Giving life to a new family
Egg donors offer infertile women and couples in Australia a lifeline – a chance to have children. It is a unique chance to give the most precious gift of all, but it also involves committing to a series of medical processes at specified times and you need to be aware of what is involved.
Ideally, egg donors should be between 21 and 35, and have completed their own family. Before going ahead with donating eggs, all potential donors go through screening blood tests and complete a Genetic and Medical Health Questionnaire.
As a donor, you are required to disclose any information on allergies and medical history, and give full details about your lifestyle and physical characteristics.
How others benefit from your donation
Women of all ages and general health can find it difficult or impossible to conceive. For example, they may undergo premature menopause, or be affected by chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or have problems with their ovaries. Egg donors give them and their partners the chance to achieve pregnancy and have children.
If you’re interested in donating eggs, Queensland Fertility Group offers expert help and advice, and more detailed information on request. In the meantime, here are some things to think about…
The legal side of egg donation in Queensland
Queensland Fertility Group keeps separate records of all donors, recipients and successful births. This record protects donors and any children arising from use of their eggs, and is not accessible to other parties or Government agencies. This is different from some other states, which have a register of donors and offspring.
Each couple signs a consent form for use of the donor eggs. Under Queensland state legislation, the birth parents registering the birth of a child resulting from a donated egg (or sperm) are considered to be the legal parents of the child. The egg donor (as with a sperm donor) has no legal rights or responsibilities towards the child.
Will anyone know who I am?
When you donate eggs anonymously (as opposed to someone you know), the recipients might ask for information about you, but this doesn’t identify you as the donor. For example, we can disclose physical characteristics, such as height and weight, and so on. Or things like your interests, job type, or education.
Information that identifies you is not available to egg recipients, but it is available on request, to the resulting child once they have turned 18.
Similarly, we don’t disclose information to you about the recipients of your eggs, but the outcome of the donation – whether the recipient's pregnancy was successful or not – is available to you on request.
Expenses
Australian legislation prevents payment for any human tissues, so donors cannot gain financially from egg donation. However, the donor is reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses.
Egg donation – first steps
Your initial contact will be with an Oocyte (Egg) Donation Coordinator, who will check you fulfil the criteria to become a donor. If you are suitable, we will then briefly describe what to expect, so you can decide whther you still wish to continue.
For example, egg donation involves daily injections for 10-12 days to stimulate ovulation, an anaesthetic, and an ultrasound-guided surgical collection. Also, blood tests are required before, during and after donations.
Consultation with the Oocyte Donation Coordinator
This involves a more detailed explanation of the procedures involved in ovarian stimulation and egg collection. It is important you understand and are comfortable with every aspect of the process before going ahead, but if at any time during the screening process you find you are uncomfortable with proceeding, you are under no obligation to continue.
The consultation also includes taking blood samples to check for infectious diseases, chromosome abnormalities and cystic fibrosis.
This initial visit can take up to two hours.
Medical consultation
You will then have a medical consultation with one of our infertility specialists. The doctor will ask about your medical history, discuss egg donation and answer any questions, and explain to you the medical aspects of the procedure.
Counsellor consultation
A number of potential issues can arise from egg donation, and understanding and considering these before donating eggs leaves you better informed and prepared should you choose to go ahead. At Queensland Fertility Group, it is mandatory to have a counselling session with a qualified fertility counsellor before treatment begins. You can also talk to them at no cost at any time during egg donation with us.
How and when to donate
The next step, provided you’re happy to go ahead, is to book in for a treatment cycle. This comprises hormone stimulation through a course of injections, and an ‘oocyte pick-up’ that requires a short day-surgery procedure under light general anaesthetic.
What happened to the eggs I donate?
Once your eggs are collected, they are prepared for fertilisation with the recipient’s partner’s sperm. All eggs collected from your donation will be donated to one recipient only.
Precautions for the eggs donation cycle
We ask that you avoid cigarettes during your donation cycle. If you are sexually active you should use barrier contraception for at least two days before and after your donation cycle.
Post-collection consultation
We'll contact you again six months after the egg donation, to obtain another blood sample for infectious disease screening. If you wish, we can also tell you if your recipient becomes pregnant, and the outcome of your generous donation, although this may not be for up to a year after your donation.
To find out more, or to discuss egg donation with us, call the Queensland Fertility Group Donation Coordinator on 1800 111 483.
