The Egg Donation Process Explained

Couples who are dealing with female infertility have many options for treatment. One of those options involves the use of an egg donor to complete the process of in vitro fertilization (IVF). If your fertility doctor has recommended egg donation as an option for your fertility treatment, your probably wondering how the whole process works.

Egg donation takes place when a third party female donates an egg or several eggs that will be fertilized and implanted in another women. This is done for the purpose of assisted reproduction when a woman's eggs are not viable or perhaps a same sex couple needs an egg for their surrogate. Either way, the egg donor is not involved in the actual pregnancy they simple donate ova, similar to how male donors give sperm.

Before egg donation can take place, egg donors are carefully screened for medical and emotional stability. Many couples have their own egg donor pre-selected and have chosen to use a family member or friend. However, it is even more common for couples to select an anonymous egg donor from a donor agency.

When a woman decides to donate some of her eggs, there is a process that needs to be followed after her suitability is determined. First, the woman starts taking a series of fertility drugs to help mature her eggs. Then, she is monitored for ovulation. When she is ovulating she visits the fertility doctor and her eggs are retrieved through a simple medical procedure. During this procedure, general anesthesia is administered. After the anesthesia kicks in eggs are retrieved via a needle that is guided to the ovaries with an ultrasound. This procedure is called follicular aspiration, it takes about a half an hour and it is relatively painless. On average, there will be between 5 to 20 eggs removed during one of these procedures.

Couples experiencing fertility problems should find a fertility specialist. Fortunately, for those that do suffer from male or female fertility problems, there are a range of treatment options available, including the use of an egg donor or in vitro fertilization (IVF).