What To Consider Before Choosing To Use An Egg Donor

If you are infertile or suffer from a genetic disease using an egg donor may be your only way to conceive a child safely. Likewise if you have already reached menopause, but would like to have a child and don’t have any of your own eggs frozen, the only way to become pregnant is by reversing menopause and using someone else’s eggs.

The first thing to consider before doing it is if you are psychologically OK with giving birth to a child that is not genetically your own. You will have to consider that the child will not carry your genes and therefore may be different from you both in looks and personality. This may very well be the case even if you are the genetic mother, but it is still something you have to think about. If you have a male partner he can be the genetic father of the child as the eggs will be inseminated through artificial insemination.

You also have to bear in mind that there are donor registries and your child might be able to look up potential half-siblings as well as their genetic mother. Usually meeting their siblings is a positive experience as they establish more family. Only 1% has reported it as discomforting and this was usually as a result of the parents not agreeing on how the relationship should be formed.

Raising a child who is not genetically your own also usually includes telling the child about this. Experts recommend that it is better for the child growing up knowing about it. Usually explanations start around the age of five, explaining to the child that certain things, like sperm and eggs, are necessary for a child to be conceived and as mommy and daddy didn’t have the eggs a kind lady gave some.

There is also the risk of an undetected genetic disease or infectious disease to be carried over with the egg. You also have to trust that the donor gave the correct information about family history – as donors are paid, no doubt some people with dubious morals would consider lying, but everyone has to go through a psychological test beforehand. HIV will be tested approximately 30 days before the eggs are transferred and sometimes just before as well. Still, it is not 100% foolproof.

Other risks include (if you can call it a risk) giving birth to twins or triplets. There is also a slightly higher risk of pregnancy induced hypertension. Placental pathology is also something that has a higher risk of happening with these kinds of pregnancies. Other perinatal complications are comparable to conventional IVF (i.e. IVF without using an egg donor ).

Egg donation can be a great way to have a baby, you just have to make sure you have researched it properly and are willing to commit to it. There is a lot of information online, so you have to read that and then consult a doctor.

https://pregnancyready.com/what-to-consider-before-choosing-to-use-an-egg-donor/