Egg Donation
 

Has anyone here ever done it?

Since I got my tubes tied (two kids is plenty, thank you), and my eggs are just sitting there, unusable, I'm considering it. My OB said it was possible to donate, even with my tubes tied. I've read that the hormones they give you can cause cancer, but I've also read other studies that says those hormones aren't any riskier then birth control.

The other concern I've read about is the psychological concern: Can you handle the fact that you'll have "other children" out there that you'll never meet. Although, after being pregnant twice, and not wanting to go through that ever again, I don't think it would be that big of deal to me, since I wouldn't be the one carrying the egg for 9 months. Also, I like the idea of giving the gift of a baby to a couple who otherwise couldn't have one.

There is a thread about this in the archives:

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/ar...p/t-63685.html


I remembered it because I have considered selling my eggs in the past. I've got the paper work from a clinic in another state because (at the time) there were no clinics in Kentucky that performed the service.

I feel the same way about giving a gift to a couple that otherwise could not conceive. It pains me that I'm able to have children but don't want my own, and that there are women out there that want children but can't have them. In the past I'd only considered donating an egg to someone I know that needed one, like my sister who is unable to have children. But now that I'm a bit older I don't think that would be as much of a deal anymore.

If I can drop down within the required weight range before I reach the maximum age limit, I do plan on interviewing with a clinic to see if I am eligible.

I searched and couldn't find that thread (because I thought I remembered one about it as well). It's kinda hard to read in that format.

I'm considering donating to stem cell research because frankly, I don't like kids and I'd much rather have a cure for my disease.

I've read an article in a magazine about this one women who was desperately trying to find an egg donor but end up disappointed becuase 1. A good amount of eggs end up being a poor donor; 2. The psychological effects. Some donors who originally promised to donate ended up backing up becuase they were afraid and couldn't bear the thought of having a child outside who shares their genes.

Knowing how badly some women wanted to have kids but couldn't have it is a painful feeling. If you feel that your eggs would be a good donor and you're sure that you won't feel any psychological effects afterwards (like trying to search for the child), then I would say go for it. It would definitely help a lot of women out there :)

A lot of reputable clinics have the donors go through psychological evaluations for this reason specifically. They want women to donate, but want to be sure they aren't at risk for asking to have their child once it is born or being depressed afterwards.

The clinic I had contacted pays for you to come & stay near the clinic for several weeks surrounding the donation. You take hormones, have psychological evaluations, doctor visits, the whole deal.

One website I read, complied by a NY Special Task force, said that it can range, as with adoption from complete anonymity, to meeting with the potential recipient, to keeping in contact, to actually being a part of the child's life as a "special family friend".

I think if I did it, I would want to meet the couple, and that's about it. I don't think I'd want to keep in contact or pictures or anything.

I was approached by a couple I knew to donate an egg. I went through all the paperwork/psych testing and then ended up backing out because they wanted to have the child meet me later on in life when the kid started asking questions....I just didn't know if I could handle that. I think it's a great thing to do for someone but definitely think about all the possibillities of the psychological/emotional issues that may arise

I believe most of the egg donation centers (or, maybe just the parents themselves) usually prefer women with spotless medical histories, who aren't obese, and who have good test scores. I guess it would be different if you knew the couple.

In my college newspaper, there would always be requests for potential egg donors.

Mine too!

Do you get to see pictures of the donors when selecting eggs? I'd totally want to so I could pick someone hot. I'm serious. I mean, that's what I'd do if I'd ever in a million years even consider having anything to do with egg donation, LOL. She'd have to be a totally hot genius.

The agency I almost went through was very picky about all that stuff too....I think except the test scores, but the couple knew I did well on my SATs and LSATs and was in law school (at the time) so i think they were fine with it. The agency was particular about the weight/height ratio and any genetic medical issues or emotional issues. I think it's good they're strict though...if you're choosing someone for an egg you SHOULD be particular.

My best friend's little sister has been donating eggs. She indicated that they did want pictures of her, but I think she said they were not shown to the potential parents. Not sure on that one though. She said that commonly they try to get a donor who at least marginally resembles the mother (I guess some people try to hide the fact that they've used donated eggs?!).

Personally it's something I'd never want to go through. My friend's sister underwent some major mood swings due to the hormones you have to take.

When my friend donated her eggs years ago, she had to submit pictures of herself at different ages. The family that eventually received her eggs also wanted to see how some of her family members looked like.

that sounds awfully picky for infertile couples to request photos of the donor at different stages in life as well as those of family members.

I don't think so. Not everyone wants to be open about the fact that their child is not "theirs" biologically. Peoples' looks can change a great deal over the course of their life - even if it looks like the recipients when it's a child, that may not be the case at 20 or 30.

My friend didn't mind. She wanted that $$$, so she was willing to go along with whatever the couple and clinic wanted. This was all preliminary, wayyy before she went through the hormones. If the couple decided they didn't want my friend as their donor, they simply said "thank you" and moved on. You'd be surprised at the number of girls on my campus who actually signed up to do this.

Exactly. Vicky (my friend) was very blonde as a child. As she grew up, her hair got darker and her Asian features became more dominant than her European features. Lucky for her, the couple she donated to had similar ethnic backgrounds. The child she helped create is now 5, I believe.

Exactly how is that picky?

These couples spend $15,000 and up just for the egg donation--that doesn't count IVF for the woman who gives birth and all the related stuff that's not covered by insurance. These people are spending some serious money, so I'm not too surprised that they are being educated consumers.

For reals. You wouldn't want to spend a big wad of cash and go through all the stress and medical crap to end up with a stupid gremlin of a kid.

Seriously, I think knowing if your donor suffered from severe acne in their teen years, etc is important.

The clinic can tell the potential parents information just like that. You fill out questionnaires, provide photographs, etc. Not all of them share the photographs with the potential parents though, most likely for the donor's privacy.

one of my bf's co-workers (and really good friend) decided to donate her eggs, i think a total of 3 different times - 2 times to the same family.

she told me that even though she met with the parents, she declined the option to meet with the children once they were older.

i don't think i could personally go through with it... but it was perfect for her because she doesn't want to have kids, and the money helped her get through school.

well, i just feel that these women who donate their eggs are giving infertile couples such a tremendous gift(even if there is monetary compensation) with the egg donation. i would be a lot more concerned with the health history of the donor and her family members, than her physical appearance.

with fertile couples, there is no guarantee that their child will look like either parent-the child might end up looking like great-uncle fred or cousin gertrude.

well, yeah. but if Fred and Gertrude and mom and dad are all blond with blue eyes and baby pops out looking like J-Lo, there's gonna be some :eek: happening.

HAHA...so true. I completely agree that most people would be more concerned with the medical history of the donor, but I don't see anything wrong with wanting to know what the donor looks like....i certainly would want to know.

lol-that would raise a few eyebrows!! i was commenting on the "let me see a series of photos of you and i would also like to see some photos of your family members"-for me, i think it would be enough to have a great health history and have it noted somewhere in the files what color hair and eyes the donor had-i don't think that i would need to see photos.

same here. in a somewhat related note, a classmate of mine did egg donation as a year-long independent study. she was pretty perfect in respect to what infertile couples would want (from what i know, blonde, blue-eyed, smart, athletic, etc) and did it as video documentary/blog. win situation for her - she made her $$, and got 8 school credits for it.

of course she got an A - i mean, that would be some professor to give anything less. i know i wouldnt want anything less for a project i put that much of myself into.

I guess I'm just thinking of the extreme situation where you don't see photos, the donor has an excellent medical history and your baby girl comes out looking like Milton Berle or something. I would just want to know if there were any overwhelming features that may be passed to my child. Call it judgmental if you must. lol

I think it also might be important to see pics of the donar, so in the rare case your dontation-creation brings home his potential mother in law, you can say ummm...no.

(Hey, it's happened that biological brothers/sisters have hooked up not knowing.)

One of the girls in my neighborhood was raised by her grandparents and told they were her parents - her "sister" was her mother. They ended up having to tell her because her bio father had a boy that was around her age and they were terrified of them hooking up (it's a SMALL town).

I'm wondering if the family receiving the egg should (wisely) request a personality test. Sheesh.

What does it say about you that you have nothing better to do with your time? Love or hate, it's still an obsession.

Hmm, nice post count, little miss time management advisor. You posted your ADD diagnosis, so obsess away. How bout a bleach and Ritalin cocktail?

it would HAVE to be a small townfor some junk like that to happen. LOL

then again, its a small world when it comes to hooking up. [off-topic]my friend went off to graduate school in California right after a breakup with her GF. fast forward a few weeks later, her roommate hooks up and brings home no other than the ex-GF, after a night of clubbing.

mustve been an awkward morning after...[/off-topic]

shut the fuck up, asshole.

snirk, gee wonder who offers people bleach cocktails :rolleyes:

Glad you've obsessed over me too! I'm so happy for you. Now it's time to learn that OCD is different from ADD. Keep stalking! I'm flattered :D

As much as I would like to donate, my only barrier in the side effects. I read in an article that it could cause your belly to bloat, sore and stretch. You can also experience cramps as well. Depending your physical condition, some can over-respond to the hormones injected, which could be a serious condition, and in extreme cases can result in death. But of course one can assume your doctor would test whether you are allergic to the hormones before they inject in you.

It's not just allergies; you're screwing with your endocrine system. You can die. I just finished studying this unit, and I've crossed 'egg donor' off my list of potential fallbacks if I get sick of med school.

I am a prime example of this. I look like one of my great-grandmothers and almost nothing like my parents. (I wasn't adopted - I'm sure of this :) )

Anyhow, I don't think that I personally could donate an egg. I think that I would always wonder about "my" child.

On a different note, I could see a lifetime movie/soap opera story line where a family goes through egg donation, they have a kid only to have the mom fall sick and die so the father seeks out the egg donor to ensure kid has a maternal figure in his/her life, they end up falling in love and live happily ever after...

Sorry sick day in bed and in front of the tv has gotten my imagination to run wild!