Pros and cons for egg donation

Egg donation is no longer as taboo as it was in the past. There are many discussion forums on the Internet where women openly address egg donation and the whole process involved. There are questions about how to choose the right clinic, what does egg donation entail, what are the conditions of donation and much more. Some forums provide relevant information, while others support the myths associated with egg donation and collection. Therefore, experts from the Gynem Clinic have prepared a guide to egg donation for you, including all the pros and cons. Donations are voluntary and it is up to you on what you decide. 

How egg donation works?

Every woman aged 18 to 33 years can donate eggs. Some clinics have an upper age limit up to 35 years. A woman must be healthy, in good physical condition and have completed at the very least secondary education. Many IVF clinics also have the condition that a woman must not have a BMI (body mass index) higher than 30. Assisted reproduction clinics prefer donors who naturally conceived in the past and have already given birth to a child. There is a better chance that their eggs will be healthy and fertile, but this is not a condition. Even women who do not yet have children can donate eggs.

If you decide to donate eggs, it is always worth contacting a certified assisted reproduction clinic with a good reputation. You will fill out a contact form on the clinic's website, and if you meet all the requirements for a suitable donor, the clinic's assistants will contact you and arrange a personal meeting with a doctor. During the initial consultation with you, the doctor will discuss your family and personal history, i.e., what illnesses you have suffered from or which have appeared in your family. 

You will undergo a classic gynaecological examination and blood collection, which will rule out a possible genetic burden and the presence of diseases such as jaundice, diabetes or infectious and venereal diseases. This is also one of the biggest benefits of donating. You will receive a comprehensive overview of your health, which is an examination that is not normally performed, and in other circumstances you would pay for it in the order of thousands of crowns.

Am I a good candidate for egg donation?

If you pass all the preliminary examinations, you can donate eggs. But first it is necessary to undergo hormonal stimulation, which will support the growth of follicles (the area in the ovaries where eggs mature). The start of stimulation depends on your menstrual cycle and it is necessary to commence it on the first day of menstruation. If you get your period in the morning, it counts as the first day. If your period starts in the afternoon, the following day is counted as the first day. The woman self-administers the hormones by subcutaneous injection, which she receives at the IVF clinic. Stimulation usually lasts a week. After seven days, it is necessary to go for an ultrasound examination, during which the doctor will find out if stimulation was successful. If so, eggs may then be collected.

How are eggs collected?

Egg collection takes place under very short-term anaesthesia, lasting no longer than fifteen minutes.  The doctor inserts a thin needle into the vagina and aspirates the eggs from the ovaries. The procedure is completely monitored by ultrasound. After collection, it is necessary for the woman to stay for about one hour for observation at the clinic, and then she can go home with an escort. It is not possible to drive motor vehicles immediately after the procedure, but at the same time incapacity for work is not necessary. The woman should undertake rest for a few days after collection.

PROS:

• feeling good about helping others - thanks to you, infertile couples can fulfil their dream of starting their own family
• a comprehensive medical examination - thanks to the examinations that need to be performed before egg collection, you will have a complete overview of your health
• a risk-free procedure - hormonal stimulation and egg collection are almost risk-free and it is a very safe procedure, and nor does egg collection endanger the possibility of having your own children in the future
• anonymity - egg donation is 100% anonymous, if you do not decide to tell your loved ones yourself, no one will know about the procedure (it is not necessary to inform your general practitioner), you will not know the recipient of the eggs and they will not know you
• finance - a comprehensive medical examination is free and you will receive financial compensation of 28,000CZK for the donation, and egg donation can be repeated up to five times
• a professional approach - doctors at assisted reproduction clinics highly value women who are willing to help others to have children, so you can rely on a helpful and professional approach and above-standard care

CONS:

• time consuming - the comprehensive medical examination itself takes time and evaluation of the results takes one to three months
• side effects - hormonal stimulation can cause unpleasant feelings in some women, which could be compared to premenstrual syndrome (PMS), after the collection of eggs in some cases there is pain in the lower abdomen, which disappears with your next menstruation
• contraception - before donating eggs it is necessary to stop taking contraception, hormonal stimulation causes so-called superovulation, and therefore it is necessary to protect yourself with mechanical contraception, such as a condom or diaphragm
• an invasive procedure - as with any operation, the collection of eggs carries certain risks, which in this case are absolutely minimal