Everything You Should Know About Egg Donation

Infertility is a common issue affecting many couples worldwide. Fortunately, San Diego YourEggs may help you fulfill your dream of having a child through egg donation. Egg donation is a process in which a fertile woman can donate an egg to another woman to aid her in getting pregnant. During the procedure, an egg or egg from the donor is normally removed and fertilized in a lab, and the resultant embryos are subsequently placed in the recipient’s uterus.

 Egg donation commonly helps women who are unable to utilize their own eggs due to ovarian failure, the desire to prevent congenital disabilities in the fetus, or elderly age, among other factors.

The donation process

The egg donation procedure entails several stages to guarantee your safety and the health of both you, the donor, and the person who will receive the fertilized embryo. The entire procedure takes 6 to 8 weeks.

Screening

You must undergo a rigorous screening procedure as a donor to proceed. You must be between the ages of 19 and 29, weigh less than 180 pounds, and have a body mass index under 30 to be eligible to donate eggs.

You will also need a blood test, a mental health evaluation, and a physical and pelvic check. Additionally, you will undergo testing for various illnesses, including HIV and Hepatitis B and C. You might also need to undergo genetic testing to ensure you don’t carry the cystic fibrosis gene. The doctor will examine hormone levels to determine how many eggs you can give.

Your doctor will also notify you about the legal procedure; you might require a lawyer’s assistance to understand it.

Treatment

You will need to take birth control pills weeks before the egg retrieval to sync your cycle with the receiver. Additionally, this guarantees that you can produce mature, healthy eggs. You’ll need to attend multiple clinic visits two to three days before the egg extraction operation. There, you will administer many hormone drugs by injection. This will trigger what is known as superovulation to ensure that you have plenty of mature eggs to collect, increasing the likelihood that the recipient will get pregnant.

Extraction

The donor will get one last injection to be ready for the surgery just before the egg retrieval.

The doctor will extract the eggs from the donor’s ovaries via transvaginal aspiration. They will use a needle to remove the egg from each follicle after inserting an ultrasound probe into the vagina.

The doctor may administer sedatives, anesthetics, or painkillers to the donor before the surgery, which takes around 30 minutes. A donor won’t need to spend the night at the clinic or hospital because this process is simple.

Risks of egg donation

The risks associated with egg donation are minimal. Using anesthesia during the egg retrieval procedure presents a minor risk. However, significant issues are rare.

Some women may bleed when the physician uses the needle to access the ovary. In rare circumstances, damage to the intestines, adjacent blood arteries, or the bladder may occur. The likelihood of significant harm or major bleeding is low.

After the eggs are removed, the infection may also develop. The doctor may recommend antibiotics to stop this.

Call YourEggs to learn more about egg donation.