Egg Donor Bank
Why Egg Donation is needed?
Some couples are infertile because the female partner is unable to produce eggs (oocytes). This can occur for several reasons including poorly developed ovaries (e.g. Turner’s Syndrome), ovarian failure (premature menopause), surgery or chemotherapy affecting fertility. For these women, invitro fertilisation (IVF), using donated eggs offers their only chance of achieving a pregnancy.
Certain women can be carriers of inherited diseases such as Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy or haemophilia. Rather than risk giving birth to a child who may suffer and die at an early age the woman can opt for egg donation.
The Egg Donation Programme
Egg donors are always in short supply. It is a voluntary process, which involves considerable commitment. There is a waiting list for donor eggs. Donors are recruited through various avenues, e.g. your own friends and relatives, or by responding to media attention highlighting the need for donors. The identity of the egg donor will not be made known to you nor will your name or any details regarding you be disclosed to the donor, however non-identifying information such as eye colour, hair colour, occupation and interests will be available.
In order to match donors and recipients, consideration is given to physical characteristics and ethnic origin and you will be counselled through the implications of receiving donated eggs.
All egg recipients and their partners are tested for HIV, Hepatitis B & C and Blood Group.We also require the female partner to have a blood test for Cytomegalovirus (C.M.V) The C.M.V status is important when we are attempting to match a suitable donor.
What does being an Egg Recipient involve?
The treatment itself involves synchronisation of both the recipient’s and the donor’s cycles. This is achieved through carefully timed medication regimes. The egg donor receives daily hormone injections over 2 weeks, at the end of which, her eggs are collected. During these 2 weeks the egg recipient takes oestrogen to thicken her womb lining in preparation for receiving embryos.Both the egg donor and the recipient will be having ultrasound scans at regular intervals during the 2 weeks. In the donor’s case these are to monitor the growth of the egg follicles and in the recipient’s case to measure the thickness of her womb lining. On the day that eggs are collected from the donor, the egg recipient’s partner is asked to produce a semen sample so that the eggs can be fertilised in order to make embryos. The embryos are normally ready to be transferred 3 days after they have been collected.On the day of the embryo transfer the embryos are introduced into the womb vaginally by means of a fine catheter (tube) under ultrasound control. The egg recipient will continue to take medication until a pregnancy test is performed sixteen days later. This medication will continue for several more weeks if pregnancy is achieved.
Counselling
It is our policy at the Unit that a suitable opportunity is provided for counselling. We encourage all couples considering egg donation to visit our independent counsellor. This will help you to understand what is involved in receiving donor eggs and make a fully informed decision. We also welcome you to speak to one of the Nurse Co-ordinators at the unit if you have any questions about any aspect of the treatment.
Withdrawing and changing the consents
The donor has the legal right to withdraw or vary her consent up to when an egg or embryo created using her eggs is transferred to a woman, used in a research project, used for training or allowed to perish.
Egg Donation and The Law
The Unit is licensed and regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority under the terms of the HFEA Act 1990 to offer treatment using donated eggs. It is the law that the woman receiving treatment, and her husband or male partner being treated with her, will be the legal parents of any child born as a result of donated eggs. Although the egg donor will be the genetic parent of any child born, she will have no legal relationship to any child born nor will she have any legal rights over or obligation to any child born. In the same way any child born will have no legal relationship to, nor rights over and no obligation to any egg donor.
By law a donors identifying details must be given to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to be held on its confidential register. In April 2005 a new law came into force to remove anonymity from sperm, egg and embryo donors. This means that children conceived after this date as a result of such donation may, if they so desire, contact the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) when thay are 18 years of age and receive identifying information about the donor. As is the case now, people over the age of 16 can also check whether or not they may be related to the person they intend to marry.
