Choosing to be an egg donor and donating your eggs so that an infertile couple can start a family is a big decision. Generally, egg donation comes with financial incentives, and this is often why young women help in this way. One big concern many have about this process is how it could affect future fertility. So the big question is: Does being an egg donor actually jeopardize your future in starting a family and/or personal fertility? Based on the most current studies, there is no evidence that egg donation has any effect on your future fertility. A woman choosing to donate her eggs has the same chances (in the future) of getting pregnant as a non-donor. Below are three main facts to help with any questions one may have on this subject.
Future Fertility Status
Often many women will apply to donate eggs, however, not every woman will qualify due to specific criteria set by Reproductive health professionals. Doctors who manage the egg retrieval process run several tests and labs on donors to determine their fertility status. The screening results and medical checkups will provide information on the donor’s fertility health. After reviewing these results, health professionals can advise accordingly on whether or not it would be wise for the donor to proceed with the egg donation. If a donor passes these screenings to move forward then her fertility is unlikely to be changed by donating her eggs.
Egg Reserve
Perfectly healthy women have roughly 500,000 eggs in their egg pool. Commonly, 12-28 eggs can be retrieved in an egg donation cycle. In a woman’s normal monthly cycle, only one egg would make it to the ovulation stage. This means that the remaining eggs would have been discarded in the menstrual cycle. Multiple eggs are retrieved during an egg donation cycle, but that does not take away from a donor’s egg reserves, causing them to be deflated. To sum this up, all of the eggs you produce are retrieved in an egg donation cycle and none are left to degenerate as they naturally would.
You can still become pregnant and have your own children as your egg reserves are still intact.
What Causes Infertility in relation to egg donation?
Complications during an egg donation retrieval process are what could make a donor infertile. We work with the best healthcare specialists and encourage all women considering egg donation to only work with well-known proven fertility centers. You can seek referrals for clinics to work with. There are also egg donation centers with experienced professionals who help carefully manage your cycle and ensure nothing goes wrong. If the retrieval is done correctly, your fertility will not be affected.
To help protect yourself and the risk of future infertility, it’s wise to allow some time between egg donations. Medical Professionals can help advise on what a timeline would look like for a hopeful repeat donor. Resting between cycles gives your body time for normal functions to be restored which lowers the opportunity of complications.
To read more about the risks of Egg Donation, click over to read about Egg Donation Risk and Side Effects.
We help Intended Parents Create Happy Families via Egg Donation & Surrogacy with the help of caring Egg Donors & Surrogates.
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