Egg Donation Pros and Cons – Top 10 Known Reasons
 There is an egg donation boom all around the world during the last decade. Single men, women, and couples are surfing hundreds of sites trying to find a donor with the ‘perfect’ eye and hair color, body, and high IQ. They want to transfer all these virtues to their long-awaited child. Demand increases supply. Therefore, many girls sell their eggs without knowing all egg donation pros and cons, as well as the consequences. The price of the program is several thousand dollars. However, is the game worth the candle? Let’s figure it out.
Why Do People Go for Egg Donation?
In the USA and in European countries where the donation of male and female gametes is allowed, the birth rate among women over 40 has sharply jumped. At age 30, women safely become pregnant both naturally and through IVF (in vitro fertilization). However, for women over 40, it’s already complicated. With age, the number of oocytes decreases. Therefore, the only solution is IVF with donor eggs.
Why Is It so Popular?
Not surprisingly, egg donation has become a very lucrative business. This service type is almost not regulated by law. Consequently, there is no price regulation, and the final paycheck depends on the client’s demands and overall attractiveness of the donor.
An average price for a procedure that takes up to two weeks (hormonal therapy to stimulate the ovaries, as well as regular blood tests, urine tests, ultrasound, and the operation itself) is $ 4000. However, there were cases when donors received $15 000 for a single program. Wondering how? If we are talking about a blue-eyed blonde athletic Harvard University graduate, her reward can jump up to thousands of dollars.
Where to Find a Donor?
If intended parents do not have time to look through thousands of candidate donors themselves, they can use the services of egg donation agencies who will find a donor following all their requirements. There is an alternative way – to post an advertisement.Â
The ad can sound like ‘A married couple is looking for an egg donor – a beautiful and smart blonde with blue eyes’ or ‘Help us have a baby! The reward is XX. Requirements: the donor should be a student or graduate of a prestigious university with brilliant academic success, creative thinking, and, preferably, sports achievements.’ Most often, universities consider it an actual practice, which also helps their students faster pay their tuition.
Egg Donation Pros and Cons
Basing on the questionnaire, we can single out the following egg donation pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Money - compensation starts from $1000. | Time - it takes around 3 weeks and several visits to the clinic. |
| Free health testing, genetic screening, consultancy. | Possible side effects during hormonal course and egg retrieval. |
| Making sure you are fertile and can have kids. | Higher chances of unexpected pregnancy after ovarian stimulation. |
| Psychological satisfaction - you help other people. | Society, moral issues, some people can judge this decision as bad. |
| Quick and easy application process. | It's not a job, there is a limit for egg donation. |
Egg Donation Pros that Make It Worthy
For participation in the donor program, a woman receives an in-depth health check, gratitude, and worthy reward from the clinic, as well as psychological satisfaction – because she made someone happy! Let`s overview the five most important egg donation pros to show you all the advantages it gives.Â
You Are Making Good
In most of the cases, egg donors are mothers and have their own kids. Like any mother, they are willing to help another woman feel the happiness of parenting. Donors do not suffer from infertility; their main desire is to be useful.
Just imagine what incomparable feeling of proudness you can have after helping a couple become happy parents.
Make Sure You Are Fertile
Every woman has doubts concerning her fertility. Even with the development of medical diagnostics and medications, you are never 100% sure. The only way to know that you are fertile is to get pregnant and give birth to your kids 🙂 Or become an egg donor and help others have babies with your oocytes.
All egg donors have the right to know about the successful pregnancy of the couple. They also can get information about the birth and health of the baby. Sure that according to the contacts, the overall process is anonymous. Agency representatives will not provide any names or other personal data. But you will know that your mission is successful and you also can have a healthy baby when the time comes.
Monetary Compensation
Those who say they become egg donors solely to help others speak against their true convictions in most of the cases. Frankly, quick money is what makes the program worth your time and effort. The program rewards can help you cover the education fee, pay for living, help your family, or save for the future.
Even if you are an 18-year-old egg donor applying for the first program, you can earn considerable compensation, which starts from $1000.
You receive the money to your bank account right after the procedure, regardless of its result.
Free Medical Examination
As a part of the egg donation process, you will get a free medical examination. It impliest fertility, genetics, and infection testing, thousands of dollars in worth. Therefore, one of egg donation pros is that you can make sure you have perfect reproductive health.
Funny One – Your Genes Will Be Everywhere
That might sound a little bit weird, but the cool thing about egg donation is that your genes will spread around the world. More than that, if you are not an anonymous donor, one of those kids might want to see you in the future.
Egg Donation Cons and Possible Risks
There are multiple instant and long-term risks of egg donation. If you apply for a program and an agency representative tells you that everything will be 100% okay – it `s the right time to run as fast as you can and never call them again. IVF is a surgical operation, which always implies some risk. The only way to reduce complication chances is to stay aware and follow qualified doctors` recommendations. To make sure you know both sides of the coin, here is the list of egg donation disadvantages.
It Won’t Be Easy
IVF requires several visits to the clinic, as well as much time and discipline, if a couple chooses you. You will have to take tests for hepatitis B and C, HIV, other diseases, hormones, and much more. After that, you will have to provide information about you and your family, hereditary diseases, children, complete your profile with photos, and wait. As soon as someone chooses you, the real challenge starts!
Get ready to take examinations and ultrasounds, swallow pills, and make hormonal injections daily. Well, bruises on your butt will be a nice bonus 😉
There Is a Limit for Egg Donation
Egg donation is not a job. Doctors strongly advise donating eggs no more than six times. However, for many people, ‘easy money’ is more important than health. Irresponsible agencies without a strong reputation don’t think about the future of egg donors and allow them to donate more than 10 times in case of successful retrievals. Indeed, the effect of such treatment can be horrible. Young girls take hormonal drugs – and this does not pass without a trace.
Temporary Side Effects
During ten days of ovarian stimulation, donors take hormones (Humegon, Repronex, Metrodin, Fertinex, Diferelin, Gonadotropins, and Lupron). The medications cause the body to produce many eggs. After that, doctors remove the eggs under anesthesia during the egg retrieval. This procedure can have possible side effects:
- swelling;
- bleeding;
- infections;
- headache;
- frequent mood swings.
However, this should not scare you. According to the statistics, side effects might appear in 0,1% cases. To guarantee non-problem egg donation, you should listen to the doctors and strictly follow their recommendations.Â
OHSS – Ovarian Hyperstimulation
Side effects after the retrieval are nonsense compared to the ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), which occurs when the body begins to produce too many eggs (more than 20). The ovaries swell and can lead to an accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity and ovarian cysts rupture.
Unexpected Pregnancy
Make sure to use barrier contraception until the next period after egg retrieval. We at Sunshine, warn all our donors to do that because, after the stimulation, donors become extremely fertile and often become pregnant right away in case of unprotected sexual intercourse.
Getting pregnant is lovely if you plan it. Though, if you are not yet ready to have a baby – make sure to use condoms instead of hormonal pills and other ways of contraception 2-3 weeks after the operation.
Egg Donation Steps
| Step 1 - Health check | You need to undergo a full health check. Not all women who want to become egg donors can participate in this process. That is because doctors need to choose healthy potential donors to increase IVF success chances. |
| Step 2 - Hormonal stimulation | If based on your health and appearance, a couple invites you to the egg donation program; you will need to stimulate the ovaries with medicals (FSH hormone). Egg donors often ask questions like, `Will this somehow affect the hormonal system? Will this process cause hormonal disorders? Will it make me gain weight?` Medicines containing FSH have a short-term effect. They only stimulate the growth of follicles and can't influence the overall health and weight of the donor. |
| Step 3 - Egg retrieval | Egg retrieval is a procedure that takes place under short-term intravenous anesthesia. During the process, doctors carry follicles from the ovaries using a thin needle. They control the operation using vaginal ultrasound. The retrieval lasts 15-30 minutes. |
| Step 4 - After operational check | After operational consultancy happens in 10 days after the retrieval, before the next menstruation. If the donor doesn't have complaints, this can be done remotely via phone call with your gynecologist or clinic coordinators. |
| Step 5 - Examination after the next period | Examination after the next menstruation (you need to come to the clinic where a gynecologist will examine you and do an ultrasound scan). |
If you decided to apply for the program, here is a short table with egg donation steps you will have to make.Â
Egg Donation Pros and Cons – It’s Only Your Choice
Becoming an egg donor allows you to make a massive impact on other people’s lives. However, this is not a simple procedure that requires a perfectly suitable candidate. If you are planning an egg donation, the Sunshine egg donation agency can answer any of your questions. We have offices in more than ten countries, and one of our experienced consultants can help you with this process. Send us a message using email, WeChat or Whatsapp, or make call +1 213 423 0531 to schedule a free consultation.
Getting started is easy – send us a request and get free consultancy with Sunshine fertility experts.