Fertility Road Issue 14

F E R T I L I T Y R O A D
E G G D O N A T I O N E X P L A I N E D
Egg donation is an extraordinary, life-changing gift, that offers hope to
women who previously thought they could never have children. But what
is the process of receiving donor eggs and the legalities involved? Here
egg donor expert Jenny Currie from baby2mom answers your questions.
Egg Donation
What are the chances of a successful
pregnancy when using a donor egg?
Egg Donation Programmes have a success rate of
about 48%; however this figure can vary depending on
sperm quality and uterine readiness. Embryos are individual
beings, so even with perfect conditions, they may not
develop into a baby. Egg donation is about giving a chance
where there is no chance with the recipient’s own eggs.
Is there a waiting list for donor eggs
and if so how long is this likely to be?
Depending on the specific egg donor agency with
whom recipients are working, there should not be a
waiting list for egg donors. The norm is that egg donor
recipients are provided with immediate online access to
a donor database of egg donors, with options to consider
elements such as race, physical traits, reproductive
information and personality traits. It may be that there
is a waiting period for a specific profile of egg donor. E.g.
in some countries there may be a scarcity of egg donors
of a particular race group.
Is there an age limit to be a donor
egg recipient and if so why?
South African egg donation guidelines for example
emphasise that special consideration should be given to
couples where the female recipient’s age is greater than
50 years. For this reason some clinics enforce a cut off
age of 50. This is to protect the health of the woman as
she may not be medically suitable to carry a baby after
this age, compromising her overall health.
APRIL - MAY 2013 | WWW.FERTILITYROAD.COM |
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