Egg donor blog

I have been looking into donating my eggs; I am worried about the side effects, though.  Is there weight gain, also acne was a side effect too.  I am curious what all the expect before going into this….

There are definitely side effects, but none of them permanent, and none of them are detrimental.  I’ve answered this question in a few different forms on my blog, and I put the link to the best example below.  You will gain weight, yes.  About 7 pounds of water weight, and within a week of retrieval, once you’re back to your normal routine, the weight will come off.  Your social life will be mildly affected, because you’ll be obligated to follow a routine with your meds, and nothing is more important than that for about 3 weeks.  And I never experienced any acne problems.  I can’t say for the general population, but anything that happened to me, physically, during egg donation was incredibly mild, and a non-issue mere days after my retrieval.  Good luck in your decision to  move forward or not!

http://askaneggdonor.com/will-i-gain-weight/

I WANT to become an egg donor; I applied to become a donor at two agencies and was turned down by one, still waiting to hear from the other. I am very upset as I have always wanted to donate eggs. I am fairly healthy and don’t have any major derogatory family issues. I don’t understand, I’m just confused. Should I keep trying or give up?  From what you know, what could be reasons for them to not accept me?  They contacted me saying they couldn’t accept me and didn’t have the opportunity to discuss the reasons for their decision either….

In reading your question, I’m curious as to what you mean by “fairly” healthy…basically, that’s sorta healthy.  You can’t be a sorta healthy egg donor.  And if you don’t have any major derogatory family issues, do you have minor ones?  I dunno why they wouldn’t accept you.  My best friend wanted to become a donor a while ago, and she was denied because she had a DUI on her record 5 years before her application.  Egg donation isn’t meant for everyone, no matter how badly you want it.  There are a whole lotta life factors that determine your viability, some you can control and some you can’t.  I’d say if a second agency rejects your application as well, there’s more to it than you’ve said here, and it’s probably not a path for you.  You’ll know when it’s time to throw in the towel–it’s not something I can tell you to do.  Good luck in your search for an agency.

I am gluten intolerant & had lyme disease when I was a teenager. The lyme disease is long under control after antibiotics, & my gluten intolerance is not a problem as long I follow my diet. Could either of these result in me being denied to donate?

Oh, absolutely.  Objectively, I have reservations about what you’ve mentioned, and I’m not looking to use you as a donor.  I can’t say it enough:  Recipients are looking for perfection through control.  If they cannot have children of their own, for whatever reason, they’re turning to donation, and picking the donor is the height of control.  Recipients have hundreds of variables in choosing a donor, literally, and I would venture to say that the majority of the variables are under the surface–intelligence, genetics, health, history–and not based on aesthetics.  Since that’s the case, things like Lyme disease and a gluten intolerance are deal breakers when there are other donors who don’t have these conditions, no matter how seemingly insignificant.  Make sense?  I can’t say for sure–by any means–but I can say that it’s likely both will be a hang up to an agency and/or a recipient.

I have been thinking about being a donor for a couple months now and decided I am interested in doing it.  I have just been connected with a woman who is looking for a donor…. so now it’s real.  I need to talk to her basically this week to set the details. I still feel certain that I do want to donate, however, I am battling with either curiosity or the need to know what the baby will look like if her pregnancy is a success.  Is it out of line or a warning sign or wrong of me to A) want to know what the baby looks like? and b) Ask her if I may have a picture of her baby when the baby is about 6 months old?  Also, this may sound silly but I am kind of concerned that many years down the road, if I have children of my own, and there is a freak instant in which one of my children happens to meet her child and fall in love or something. What precautions can be taken?

Woah.  Okay, that’s a lot.  First of all, it sounds like you’re interested in an open donation.  And you can’t just…donate eggs.  You have to go through a fertility center and there are steps that are a part of the process.  One of those steps is the legal portion.  You will have a contract and in that contract, it will state whether your donation is anonymous or open, and what that entails.  If you want a picture at any point, you can make that a condition of the donation.  The whole part about worrying your donated-biological child will randomly meet and fall in love with your raised-biological child is…odd, to be frank.  I’m not sure the statistical probability of that, but I’m not sure it’s something that should sway you from donation.  There aren’t any precautions that can be taken, but I’ve also never even considered such a thing.  Donation was, for me, a very clear, cut and dry decision and ensuing process.  Your reservations are very personal ones, and maybe you need to think about the long-term effects of egg donation before you enter into a relationship with a recipient.  I wish you luck in making your decision!

I was a donor about 13 years ago, maybe 15, and I donated twice. I know it worked but at the time did not want details. Is there a site for kids looking to find their biological egg donor? I want to be open so that they can find me. Just curious and willing if the child is ever looking….

I’m sure there are plenty of sites, but I don’t know of any of them.  I have no curiosity and all my donations are very much anonymous, so I’ve no insight on this one.  If your donations were anonymous, you probably have a clause in your contract that makes it very clear that you aren’t to attempt to contact, or–if you or the child wish to pursue that–you must wait until the “child” is 18-years-old.  I really don’t know, as it’s not something I am interested in, and have taken great strides to prevent, so it would require research on your part to answer this one.  Good luck!

My father died from AIDS in 1994.  He contracted the disease through drug use and eventually died due to complications from the disease.  How should I address this issue on my application?  Will it negatively impact my chances of becoming a donor?

It’s possible, sure.  When was his drug use?  Did he have the disease before you were born?  If he had the disease before you were conceived and he had AIDS, or HIV, at the time of your conception, that would be a pretty big deal.  But if he contracted the disease after you came along, then I can’t see it being much of a factor, in terms of what you have to offer as an individual.  That said, I would be VERY open about all of it, because whether it’s a factor can only be determined by your agency.  Also be aware that drug addiction could very well be seen as a deal-breaker, too.  Just like alcoholism or any other -ism, the proclivity towards addiction of any kind can be a huge red-flag to a recipient, therefore your agency.  Either they will see it as a non-issue and usher you in as a donor, or it will be a major issue and you won’t make it that far, but this is not a data point you can leave out of your interview.  Good luck!

I donated last November, and the process was somewhat challenging.  I hyperstimulated and I felt horrible. I was not hospitalized but needed bed rest for about a week.  I was selected for a second cycle and I know that every cycle is different but I wanted to know if I do another one it could be worse?  Also, since I will be donating with the same agency, should they pay me more?

I’m sorry to hear you had a rough cycle.  But, to be honest, if it was that bad, you may want to consider not going through it again.  If you choose to do this second cycle, then it’s of your own volition and your agency wouldn’t be required to pay you more just because the first cycle was difficult.  This is a process you’re entering into willingly, and you can’t set your own price based on physical hardship you experienced.  You either agree to do it, or decide it’s not worth it.

I’ve been thinking about egg donation for a while.  Do they actually request your medical record from your doctor or go by what you say?  I’m not trying to cover anything up, its just the logistics of it.  I’ve moved about 5 times in the past 2 years and while I know my medical history, its hard to verify it with documentation.

I get it.  Nah, I never had to prove anything.  And I use the word “prove” loosely.  If you’re lying about anything, it’ll come out, I assure you.  There is absolutely no point in attempting that whatsoever.  But if you can recall your medical history with fluidity and firm knowledge, then I think you’ll be just fine.  In my experience, I was taken at my word.  That said, again, there is nothing you can cover up when it comes to the kinds of testing you’ll experience.  Vial upon vial of blood, a couple of urine tests and our good friend the Pap Smear whether you want it or not; when it’s all done, I’m sure they’re able to tell how much you weighed at birth.  Talk to your agency and be upfront about your lack of records, but I don’t think you’ll experience a problem.  God luck!

I’m currently going through my second donation cycle and I’m already starting to think about my third. I will be moving away in late summer to start graduate school and I really want to be able to donate eggs three times before grad school starts. My question is: Did you ever get matched and plan a calendar while you were currently in a cycle? I know the rule about having at least two periods in between cycles and there’s definitely time for that. But I’d like for the donor coordinator to go ahead and try to match me for my third cycle since I know the matching part might take time. For some reason, I’m nervous about asking her because I don’t want to seem too overzealous. So I thought I’d first ask you about your experience with planning your next cycle while currently in a cycle.

Yeah, I’ve done it.  I mean, in so far as I knew a recipient couple wanted to use me as their donor, and I said I’d be willing when I was done healing.  To be honest, I never had to relay my intentions of wanting to donate again.  From the day I submitted my application to the agency, I worked immediately and consistently as a donor for 2 years straight.  I was done with the maximum allowance of cycles (6) quickly because there was never any down time for me–willingly and very thankfully.  Provided your retrieval yields results, and you’re the kind of donor recipients, doctors and nurses have the good pleasure of working with, your agent/agency should ask you if you’re willing to donate again, and once you say yes, I’d drop it.  It’s not like a modeling or acting career where you need to remain relevant by being in everyone’s mind; you’re either what a couple is looking for or you’re not.  Make it clear you’re interested in continuing, but the timeline is most definitely not something you can speed up or control.  Good luck on all fronts!

Are health insurance and consistent medical check-ups required to donate eggs?  I have no health insurance and have not had a check-up since I could remember…?

Neither are required, no.  If there is a problem with you medically, it should surface during all of your pre-screening.  That said, if you know of something, don’t live a particularly healthy life or have never had basic preventative care, then–at the risk of speaking in generalities–I’m not sure egg donation is something that is appropriate for your lifestyle.  Because, remember, you also asked me a question about not knowing your father or your medical history.  That’s a whole lotta no-information that’s going to prove to be problematic very quickly.