Everything you need to know about egg donation

IVF with Egg donation has, in only a few short decades, come a long way. It provides the perfect opportunity for many to have a family who otherwise could not do so. It’s the kind of experience that some of us do not understand. Interested to know more about an egg transplant? Then read on. From the dreams of birthing your own child and starting a family to finding out that it may not be possible, there’s a lot to take in. That feeling of not being able to conceive a child is a brutal feeling and a difficult situation for a lot of couples. In 2016, the fertility sector in UK helped to produce its 250,000th IVF baby. How did we get here?

What makes IVF treatment and egg donation worthwhile? What does it involve, and how can you prepare for it? How can you choose an egg donor that you can trust? What exactly does the pregnancy process feel like? How private is it? Where should I get my eggs from? Should I visit abroad? Is egg donation in Cyprus a good choice?

Many of them carry anything but a simple answer, too. If you are ready to learn about the beautiful world of IVF treatment, then this is the place to start. Now, in this piece, you should be able to get answers to the above and some other fundamental questions. With a bit of planning understanding, you’ll find Oocyte donation easier to grasp. That being said, it’s always important to do your reading. There is nothing about egg donation that’s simple. Being able to understand the who, what, why, where, and how of the egg donation process is essential.

Why consider egg donation?

Before we go into the ‘nitty gritty’ of what eggs donation process involves, it’s important to look at the reasons you’ll take into consideration as much as anything. Parentage is one of the few shared, almost universal, goals that exist in all human beings. While in the past it was common to see a couple have a child, or even children, before the age of 20, nowadays it’s not so familiar. Many parents, for example, are now older: even pregnancy after 50 is common today. The couples who look to have children after enjoying the earlier stages of life might have issues. So, too, might those who concentrated on a career path first. To have a healthy pregnancy, even with the high quality of care available in the modern world, is quite hard. It’s become a common problem for quite a lot of people: do you give up on your ambitions for early parenthood? Or do you then wait a little too long? Adoption was once the only option that we had. Now, around 40 years on from its inception, this procedure helps to make up for lost time. The older a person is, the higher the risk that something might go wrong. It’s not all down to age, though. Various problems can reduce the chances of the success rate of pregnancy. This can range from anything from general health to genetic conditioning. This makes knowing when, or if, pregnancy is possible quite a challenge.

What is Egg Donation, Exactly?

So, the next question that we should try and uncover is what egg donation entails. The term itself can be more than confusing. Don’t worry. We will try to explain it, as simple as possible. Egg donation is often a suggested form of fertility treatment when a female is unable to create and conceive her own eggs naturally. An egg transplant can be very specific, and who you choose can play a huge role in determining the success of your donation. We’ll look more into selecting donors later on, but at the moment it’s important to know that either you can go anonymous or you can pick someone you know. It’s been noted that working with donors aged 20-29 is the best happy medium. It’s during the period of 20-29 that egg health and quality is at its peak. This improves the chances of the egg donation procedure being a success. Many women take part in Gamete donation, as they feel it’s helping others and it can make a big difference. Women’s Health notes that, with many women offering multiple donations, it’s easy to find experienced egg donors. Experience pays off in this instance and donors know what they are doing. This helps make the whole process seem a little less terrifying than it may have beforehand.

Of course, everyone who wants to become an egg donor undergoes testing for things like:

• Family history for any signs of mental issues in the family as well as genetic conditions.
• Hereditary issues will be looked into, as well, to ensure safe and ethical donation.
• Blood group and RH conditions will be looked into, as well.

With success rates improving all the time, it’s easy to see why people like the idea of an egg transplant. The checks are quite strict. This helps to make it even safer. Success rates are skyrocketing when using an egg transplant (check our success rates here). This also suits those who wish to keep the process as natural as they can. This helps to form the most natural and loving bonds.

Who might need egg transplant treatment?

While we’ll go into this in further depth, later on, we’ll take a quick look at the general consensus as to who might enjoy using egg donation. Usually, the medical conditions and the reasons why a woman is likely to be suggested to look into egg donation will include the following:

• A Woman with low AMH levels (lower than 1 ng/ml)
• Any females who have contracted early menopause or have lost their ability to conceive naturally, such as loss of your egg cells.
• Also, a woman who shows over 15% FSH levels on their 3rd day of menstruation will be considered.
• A Woman who are unable to use IVF treatment to get a high quality of egg themselves.
• Anyone who has undergone fertility treatment to help remove damaged tissue. This includes cystic surgeries and ovarian removal.
• Women who may carry a risk of genetic illness or disease may also consider gamete donation.

All of these medical conditions areas are pretty significant, and open play a leading role in determining how suitable you are for said treatment. This allows for a woman to go through the pregnancy experience, letting them go through the process of conception naturally. How does this process actually work, though?

The Egg Donor: What’s involved?

Without a doubt, one of the most complicated parts of the process stems from actually finding an egg donor. For any mother-to-be who is unable to fall pregnant themselves, this offers a spectacular solution to try and ensure you can have a child of your own. By using In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), you can make a transformative adjustment to the way that you live. Basically, this solution requires a female who would like to become an egg donor and a male as a sperm donor. The donors’ eggs are taken and then mixed with the sperm of a man, and then fertilized in the lab. When this happens, they are then sent to the uterus. The egg donation is taken from the donor (we’ll discuss more on the donor later) and then fertilized with the sperm of the mother-to-be’ partner. The embryo is then transferred into the uterus and delivered to the soon-to-be mother. This is chosen if the source mother cannot create her eggs or otherwise were damaged.

This is the big difference between standard IVF treatment and egg donation.

With an egg transplant, a third party is needed. This allows everyone to benefit. From those who have entered menopause, to those who are into their more advanced years: the benefits are wide-reaching. It helps many individuals to conceive a child without the same issues as beforehand. As you might imagine, the egg donor is rigorously tested on the things that we mentioned before. This helps to make sure that the parties are all happy with the process, and that there is a full and clear understanding of what this all involves. At this stage, though it’s also important to note that part of the standard IVF treatment will only take place with the donor. The recipient will not go through the egg stimulation treatment plan, just the donor. Outside of this, though, there is not a world of difference between ‘normal’ IVF treatment and recent egg donation. Once the eggs are fertilized with the sperm of the recipient, then the embryo will be transferred to the mother-to-be’ uterus. Then, about 12 days later, a pregnancy test will be undertaken. With the ability to pick based on things like hair colour, eye colour, height & even gender selection. You can make some huge decisions that you could not usually when using Gamete donation. Typically, Oocyte donation is seen as one of the most powerful treatments around. While the process can be challenging and some might be worried about the cost of failure, stay calm. There is no reason why you cannot make the most of this treatment if you are inclined to do so. With everything checked so closely, success is more, not less, likely. Now, you can see why the egg transplant is among the most popular fertility treatments in Europe by an increasing number of women.

The Egg Donation treatment process

So, one of the main reasons why the treatment method has become so vast is the fact that it helps those where standard egg management does not work. When you use egg donation, you more or less keep things exactly as they are. The process is more or less identical to a real pregnancy. For that reason, Gamete donation has quickly and easily become one of the most popular treatment plans. However, time is money. Not everyone has all the time in the world to float around for weeks on end waiting until treatment is done. Most of the time, there are concerns if this is going to take them too long- if is there a big waiting list – and if they can afford to spend the time that they do. Typically, though, with success rates of around 70% and higher in top IVF clinics of Europe (read the official report from GCR), you can easily make the time spent worth your while. At the moment, you could expect to spend a few days of treatment time in a nation like Cyprus. If you were to go abroad, this would give you an idea of the length of time that your treatment might take. Within that five days, though, it’s important to try and get it to fall in line with your menstruation cycle. This can be hard to get right, yet is easily one of the most critical parts of the procedure.

Moving forward with treatment

The plan usually revolves around the use of oral contraceptive solutions until the time is right. This helps to get alignment between donor and recipient, as their menstrual cycles must balance out in the same way. However, once they do match up and the donor begins her treatment for egg development, then the recipient will be put on a course of oestrogen pills. These pills often commence on day two of your menstrual cycle. At this stage, the treatment plan of the donor will begin, and this will often take around twelve days. As time goes on, though, sperm samples are collected from the man, and then they are going to carry about 5 days, sometimes less, to form as part of the embryo. At this stage of the embryo formation process, they are then sent to the uterus. An 11-day period will pass after this, and at this stage, a pregnancy test will be taken. If the result is positive, then it is time to start a treatment of both oestrogen and Progesterone. Considering both of these will last for around three months, and this will play a very crucial role in making sure that the egg donation process is most likely to work. The process can vary concerning time depending on personal circumstance, though. We recommend that if you do decide to look closer into Oocyte donation therapy, then you prepare for a long-term challenge.

Pregnancy via Egg Donation

The whole procedure can sound rather odd at first, and be getting to grips with what this all means is hugely important. For example, the Oocyte donation process is one that is growing all the time due to its high success rates and safe methods. With little to no chance of pregnancy otherwise, gamete donation could help you make up for the biological shortfall that you suffer from. Egg donation has a higher level of success, too. While it’s still rated as a significant challenge beyond a certain age, things are changing. Rapid improvements to technology mean that many cases can have as much as a 4 in 5 chance of getting pregnant. Soon after pregnancy via this process takes place, the embryo will have its heart rate monitored. Once the heartbeat is being heard in the embryo, then the chance of a miscarriage can drop as low as 6%.

Although nothing can guarantee your success, there’s a lot to be confident of.

The high level of technological advancement in IVF treatment is one. So, too, is the wholesale transformation in pregnancy delivery. This is true even for older patients, meaning there is far less chance of problems today. This is true even for those who have undergone treatment for serious problems, such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy. This can make sure that those who may wish to have children have the opportunity to look closer into the process. Egg donation offers more control that often feels chaotic. One thing we feel is essential to note is that there is a chance of failure. Even with the best treatment across Europe, there is still no guarantee. As strong as Gamete donation is as a treatment, and the fact it’s getting stronger all the time, nothing in our existence is absolute. For this reason, we recommend that you speak together with your partner to try and both get a sense of realism.

Egg donation success comes down to having a happy and prosperous future. This means being able to enjoy the process of starting your own family, rather than feel the pressure

This, too, also matters when talking about one critical egg donation element: confidentiality.

Oocyte Donation and Confidentiality

Given the delicate nature of the subject, it’s little surprise that most people wish to keep their egg donation confidential. With egg donor numbers up, one of the main questions that is reasonable to ask is, “How do I stop others from finding out?” Since we’ve spoken at length regarding Gamete donation, we thought it was important to look a bit closer at the confidentiality side of things. Since 2005, Britons have no longer been able to remain anonymous. Naturally, this creates an immediate and genuine hostility towards the concept of confidentiality. This is why anonymity is one of the main reasons for why UK couples choose IVF Treatment in Cyprus (10 more reasons in this article). You see, a lot of individuals now tend to go abroad, if they wish to make sure that the private process remains that: private.

Privacy is unique in pregnancy.

It’s almost sacrilege to break such confidentiality, yet those who donate eggs do not hold those same rights. A child over the age of 18 will now be able to search out their ‘other’ parent: a major problem for most parents. Not only does it mean having to be open and honest about the conception of a child. It says that donors are likely to be put off by the fact that, in time, their donation could have serious impacts on their own life. What you will find, though, is that other parts of the world are a touch more liberal about the concept of confidentiality. For example, parts of Europe, such as Cyprus, do not operate in such a scenario. Anonymity is provided, and this means that you do not have to provide consent for a child to seek down their donor parent after the age of 18. That’s a vital part of the process. By making sure that both donors and recipients never identities (when this is the preferred method of arrangement), everyone is happy.

Why does confidentiality matter?

• For many people, the concept of using an egg donor that they do not know means they want to keep it that way.
• If you hire a person to take on such an important task, you may wish to keep things separate. Anonymity makes that certain.
• This can stop the potential for unwanted social and emotional connections between the two parties.
• They are much more likely to understand that you want to keep it professional.
• It also stops any problems later on down the line with regards to identity.
• If a child can break anonymity at age 18, it can cause significant problems in the household.
• Some parents do not see the need for forced disclosure.
• If you are of that mindset and would like to avoid being enforced into making this decision, consider going abroad.

Anonymity is something offered far more in Europe. If you are interested in knowing a bit more about the anonymity side of things, you can contact us and speak with our support team, or even directly with our Doctors.

Preparing for Egg Donation

One of the most significant challenges that you might find with egg donation is getting ready for the process.

Taking oocyte donation Seriously

So, as a Briton, you are likely going to want to consider taking egg donation further. While there are always questions about the donors business and how it works, there are still doubts. Some will decide that the donation in the UK program is not entirely suitable. If you feel like this is the case, then you should look to do something about it and invest in the potential for going elsewhere. For example, egg donation treatment is banned in many parts of the world. While legal in the United Kingdom, it is illegal to pay for egg donation in the UK, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. The more time that you can spend looking into where or not the UK has a good enough program for you, the better.

Many people, for example, choose to take their egg donation needs abroad.

As the HFEA also note on their site, there is a lot of consideration to take in, including:

• Is going for treatment abroad safe? Am I going to put myself at risk by going abroad?
• What is the legal scenario and my legal rights of the nation that I am going to visit?
• Are the success rates high enough in the country that I am going to?
• Is there eligibility for me in that nation? Would I even be allowed to take part?
• What are their laws on anonymity and other factors?
• Can I afford the procedure and how much egg donation cost?

Three of the most favoured nations at the moment in Europe is the Czech Republic, Spain and also Cyprus. All three come with trusted backgrounds in egg donation quality.

Among the three, egg donation in Cyprus is probably the most popular.

High-quality facilities, appropriate legislation and impressive success rates are all provided here. This often makes an egg transplant in Cyprus worth consideration. You can soon find that a trip to Cyprus is the best place to start when investigating egg donation abroad.

Not only are the costs extremely fair in Cyprus (and in the other two nations) but you also get to benefit from:

• Anonymity for the donors, meaning that all parties involved have no reason to break secrecy.
• A long-term history of treatment in the nation, with full legality and legitimacy.
• A history of patient-friendly and robust legislation that protects you during the process.
• Open and inclusiveness to all, especially in Cypriot facilities where Europeans and many other nationalities regularly visit.
• Top quality facilities with treatment and physical or mental assistance.
• Impressive success rates and hugely remarkable birth rates.
• Brilliant communications with your medical staff when working with them.

With the cost and the ease of getting started easier on the continent than at home, though, you might find it easy to go jet-setting with your partner. If nothing else, you’ll get to enjoy the far more tranquil weather!

So, where will you go for egg donation treatment? Are you ready to start your own family?