BECOMING AN EGG DONOR
We need women between the ages of 21 years and 35 years who are not obese. You need to be off contraception for awhile before we can use the eggs, we will advise you what alternatives you can use.
HOW DOES THE PROGRAM WORK?
1. You will need to contact Sister Pam Duffield on 011-4632244 or email medfem@medfem.co.za and set up an appointment.
2. We will interview you and take a full medical history. If we are satisfied that you will make a good candidate for egg donation we will then arrange for blood tests to be done.
3. Blood tests are taken on the 2nd or 3rd day cycle, i.e. with start of your period. You must have had nothing to eat or drink from 10pm the previous night.
We check Thyroid function, ovary function, blood group (if unknown, if known please let us know when you come in to see Pam).
All donors will need to have HIV and Hepatitis B done for medico/legal purposes.
4. If blood tests normal you will then be examined by one of our doctors to ensure that you are healthy enough to undergo an egg donation cycle.
Part of this examination will be to have a scan done by vaginal ultrasound. This is not a painful procedure and lasts a few minutes.
5. You will be required to sign a consent form saying you understand that you will remain anonymous and that you have no responsibility or claim there of to the child that may be born from this egg donation.
6. Once all the ground work is completed you will be matched to a recipient or possibly two recipients depending on how many eggs we feel you will be able to produce.
7. We will then coordinate your cycle with your recipient’s cycle. This is not as difficult as one would actually imagine. It may involve going on to a low dose oral contraceptive for a short while.
8. Once we have achieved this you will need to have injections over a period of 2 to 3 weeks. The injections are very easy to administer and are administered much the same as a diabetic would give herself an insulin injection. These injections will stimulate the production of eggs in the ovary.
9. As the eggs grow and are nearly ready for collection you will need to be scanned to evaluate egg size and growth. So there may be one or two early mornings that you are required to be in at the clinic. We do our best to try and eliminate situations where the donor has to wait around for too long and try to assist you as quickly as possible so that you can get to work on time.
10. Once your eggs are ready we will prepare you for the harvesting of the eggs. This is a very simple procedure that requires a morning at the clinic.
11. You will be given an injection that makes you sleep and, whist you are asleep, we will retrieve the eggs via the vagina. It is not an operation as the skin is not cut, and there is minimal discomfort after the procedure. You are given the option of pain killers to take home if you feel you may need them. Recovery from the procedure is very quick.
12. You can go home within an hour or two of having the procedure done. However, you may not drive as you will still be drowsy from the sedation.
13. The procedure is not dangerous. The medication does have slight side effects in that it can make you a little irritable, sometimes tearful. You may feel bloated almost as if you are about to have a period. Some donors seem to breeze through with very little side affects, others seem to feel it more. To minimize these side effects you must try and drink at least 2 litres of water every day, it definitely makes a huge difference.
14. Once home you may feel a little bloated and uncomfortable for a few days, but as each day goes by it will get better and by the time your next menses arrive you should be back to normal again. Your next period will occur 10 days to 2 weeks after you have had the eggs removed. You are still very fertile at this stage and precautions should be taken.
15. None of the medications have a lasting side effect or do any damage to your ovaries. In fact nothing that we do should compromise your fertility, however you need to understand there are other underlying reasons for infertility; for example blocked tubes, poor sperm count, and problems in the uterus; and we could never assure you that later on you may not have a problem due to unforeseen reasons with something like that as we are only focused on your ovaries at this point.
16. You will not be responsible for any of the costs that are attached to this procedure. In fact you are entitled to compensation of R6 000.
To all of you who read this I am sure it’s a little overwhelming. It’s not as bad as it would seem, your time with us from the first appointment will be around 8 to 12 weeks however that doesn’t mean you will be here every day of those weeks, but rather coming in from time to time over that period.
Before you make your final decision please come and chat to us, there will probably be more questions you would like to ask. You will never be made to feel obliged to do this; in fact we do not like having someone on the donor program unless they feel completely comfortable and happy with what is expected of them. So we would encourage you to come and chat and then make a final decision.
I look forward to meeting you.
So please phone or email me if you are interested in becoming a donor and to make a dream come true! We have many many women on our waiting list who are longing for a baby, but are dependant on the generosity of people like you.
We are in need of all races of donors, and have a very big shortage of Indian and Asian ladies - especially Chinese.
Pam Duffield
Donor Program co ordinator
P.s. If I am not available leave a message on my answering service I will always call back (it may be not immediately but you will hear from me)