Re: Egg donation

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• In reply to: curious: "Egg donation"

Although I haven't done it, my best friend and roommate did some years ago. She had to go through a screening process to determine whether she was eligible (age, weight, testing for STDs and hereditary diseases, hormone levels I think). Then she went essentially through an IVF cycle -- she had to take injectible medicines for one cycle to help her body produce the max number of eggs, and then to prompt ripening of the eggs. On the day of ovulation, she went into the hospital for an outpatient procedure, where her eggs were harvested using a catheter. Although she was told the effects of the mild anaesthesia would wear off in a day or two, she was actually pretty out of commission for about a week. It didn't affect her future fertility at all -- she's already had two kids, and gets pregnant pretty much at the drop of a hat.

Hope that helps. One thing you might consider doing (if it's even possible), is search out special egg donation programs that aid financially disadvantaged women -- what always bothered me about Liz's experience w/ egg donation is that her efforts were put in service of a fertility clinic that was going to reap thousands of dollars in profits from using those eggs in IVF procedures. It would be nice if there was a way to donate to people who didn't have other resources, if you know what I mean.

But whatever the case, the biggest problem is being on injectibles for a month -- they are not fun, but they seem to have little effect on your future childbearing plans.

Good luck!

Best, Dawn

At Sat, 29 Mar 2003, curious wrote: >
>I am interested in learning what is involved in donating my eggs. Is it
>painful? How long does the process usually take? Will this affect me
>getting pregnant in the future? If you have been through this process,
>please share any info that you have. Thank you!

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