Can Egg Donation Make You Infertile?

1. What Egg Donation Is

After diagnosing infertility, many couples face the problem of deciding whether to seek help from an egg donor or to use the service of a surrogate mother. The first option is more preferable as it is important for a potential mother to feel connected with the child, and no woman will give away an opportunity to carry a child on her own. What is more, problems with surrogate motherhood are often associated with a psychological refusal of a couple to accept the baby as their biological child. If you want to participate in the egg donation program and need to understand if it carries any risks, read further to know more about the procedure.

What Egg Donation Is

Egg donation and consequences for the donor involved in the procedure should not frighten a woman who agreed to transfer her genetic material to a sterile couple. So if you are thinking “does egg donation make you infertile”, the answer is negative. The mechanism of oocyte collection is a safe procedure in modern reproductive medicine, and the risk of an experienced specialist's error is minimal.

Egg donation implies a voluntary agreement on biomaterial transfer from a woman to a patient, with the later being prepared for the procedure of artificial insemination. Donated oocytes are the only opportunity for some women to have their biological children. This happens in situations when there is no medical or surgical method allowing a couple to conceive a child.

The reasons explaining why a woman has to apply for donor eggs may be different, but they can be generalized into two large groups: the woman has no longer eggs in the ovaries or these eggs are not suitable for conception. Among other situations when couples need to resort to the egg donation procedure are the following ones:

• If a woman has problems with the functioning of ovaries;
• Sex cells do not have the necessary parameters for IVF;
• Ovary stimulation leads to the maturation of not more than two follicles;
• Contraindications to ovary stimulation by means of hormonal preparations;
• Presence of hereditary abnormalities that can be transmitted to a future child.

A woman aged 18 to 35, who has biological children, can become an egg donor and transfer her biological material to a sterile couple. Possible consequences of egg donation are discussed with a woman during an initial consultation before signing an oocyte transfer agreement. A woman can donate oocytes a few times, but it is not recommended to do this more than 15 times. Within a year, no more than 5 procedures can be performed. If you follow all the recommendations, you shouldn’t worry about the question “can egg donation make you infertile”. The procedure will be absolutely safe, with no negative consequences for your body.