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7 Myths About Egg Donation
Myth #1: Donating Your Eggs is Painful
During the actual egg donation surgical procedure, the woman will be under anesthesia, so she will not feel any pain. Upon waking up, as with any medical procedure, there may be some discomfort – but there should never be any real pain.
The egg donation process is generally considered a low-risk surgery across the board by surgeons everywhere. Complications are rare. Most egg donors are in and out.
If you want medication to deal with any potential pain, please discuss it with your doctor.
Myth #2: Donating Your Eggs is Risky or Completely Unsafe
As mentioned above, the egg donation procedure is agreed across the board to be low-risk and safe. The recovery period is very quick because of this. For the rest of the day of your surgery, you might be advised to rest to avoid cramping. But that’s it! Return to work and your normal daily activities the next day.
There is always a small chance of complications with any surgery. If you experience bleeding or a fever in the days following, contact your doctor. But these symptoms are rare.
Your doctor will provide your specific recovery recommendations while you are leaving the fertility clinic. Please follow them carefully. This generally involves staying away from strenuous activity, like jumping or intense gym workouts, for a few days. The doctor may also provide dietary advice to avoid constipation while you recover.
Myth #3: Donating Your Eggs Will Make You Infertile
Women are born with the amount of eggs they will have for the rest of their lives – it is a finite number. The egg collection procedure removes a small fraction of these eggs, so there are still many left for the woman to become pregnant, if she wants to.
Because egg donors are generally between the ages of 19 and 30, most do go on to have their own children. This is more common than not.
Myth #4: You Can Only Donate Your Eggs Anonymously
Though this may depend on your agency, most agencies give you the option to donate anonymously or provide your name and contact details. At Los Angeles Surrogacy, we often see intended parents form friendships with their egg donors because they are able to speak to each other. Some donors may even meet the baby after he or she is born!
However, you have the right to remain anonymous if you wish. Intended parents will be able to see some details about you – mostly physical details like skin, hair, & eye color, as well as height & weight, as the baby may develop some of your characteristics. Profiles may also share some personality information like if you have a degree, what line of work you are in, etc. They wouldn’t include name, contact information, or any photos.
To summarize, you may donate anonymously or provide your personal information. You can remain private or meet the people who will use your eggs to create the miracle of life. The choice is yours.
Myth #5: Donating Your Eggs Takes a Long Time
As we’ve already covered, the actual egg donation procedure is only one day from start to finish. This includes the actual surgery and recovering from the surgery.
However, there are hormonal injections that the egg donor will need to take for a few weeks before her body is ready for egg removal and collection. But that’s it – the entire process from initial paper work & screenings to recovering from surgery is only a few weeks.
Many egg donors consider this to be quite a short cycle, considering the compensation provided.
Myth #6: You Won’t Be Paid for Donating
This is not true – egg donors receive a generous payment for their contribution to the creation of life! The only type of case in which this may be true is if you are donating for a friend or family member with whom you agree to unpaid terms beforehand.
At Los Angeles Surrogacy, we provide legal and financial education to everyone who walks through our doors – including egg and sperm donors, surrogates, and intended parents, as well as any supportive family members or partners. No egg donor will ever sign their contracts and start their hormonal injections before understanding the payment structure (how much will be paid at what points throughout the process) and tax implications that may affect them now or later on.
Myth #7: You Can’t Choose Who Receives Your Eggs
You can absolutely choose who received your eggs, especially if you want to donate your eggs to a friend or family member! If this is your situation, please contact us here and we will help to get you set up to donate for them.
If you are donating to nobody in particular, but rather because you support the cause and understand the financial benefits, you are more likely to donate to people you don’t personally know. In these cases, you most likely would not choose who receives your eggs, but rather they would choose you.
Why Partner with Los Angeles Surrogacy?
We are unique in the surrogacy agency world because we provide a top surrogacy legal team to represent all of our clients and draft our contracts with their best interests in mind. We partner with the top medical facilities for egg donation and surrogacy available in California. We also provide legal, medical, and financial education, so that no contracts are signed without complete understanding of what is required beforehand.
For more details on our website, visit here.
Our case managers have over 15 years of experience working in the industry, and they are always just a text or phone call away if any obstacles were to arise.
If you are interested in becoming an egg donor, please fill out our form here and we will get back to you with more information.