What is egg-sharing IVF?
If you are undergoing IVF treatment you can donate eggs as an egg share donor. This means that during your IVF cycle you will keep half of the eggs collected and the other half will be donated to an anonymous recipient couple.
Many women would like to donate eggs to help someone else and egg-sharing also brings benefits in terms of a reduction in the cost of IVF treatment.
Who can be an egg sharer?
To become an egg donor at our clinic you must:
• be aged 34 years or less
• have been a non-smoker for at least three months
• have a normal FSH and AMH hormone blood test
• be free of transmissible diseases and inheritable disorders
• be free from severe endometriosis
• never have had previous hyper-stimulation of the ovaries
• have a BMI (body mass index) below 33
Egg donors are required to undergo initial screening tests before you can be accepted onto the programme. Generally these tests include HIV, Hepatitis B & C, Syphilis and sickle cell screening. Everyone accepted on the programme will be required to discuss their own and their family’s medical history with the doctor.
Who will I help by becoming an egg donor?
There are many women who have no hope of pregnancy without donated eggs. They may have lost their eggs due to surgery, environmental problems, genetic causes, natural aging or to treatment for cancer. Premature failure of the ovaries, where the periods stop early and there are no eggs left, can be devastating and it can occur as early as the teenage years. In other cases, women may carry an inheritable genetic disorder that they do not want to pass on to their children. Whatever the circumstances, your gift can restore hope.
Who can become an egg-recipient (someone who receives donated eggs)?
Generally these are women who are in good health, in a stable relationship and under the age of fifty. Not all patients are eligible to enter the programme and each case is assessed on an individual basis by the doctor. In some circumstances, cases may be referred to the Clinic’s Ethics Committee for review.
If I am going to have IVF, why should I become an egg share donor?
Becoming an egg share donor is a way of reducing the costs of your IVF treatment. Your treatment can also help another woman have IVF treatment, as some women’s only hope of getting pregnant is to receive donated eggs from another woman. Egg sharing is not suitable for everyone and your fertility specialist can discuss all the options with you and also provide you with information about alternative treatments.
Will you know the identity of your egg share recipient?
You will not be told the identity of the woman to whom you donate your eggs and you will also remain anonymous to her, although she may receive some non-identifying information about you, such as a description of your physical characteristics. If you wish, you may be informed whether your recipient achieved a pregnancy, but no further information can be supplied. You will not be the legal parent of any child born as a result of eggs you have donated to another woman.
How do I apply to become an egg sharer?
You must have already been seen in our clinic and had IVF treatment recommended by one of our doctors. If this is the case then the next step is for you to let one of the clinic staff know that you are interested in egg-share IVF by:
• calling any of the clinic locations
• emailing us on info@trinidadivf.com