Understanding 5 Key Aspects of Egg Donation

Some women donate eggs to help their friends and relatives, whereas many women also donate eggs to receive monetary compensation. You can find many fertility clinics posting advertisements frequently to convince college students to donate eggs for money. But you must follow several steps to donate your eggs successfully. Also, you have to meet certain criteria set by fertility clinics to be accepted as an egg donor. It is also important to understand various aspects of egg donation process, before visiting a fertility clinic.

1. Common Requirements: Most fertility clinics require egg donors to meet certain criterions. A donor's age must be between 21 and 29. Also, she must be healthy, non-smoking and with a good family medical history. Many clinics require donors to possess specific educational qualification. Some clinics even choose egg donors who have a minimum SAT score. In addition to meeting the requirements, you also have to prove that you are mature and responsible enough to go through the surrogacy process.

2. Egg Donation Process: Once you are accepted by a fertility clinic, you have to wait till you are matched with a recipient, so the egg donation process can take several months. Further, you have to undertake a series of medical checks after being matched with a recipient. Along with the check for infectious and genetic diseases, you also have to go through gynecological and psychological tests. After clearing the tests, you will be asked to suppress your menstrual process by taking birth control pills and injections. Also, you will take hormones to increase your mature eggs number.

3. Retrieval of Your Eggs: During the process, the doctor will constantly monitor your egg sacs through a series of ultrasound and blood tests. Once you eggs become fully mature, these will be retrieved by performing the procedure under light anesthesia. The doctor will insert a needle into your ovary and withdraw the eggs gently. The entire egg retrieval process will take about 30 minutes. But you will need a full days rest following the procedure. After getting retrieved from your ovary, the mature eggs will be fertilized and then placed inside the infertile woman's womb.

4. Monetary Compensation: An egg donor is not required to incur any expenses related to egg donation. Your travel, medical and legal expenses will be paid by the recipient. Further, you will receive monetary compensation amounting to $5,000 to $10,000, immediately after the egg retrieval process is over. However, it is a good idea to negotiate the egg donation price in advance, if you are undertaking the procedure for money.

5. Side-Effects and Risk: The ongoing recessional phase of the economy is encouraging many women to receive money by donating eggs. But many women ignore the risk associated with the process of surrogacy. Some of the common side-effects like irritability, soreness, bloating and cramps are not serious. But the ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome can be a matter of concern. During the process, you have to take certain drugs that may result in over stimulation of your ovary and leaking fluid into your chest and belly. Also, you will gain additional weight while experiencing bloating and abdominal pain. So you must understand the risk and side-effects of egg donation before going through the process.

It is always advisable for an egg donor to gather information about egg donation from various sources. You can even consider having detailed consultation with a qualified doctor to understand the pros and cons of becoming an egg donor.