subject: What Is The Egg Donation Process And How Can It Help Me [print this page] Infertile couples who cant get pregnant by other means often turn to in vitro fertilization. While IVF is an effective treatment, it relies on the quality of the sperm and the eggs used during the procedure. For various reasons, some women cannot produce their own eggs, or cannot produce eggs that can be fertilized. Thats where egg donation comes in.
Egg donors are women who produce eggs and then give them to infertile couples to use during in vitro fertilization. The ideal egg donor is a young woman in her twenties to early 30s, in good health, with no family history of disease or chromosomal defects.
Because of the emotional and physical risks involved, egg donor applicants are carefully screened. They may be paired with a recipient couple because of a similarity in their features and build, hair and eye color, or they may be selected on the basis of their health and intelligence. Once a match has been made, the egg donation process begins.
After selection, the egg donor will begin to undergo fertility injections that stimulate her ovaries. This treatment is carried out daily, and results in multiple eggs for donation. When the eggs are ready, the donor undergoes egg retrieval. After placing the woman under anesthesia or sedation, the doctor inserts a long, thin needle into her ovary and collects the eggs.
The eggs are then used during in vitro fertilization. The fathers sperm is used to fertilize the donor eggs, and the resulting embryos are placed into the infertile mothers womb. Once the egg retrieval stage is complete, the egg donor has no further involvement in the procedure.
Donors in the United States are compensated for their eggs; they receive an average of $4,000 per egg retrieval session. While the money is a factor for many donors, women also donate their eggs because they sincerely want to help infertile couples become parents.
If youve been undergoing infertility treatment, ask your doctor if the services of an egg donor would be right for you.
