Egg donors > Matching donors with recipients

How we will match you with someone

How we match you with a recipient is the really exciting part for us.

Once you have decided to continue as an egg donor, we will ask you for a current photograph. Similarly, we request one from the recipient.From this point we start by considering the physical similarities between you both. These are height, weight, ethnicity, hair colour and type and eye colour. Getting this right is generally fairly straightforward, but from there we also try to match you in terms of background, interests, and the types of people you both are. It seems extraordinary, but the right person seems to come along at the right time for the couple who need help and then everything just slots into place. If you are responding to a personal appeal from someone, then you will most likely be their donor unless you are very different from them.

A match between egg donor and recipient

A typical example of how well this can work:
Sarah (name changed) came to us needing a donor after trying for over 5 years for a baby. After several early miscarriages it was eventually discovered that she carried a gene that meant she couldn’t have children. She was a chef, loved cats, hated spiders, enjoyed going to concerts (particular Glastonbury) and had a great sense of humour listing all the comedians and comedies she loved on the TV. She described herself as fun, bubbly and always wanted people to feel that she had time for them.

She advertised and we waited and waited for someone to come forward. But they didn’t.

Many months later, Anna (name changed) just happened to be taking her toddler to her health centre for routine jabs and whilst waiting picked up the magazine and saw the advert which by then was several months out of date. She had been thinking about this for a while but didn’t know how to start the process. Anyway she thought she’d ring on the off chance. Her opening words to me were, “ I would just love to help, but I don’t know if I can. I’m a chef and work long hours….” Quite amazingly she was physically a perfect match to Sarah, and reading her autobiography was like reading Sarah’s.

Anna went on to be a donor and Sarah is now pregnant!

It really can and does happen like this

What information will I be given about the person I am helping?

You will be given information about why a particular couple needs your help and whatever other information they are happy for us to tell you, which will usually be non-identifying. You may also find out how long they have been trying for a baby, a bit about what they do and their approximate ages. Exactly how much information will be disclosed will be down to the couple who you will be helping and how much you feel you’d like to know.

It is sometimes possible to match you with a couple who would like to know identifying information about you. If you would also like this, then let us know and we will try and find you someone who feels the same way about it. We will never disclose identifying information about either side without clear written consent from both beforehand.

All the initial exchange of information will be managed by Altrui, but if identifying information is to be disclosed this will be managed by the Licensed Treatment Centre where the recipients are registered. A counsellor will discuss with you the level of information given and how, when and where it will occur, and everyone involved will be expected to undergo counselling sessions.