5 Things to Consider Before Donating Your Eggs

At Manchester Donors, we're passionate about what we do. We know better than most the impact egg donation can have on the lives of others. That's why our dedicated team works tirelessly to provide care and support to all the incredible donors who make our work possible and why hundreds of families are created each year.

Our mission is to ensure potential donors like you have all the information needed to make fully informed decisions about your egg donation journey. This includes helping provide any information you need before, during and after you leave our care. If you've been considering becoming an egg donor but are still trying to figure out where to start, here's a list of five things you'll want to consider before you donate your eggs. 

Donating your eggs will change someone else's life. Your donation doesn't just give others a chance to start their family but also gives you the joy of knowing you helped someone who needed it. And with research from the HFEA indicating that children born in the UK with the help of donor gametes have risen by more than 64% since the 1990s, the need for donor eggs to help others start their families is higher than ever before.

Our egg donors choose to donate for many reasons. For some, egg donation is the most compassionate expression of kindness; for others, starting a family may not be in their immediate future; therefore, they choose to donate to help another person complete theirs.

Knowing you helped someone in need can be such a rewarding feeling. This can feel even more special when someone you know, such as a relative or a close friend, has undergone treatment using donor eggs. 

The egg donation process can take, on average, three to four months. We work to ensure the egg donation process is as smooth as possible for our donors, but it does take, on average, up to about three to four months from your first appointment until your egg collection. 

Although you must attend the clinic on occasion before we can accept you as a donor, we try our best to work with your schedule. We can even conduct many of your appointments virtually or via phone, in advance and when convenient, to ensure you can keep living life while planning to donate.

We have also recently partnered with Pall Mall Medical, a clinic in Liverpool city centre, to offer our donors based in and around Merseyside access to an egg donation clinic more conveniently located for them. 

Egg donors who opt to have their investigations at Pall Mall and their other appointments digitally only have to travel to our state-of-the-art Manchester clinic for any procedure requiring a HFEA licence – such as their egg collection. Learn more about our newest egg donation clinic on our blog. 

There are certain egg donor criteria you'll have to meet.

To begin the process of becoming an egg donor, you will need to meet certain criteria. HFEA, the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority, provides this guidance to help us ensure our donors are comfortable throughout the donation process. 

The criteria for our donors are: 

1. Aged between 18 and 35
2. Have a BMI (Body Mass Index) between 19 and 35
3. Don't smoke or have stopped smoking for at least three months (including the use of e-cigarettes, nicotine gum and nicotine patches)
4. Willing to attend regular appointments 
5. Possess a clear medical history with no genetic or hereditary disorders. 
6. Willing to be identifiable to any child born using your eggs

You'll be identifiable to any child born from your donation once they turn 18. When you donate your eggs in the UK, any child conceived from your donation can access information about you when they turn 18. This means that, if they wish to, that person could identify you from the information provided, such as your full name, last known address and the place of your birth.

Accepting this is a key part of the donor process, as is understanding the reasoning behind remaining identifiable. Many donor-conceived children choose not to contact their donor. However, some may do if they are concerned about their health and want more medical history information. Some are curious about the donor's culture, background or lifestyle that helped bring them to be born. 

Regardless of the reason, you are protected as a donor. You will never be required to provide financial support, nor are you responsible for any child conceived from your donation. 

Counselling is a mandatory part of egg donation to ensure you fully understand what this means and how to prepare. You'll also be given advance notice from the HFEA before your information is released to a donor-conceived child, ensuring you're fully prepared when the time comes.

Be prepared to make an informed decision about what is best for you. From the moment you start your egg donation journey, our dedicated donor team will support you through the process. Ensuring you receive all the information you need to decide to donate.

However, you can do a few things to prepare for the egg donor journey, such as reading through our past egg donor stories or familiarising yourself with our egg donor criteria. 

If you have any concerns regarding the donor process or want more advice on whether or not egg donation is for you, our team is always ready to help. Contact Steph or Olivia today at 0161 300 2734, request a call-back or apply online via our website.