You bring a relative or a friend

Finding your own egg donor

Egg donation is a process that demands a lot of commitment from the donor. She must be ready to undergo the whole IVF treatment cycle up to and including the point where her eggs are collected. She must be able to accept the idea that, if successful, the treatment will result in the birth of a child with her genes. She must also be prepared for the fact that the treatment may not work. Finding such a special person is not easy.

Sometimes sisters or friends offer to donate, although not everyone is able to commit to the time and effort that egg donation involves. And even then, you may not wish to accept the offer, for instance if the person concerned does not look like you. It is a highly personal issue, yet the would-be donor may be offended if you turn them down. There may also be medical reasons why a person should not become an egg donor.

For example, many clinics do not accept egg donors who are overweight, or who are too old for the treatment to have a good chance of success. Furthermore, the potential egg donor may feel under pressure to donate, and we have experienced many cases where an offer to donate is then retracted when the donor becomes more aware of what is expected of her, or if she has second thoughts. For the infertile woman or couple who are depending on this egg donor, such a refusal can be devastating.

If you do manage to find an egg donor yourself, please bear in mind that she should be under 35 and have her own child(ren).

Shortage of egg donors

Unfortunately, it can also be difficult to find an egg donor via a clinic or hospital. Many European countries now have legislation prohibiting anonymous egg donation. Since this came into force, the number of women offering to donate their eggs to help infertile couples has dramatically fallen.

In countries such as Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Norway, egg donation is actually forbidden. In the Netherlands, many hospitals do not accept egg donors under the age of 30, or those who have not completed their own family, while egg recipients may be no older than 45 (and are often refused treatment earlier). Even in countries with more liberal laws, such as the UK, the removal of anonymity means that waiting lists for egg donation can stretch to several years. The possibility of finding an egg donor at all, let alone one who fits your requirements, is often very remote.

To overcome the shortage of egg donors, we have set up our O.L.G.A. Fertility Clinic’s Egg Donor Bank in 1999 and introduced a detailed Egg Donor Database from IDEAS in 2013. Read more >>>