Has anyone ever considered donating their eggs?

Hi!

I rarely ever post on here. I'm more of a reader only, but I thought you ladies could give me some info on this topic.

I just read an article about egg donation. I am not planning on having any children for awhile and I am intrigued by this egg donation stuff. I read that you can get compensated almost 8000.00.

Does anyone know anyone who has done this or has done it themselves?

Not to sound selfish but my DH and I could really use the extra cash and I'm sure there are tons of couples looking to conceive, right?

Thanks!

Re: Has anyone ever considered donating their eggs?

I know it involves taking a lot of hormones and from what I have heard, it can be painful. I don't really know anything about it other than that, though.

Re: Has anyone ever considered donating their eggs?

To do something like this you, you have to fill out a VERY lengthy questionaire answering questions about yourself, your medical history, your family's medical history and you must tell them your motivation for donating your eggs.

I've heard that the process can be painful and you will gain weight during the cycle in which they remove your eggs.

I looked into about two years ago; I really did want to help a deserving couple. But once I received the questionaire, I decided that it probably wasn't the best thing, given some of the medical history that my family and I share.

Hope this helps.

Message edited 5/2/2006 7:37:10 PM.

Re: Has anyone ever considered donating their eggs?

Sorry

Message edited 5/19/2006 5:46:50 PM.

Re: Has anyone ever considered donating their eggs?

I had looked into it a bit and even went as far as filling out the questionnaire and then decided it wasn't for me.
First off, you have to fill a lot of requirements. You have to be within a certain age-range (I *think* 21-35), you can't be a smoker, and you have to be a healthy weight. After you fill out the lengthy questionnaire, you'll have to get bloodwork done. You can't have any genes for abnormalities, or you're automatically out (I found out with my pregnancy that I carry the gene for cystic fibrosis, so I wouldn't have been able to donate anyway), nor can you have any STDs.
After bloodwork and a physical, comes a psychological evaluation. They want to make sure you're mentally ready for the process, because it can be wearing and they want to make sure you can handle somebody else have "your" child.
If all goes well, you start treatments. Not sure what exactly, but I know you have to inject yourself daily with hormones and you have to take pills. I believe that this process lasts 5 weeks. Then is egg retrieval. This only leaves you a little sore, but there can be complications.
I hope I was able to help a bit. I think it's a wonderful thing to do, helping out somebody who isn't capable of conceiving on their own. Just make sure you're doing it for the right reasons. Even though it sounds like a lot of money, the overall process (testing and charting and then the treatments) can take 3 months or more. When you add the stress on you mentally and physically, it makes you wonder if it's really all worth it. Just some stuff to think about...

Re: Has anyone ever considered donating their eggs?

I was up for doing it a few years back, but it is hard work. There was an article I believe in last months Cosmo that went into all the details. It is pretty intense, painful and for all that work, it may not even work. The article made me sick reading it, I'm glad I never went through with it. You really have to work for your money. They told me I had to come in every morning before work and get shots and my temperature taken. That in itself was time consuming, plus all the physical and mental testing they put you through. Do some more research into it and make sure you are mentally prepared to tackle such an undertaking.

Re: Has anyone ever considered donating their eggs?

I looked into this as well and was told that if u dont already have children u may not want to do it--in case something ever went wrong and u couldnt have kids after the procedure--there is always that small chance

Re: Has anyone ever considered donating their eggs?

It's funny you posted this because I have been thining about this since I got preggo. There are so many people out there that can't get pg, and I did first try. I wasn't even thinking about the money.

I am going to look a little further into it and maybe if I get real serious about it, after baby arrives, maybe talk to DH and see what he says.

Re: Has anyone ever considered donating their eggs?

I looked into it & decided it wasn't for me. This was years ago (before I was married).

Several things you need to realize...

The horomones you take to mature your eggs can set you into early menopause. What this means is that all of your eggs have a hormone that will help them mature faster (some mature faster than others). If you don't have kids already, you need to prepare yourself that this could affect your future fertility.

Also since you have eggs maturing, one of the risks is a pregnancy of multiples (the article I read said you really need to abstain from sex during this time).

The harvesting wasn't suppose to be terrible - just leaving you a little sore.

Also, you need to realize that your genetic material is going with whatever kid that is created. Meaning your children are biologically this potential child's half-brother or sister. For me, that part didn't bother me because it was truly for a good cause. It was just important for me to know where my egg was going.

It was disturbing to find out how you could think your eggs were going to one couple - and rather than dispose of them, they could wind up with another couple. It happened at a few clinics. Of course, these are the ones that make the news. There are thousands of reputable clinics out there.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Re: Has anyone ever considered donating their eggs?

I've heard about it, but I've also heard that there is a small chance you could become infertile afterwards. I believe they ask for women who have already had their children, but I'm not sure. No dollar amount would be worth even a small chance that I wouldn't be able to have children of my own.

Re: Has anyone ever considered donating their eggs?

I've thought about it, and still am considering it...... I've been lucky enough to be blessed with 2 perfect children and I've had a very easy time getting pregnant and I cannot imagine what it must be like to go through issues with infertility and I think it would be a great feeling to be able to help someone that is having issues...
I just don't know how to find the right Dr..... Who has an egg donation program on Long Island?

Re: Has anyone ever considered donating their eggs?

As someone dealing with IF, please talk to a professional and get the facts to find out what is exactly involved in egg donation and then make a decision.
There are many clinics (NYU, Cornell, North Shore, LI IVF) in our area, but this website should be helpful to you also

surrogacy.com


Good luck to you!

Re: Has anyone ever considered donating their eggs?

I also looked into this. A co-worker had done the preliminary research and showed me the application.

The main thing that stopped me was the fact that they cannot be held responsible in case of complications. Since I do not have any children yet, I did not want to take the risk.