The process behind egg donation

As students of the Johns Hopkins University, we often see ads posted by the Medical school around campus, requesting participants for medical testing and experimenting. A number of students jump at the opportunity, envisioning sizeable pecuniary rewards as a result. Sometimes there is little risk involved in the experiment; other times the decision to participate in any kind of medical study or project requires much more consideration, as the involvement may affect the participant both psychologically and physically.

Egg donation is one such weighty case, which we all have become familiar with. Advertisements for this have become ever more prevalent, as increasing numbers of young women consider egg donation for various reasons. Some seek this opportunity, as I have said, simply to earn some extra cash. Others do this with goodwill for a more noble cause, to help others who are infertile.

At the Howard and Georgeanna Jones Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility of Johns Hopkins University, they work by the credo, "Some donors help save lives. We help create them." This division of the Johns Hopkins Oocyte Program works with young women who have decided to be egg donors.

Indeed, the decision to be an egg donor is not to be handled lightly, but if a young woman is psychologically and physically able to do this, she may have the satisfaction of knowing that she can make it possible for some lucky couple to conceive of a child.

The center at Hopkins points out that nearly 15 percent of married couples have difficulty in conceiving. A number of these couples must resort to egg donations as their only chance of becoming pregnant. Also, some couples consider receiving egg donations so as not to pass on serious genetic diseases to their child. With a donor egg, the risk of disease is removed. And so, if one is willing and comfortable with the idea of egg donation, this can be a very fulfilling experience.

So what is the deal with egg donation and what exactly will they do? Well, first off, you cannot simply walk into the office and donate your eggs. There is a careful process one must go through, to ensure the safety and psychological and physical preparedness of the donor.

There are certain criteria one must meet in order to be an egg donor. The donor must be a healthy woman (this means she is close to her ideal body weight, a nonsmoker and free of any illnesses or diseases) between the ages of 21 and 30. She must also complete and pass a psychological evaluation.

This procedure will not complicate future pregnancy for the donor, nor will it spark premature menopause. The center advises that a woman should not donate her eggs more than three times. The center contends, "We want to ensure that every woman who is interested in becoming an egg donor is aware of the time commitment, benefits, and potential complications of the egg donation."

Once one has decided and been approved for egg donation, she will begin the process itself. She will be given medications to develop multiple eggs within her ovary, rather than the single egg she would normally produce each month. The eggs will then be removed through a tiny needle for donation. The recipient's partner's sperm will then be used to fertilize the eggs. As a result, the baby conceived will carry the father's, but not the recipient mother's, genetic material.

I asked a representative of the Hopkins center what possible side effects this might have on the donor. She explained that most women do not feel uncomfortable during the operation, as they will receive an IV from an anesthesiologist. However, the increase in egg production, she explained, may have its slight side effects. A number of women experience the symptoms of PMS, producing only one egg a month; now multiply the number of eggs produced and logically, the symptoms tend to increase.

Of course, it goes without saying that throughout this entire process the donor is given complete anonymity. Neither the parents nor their child will have the ability to contact the donor in the future. However, if they conceive, the parents will be given general information about the donor, while still keeping that donor's identity anonymous.

The decision to participate in egg donation is a serious one, which must be given thoughtful consideration. But if you decide that this is something you would be interested in doing, the rewards can be great. Not only have you made some extra cash, but most importantly, you have the satisfaction of knowing you have helped to create a new life.