Many women are eager to help people build families yet are not in a position to take on the responsibilities of surrogacy. For these women, egg donation is an option that allows them to provide others with the opportunity to have a baby while also receiving the benefits that come with choosing to donate. If you are curious about how you can get involved in helping others plan a family, then this is what you should know about the process involved for being a donor.
Complete the Screening Process
The majority of family planning programs require donors to fall within certain eligibility guidelines that protect the viability of the eggs. For example, you must be free of infectious diseases as well as drug use. A psychological exam may also be given to ensure that you are fully aware of the benefits and risks of egg donation, and you will need to be able to commit to completing the entire cycle that may involve giving yourself injections and traveling to the donation site within a specific time period.
Be Matched With Intended Parents
There are different ways that intended parents are matched with their donors, but the process always begins after you have passed all of your screenings. Intended parents enter the family planning process with their own preferences for their future child. While some have strict preferences regarding a potential donor’s physical characteristics such as eye color, race or height, others care more about personality or intelligence. Therefore, your matched intended parents will be someone who has given careful thought to the type of donor they would like to work with and being selected is an honor. Typically, this process does not take long because quality donors are always in high demand.
Participate In the Donation Cycle
Once a match is made, you will begin the process for egg donation that usually begins with using birth control to synchronize you and the intended recipient’s menstrual cycles. Sometime around the third week of this cycle, you will then begin hormone treatments that involve a series of injections that stimulate your ovaries to begin releasing eggs. During this time, you will be monitored to make sure that your body is responding as expected, and you will be due for egg retrieval shortly after. The egg retrieval process is relatively short and completed between 30 minutes to an hour, and you will be given light sedation to ensure your comfort.
Donating eggs does require a commitment of time to ensure that the entire process is completed. Yet, nothing quite compares to the joy of knowing that you have given someone the opportunity to complete their dream of having a family. As you explore the possibility of egg donation, make sure that you choose a program that provides services that guide you through each step while protecting your physical and emotional health during the process.
