bleeding and ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome. Some donors may even experience some psychological blocks on or after donation, but this is quite rare. Certain studies have pointed towards possibilities of developing ovarian cancer which may result from long-term, repetitive participation in egg donation programs. The recipients may also be vulnerable to transmittable diseases and infections but given the intensive donor screenings, such an occurrence is extremely rare.