Qualities of an Ideal Egg Donor: What Clinics Look for

If you are interested in egg donation, you will have no doubt seen the criteria for donating before. Often, egg banks will quote the same eligibility criteria, but we want to go beyond the requirements and unpack the characteristics clinics and recipients who need donor eggs to try for a baby are looking for, to help you feel confident that egg donation is the right choice for you.

What Defines an Ideal Egg Donor?

When it comes to ideal egg donor characteristics you may picture a specific kind of person in your head, in fact there is not one perfect egg donor but many. While many people could be ideal egg donors, certain physical, emotional and lifestyle factors still make egg donation as safe as possible for donors, recipients and any children born from donation. In this blog, we will go through the qualities that could make you an ideal egg donor, perfectly suited to help someone else start or grow their family.

Egg Donor Screening Criteria

When you apply to be an egg donor, after our team has talked you through the process, the next step is eligibility screening, so you will find out right away if egg donation is suitable for you. The Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA), a regulatory body, sets the criteria to ensure consistent safety standards. These non-negotiable criteria are;

• Aged between 18 and 35
• A BMI between 19 and 35
• Non-smoker
• No inherited medical conditions
• Not currently pregnant or breastfeeding

Our team will help arrange some initial screening tests at a location near you to check these criteria and assess your suitability for egg donation.

Egg Donor Characteristics

There are also some essential characteristics of egg donors that can’t be measured with a screening test, these are made up of lifestyle and emotional characteristics that would make egg donation an ideal choice for someone including;

Willingness to be identifiable

A condition of donating required by HFEA is that all donors are identifiable to any child born from their donation at 18, when that child becomes an adult. This information allows donor-conceived adults to learn more about their genetic heritage, and while not all will choose to reach out they can request your name and address from the HFEA so, donors need to be comfortable being contacted in the future.

Availability for multiple appointments

While egg collection is an outpatient procedure, donating your eggs will require multiple appointments throughout the process, including eligibility scans, counselling and monitoring. This requires donors to commit to attending all appointments, these could be virtual, at one of our network locations near you, or at our Manchester clinic.

Flexibility with contraception

Some forms of birth control work to prevent pregnancy by also preventing your eggs from maturing in the way they would need to be donated. It’s not a guarantee that you would need to change contraception methods, but donors must be open to the fact their contraception methods may need to change. Our team will assess your individual circumstances, and if any change is necessary, they will discuss this with you as part of the donation process.  

What Egg Donor Recipients are Looking For?

At Egg Donors UK, our donation programme is part of Manchester Fertility, a leading fertility clinic with over 35 years of experience creating families. When you donate with us, your eggs will go to one of our recipient couples that need donor eggs. Our team spend a lot of time helping those going through treatment find donors with the right characteristics.

Beyond the ideal characteristics, egg donor recipients are hopeful parents looking for a good donor match that can help them achieve their dream family. When choosing their egg donor the specific characteristics each recipient is looking for are unique, maybe matching their eye colour is most important to them or matching behavioural traits such as being athletic or loving to read. This is why it’s so important to have a variety of people choosing to donate their eggs.

Becoming an Egg Donor with Confidence

If you meet the egg donor eligibility criteria, your unique qualities could be the ideal characteristics that a future family is looking for. When you become an egg donor with us, you will be confident it’s the right decision for you and be assured by the knowledge that our team will find the recipient for which your eggs are the perfect match.

If you've been considering becoming a donor, we encourage you to apply online today or contact our dedicated donation team on 0161 300 2734 for more advice.