What Does it Take to Become an Egg Donor?

There are many reasons for a woman to consider egg donation. Perhaps you already know someone who has had difficulty conceiving or problems with infertility, or you simply recognize that egg donation is one of the many ways that you can exercise compassion by helping others achieve their dream of starting a family.

But for many women, although they would like to donate their eggs, it can be very difficult to know where to begin. After all, egg donation is not a simple process. Egg donation involves a considerable investment of time and energy on the part of prospective donors, and there are many requirements that are important for egg donors to meet in order to be eligible.

For those who are considering egg donation or wondering about the motivations of egg donors that you may know, the following are some helpful considerations on why you should donate, how donating helps others, and the requirements for prospective donors.

The Need for Egg Donors

For some women, either due to the poor health of their own eggs or by having no eggs at all, it becomes impossible for them to become pregnant, even through processes like in vitro fertilization. However, through the help of an egg donor, these women can become pregnant and achieve their dream of starting a family.

Egg donation has become much more common in recent years, due in part to the shift toward marriages later in life and single women over 40 desiring to start their own families. As well, the process of egg donation has become much more successful—relative to other methods of assisted reproduction, women who use donated embryos have more than a 40% chance of becoming pregnant during each cycle.

Egg donation can assist women who suffer from medical conditions that complicate or prevent pregnancy under typical circumstances. This may include women who:

• Have had their ovaries damaged by chemotherapy or disease
• Were born without ovaries
• Have a history of pregnancy failure
• Suffer from genetic diseases that could be passed on to their child
• Have experienced premature ovarian failure or diminished ovarian reserve

As for the donors themselves, many women are motivated by compassion in their choice to donate eggs. Egg donors can often be women who personally know family members or friends who are having trouble conceiving, or simply people that desire to help others. In addition, the screening procedure for potential donors offers an opportunity for women to find out more about their health, their bodies, and their genetics. Egg donation offers a unique opportunity to learn more about one’s self in the process of helping others.