We’re delighted that so many of you filled in our quick quiz on egg donation and the winner of the prize is Nikki from Great Yarmouth. She will receive a lovely ‘Goody Bag of the Season’ from Hotel Chocolat which will be on its way this week.
We picked Nikki’s name out of all the people who gave us these answers in the quiz – but which ones were right, and why?
Out of the all the women who contact Altrui about becoming an egg donor, how many do you think go on to donate?
The answer is a tiny 15% of all the generous women who enquire about donating their eggs actually go on to become donors.
There are several reasons for this. One is that when women find out what’s involved in egg donation, they sometimes realise it’s not for them or that they can’t fit the donation in round their life at that time. There are many myths about what it means and who can be an egg donor, but to find out what it really involves it’s best to get it from those that know. Have a look through the Altrui website and you will get a clearer idea of what it’s all about and see if you can in principle be a donor.
We get regular enquiries from pregnant women because that’s often when women are most sensitive about how much their gift could mean to someone; however, because the process requires women to take hormones, egg donation will need to go on hold for a little while if they are pregnant or breastfeeding.
We appreciate every generous woman who gets in touch with an enquiry and through our service we try to make sure egg donors feel valued, respected and properly informed.
What is the most common reason for women deciding to donate eggs through Altrui?
Answer: Because they appreciate how difficult it must be, to be unable to have a family.
Many of the women who come and talk to us about egg donation have babies themselves and treasure their family life, so they understand just how much it hurts to miss out on that. All our egg donors go through the process because they can understand the pain of being surrounded by friends and family who have kids, to have that longing for a child, but not to be able to get pregnant and have a baby.
The compensation helps cover the cost of travelling to the clinic, missing work and paying for any childcare egg donors need – it means donors don’t lose out financially through their kindness. And of course, it’s hard not to think highly of someone who’s gone through so much to help a couple they have never met, but that’s not the main reason women become egg donors.
Donor-conceived people can get identifying information about their donor when they reach 18
Answer: To find out about their genetic heritage and understand their roots.
It’s well known these days that some donor-conceived people have a need to know about their donor and to get a sense of their heritage and where they come from. This is why the law changed in 2005 to make egg and sperm donors identifiable when the donor conceived person is an adult. A sense of identity is important for many people and donor-conceived people are adults when they can request this information from the HFEA. This is not about replacing their mum or dad but about understanding their roots. They will have no legal claim on you or your estate, and you will have no legal responsibility for them whatsoever.
We really hope you enjoyed our quick quiz – look out for more like this in the future. If you’d like to find out more about egg donation, see our information about egg donation with Altrui.
Alternatively, if you want to talk about any of the issues in this blog, or egg donation in general, you can contact us for a chat on 01969 667875 or email Alison and Cathy at info@altrui.co.uk.