Who can be egg donor?
To be oocyte donor is necessary:
· She must be a young, healthy woman from 18 to 35 years old
· She mast have normal ovaries function
· She needs to be physically and mentally healthy with no history of hereditary diseases in their family.
· If she has a healthy child it is a positive point to be oocyte donor
· She can’t be an adoptive child because is necessary to know medical history of the family.
· We do checking the potential donor’s medical history and performing a gynaecological examination, ultrasound scan, vaginal cultures.
· We performing special tests for sexually transmitted diseases:
Serum screening for HIV, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, clinical screening for Genital herpes virus
· Also we performing genetic analysis, blood group and Rh type.
· According to the law, a woman can donate until she has conceived 6 children.
By Spanish Law donation is anonymous and neither the donor nor the woman receiving the eggs are informed of the other’s identity.
Does the donor receive any financial compensation?
Donation is voluntary and altruistic; however, donors may be compensated for the cost they incur, such as transport, nurses, absence from work etc…
Is egg donation reduces possibilities of future pregnancy?
No. A newborn girl has 2 million follicles (oocytes) in total en her ovaries. During all her reproductive life a woman will ovulate about 400-500 times (one oocyte every cycle). In a normal ovarian cycle hundreds of oocytes are recruited, but just some of them will be selected for ovulation, and in the end only one or two oocytes will ovulate; the rest are lost and eliminated from the initial pool. Hormone treatment administrated in an ovarian hyperstimulation cycle is similar to human’s natural hormones and stimulates the same number of oocytes that would be selected in a normal cycle, so we will get 10 or 15 mature oocytes. The women’s age is the most important factor declining the ovarian follicle pool, not ovulation. Egg donation doesn’t reduced possibilities of future pregnancy.
Does donor have any risk?
As with any surgical procedure, there are potential risks associated with egg collection which is performed using a fine, hollow needle guided by vaginal ultrasound. A woman may have mild to moderate discomfort, bleeding during or after egg collection from the ovary or from the top of the vagina is usually minimal and is very rarely a problem. Infection is also a rare complication, the risk is about 1 in 300, and can be treated with antibiotics. Other complication is ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, which occurs in less than 1% of cases, thanks to careful monitoring of treatment by blood tests for estrogens levels and ultrasound controls.
Donor treatment
Once accepted, the donor begins hormone treatment (involving daily injections) that is controlled by a gynaecologist. The treatment is designed to stimulate the maturing of eggs in the ovaries. Treatment is monitored through the use of ultrasound scans and blood tests, so the gynaecologist can confirm that the ovaries are responding well to the treatment. The next stage of the procedure is egg collection. This takes place when the ultrasound scan shows a sufficient number of large follicles. The eggs are usually collected using a fine, hollow needle guided by ultrasound. While the patient is sedated for 15-20 minutes, under ultrasound control, a needle is inserted into the ovaries and eggs are aspirated. This process does not involve stitches or checking into the hospital. It takes about one hour to stay in a hospital.
On the day the eggs are extracted, the semen sample from the male partner of the woman who will receive the eggs is retrieved and the sperm is added to the eggs. The gynaecologist will have meanwhile prepared the recipient’s uterus (endometrium). The embryos are then transferred in the woman’s uterus.
If you want to be egg donor you can ask for an appointment calling to our Fertility Clinic (Instituto de Fertilidad) 971 780 720 or send a mail to info@institutodefertilidad.es.
You can find us at Marques de la Senia Street, nº35, Palma de Mallorca.
