What is egg donation?
Egg donation refers to the use of eggs donated by another woman who acts as a ‘donor’ to assist an individual or couple who are the ‘recipient(s)’, in their attempt to become parents.
In order to donate eggs, the donor must undertake treatment on an IVF cycle and by the Greek Law are anonymous. The use of donor eggs is an option for women unable to produce their own eggs, or when it has become clear that her eggs are of a poor quality and are unlikely to lead to the birth of a child. In some circumstances, the donation might be sought because the woman carries a rare genetic disease.
Who can use donor eggs?
Many women are unable to use their own eggs for a variety of reasons, including:
- Women with no ovaries, or poorly developed ovaries.
- Women with premature menopause.
- Where there is a chance of passing on genetic diseases
- Women with fertility problems resulting from chemotherapy, surgery or illness
- Women who have had d IVF where poor egg quality was found on repeated cycles of treatment.
Treatment information for the donor
Egg donors are required to undergo an IVF cycle in order to retrieve the eggs.
Stimulation scan is performed by the doctor after 5–7 days of injections. At this scan the doctor measures the endometrial thickness, size and number of follicles on both ovaries to determine when eggs should be collected. The egg collection procedure is usually 12–14 days after starting injections
Egg collection procedure
The egg collection is the final procedure for the donor. This procedure is usually performed in the morning, taking approximately 20 minutes, depending on the number of follicles. A light anesthetic is usually administered .After egg collection you will remain in recovery for approximately 1 hour or a little bit longer before being discharged.
At about the same time as the egg collection, your partner will provide his semen sample. And then at the lab they make the fertilization and they wait to see how many embryos they have for freezing or make a fresh transfer.
The female patient, who is undergoing egg donation IVF treatment, however, also needs to take certain medication prior to the embryo transfer stage to make sure that the uterus is fully prepared for pregnancy. The purpose of the medication is to maximize your chances of pregnancy with IVF treatment and to minimize the risk of an implantation failure and/or an early miscarriage