What is it like to be an egg donor?

Our egg donors are anonymous, but we talked to a five-time donor who shared her experience with the process and what motivates her to be an egg donor. 

Here is more from her experience:

Q. What did your friends, family, partner say about egg donation?

A. My husband was very supportive of my decision to donate my eggs. Before moving forward with the process, we talked about it as a couple and made sure it was something we were both comfortable with. We had both known people who we knew would make amazing parents (some eventually did) but struggled doing so on their own. This made the decision for me (and us) much easier as the thought of being able to help someone be able to experience parenthood – whether it be a single individual, a couple struggling with fertility or a same-sex couple – was a complete no-brainer. 

It wasn’t until the second or third egg donation that my parents became aware. They were supportive of the idea but they didn’t know much about the process and were understandably concerned about my health and safety. After talking more about the process as well as my motivations, they quickly became much more comfortable (although I’m sure some of their worries remained as does with most parents). 

I was also very open and honest with my friends regarding this process from the very beginning. When you tell people about egg donation, many automatically jump to compensation. For me donating my eggs was not driven by compensation, so I felt it was important to discuss with them my motivations as well as the feeling of knowing I was able to be a part of something that felt much bigger than me. Now that I have my own children, I feel that sense of awe more than ever. 

 

Q. What was it like to give yourself injections?

A. For me the process of injection was quite simple. It was a very small needle that goes into the fatty tissue of your stomach, so I experienced very little discomfort with injections (less than a flu shot). The entire process was quick and easy. 

 

Q. What was the psychological evaluation like that you had to do to participate?

A. It’s been quite a few years since I participated in the psychological evaluation process, but from what I remember it was a pretty straightforward evaluation. The fact that you are helping to bring a new life into the world that does contain your own DNA is a big deal, and although the process of egg donation seems straightforward and even exciting, the evaluation just helped to bring up those big points to make sure that, after all is said and done, I was able to mentally handle gifting a piece of myself to someone else. 

 

Q. Has having your child(ren) changed your thoughts on egg donation?

A. Having my own children has definitely strengthened my thoughts on egg donation. Prior to having children, I knew how others felt about parenthood and the strong desire to want to start or add to their own family. Since having my own children, I now know firsthand the indescribable feeling of bringing a life into the world and the magnitude to which it forever changes your life. Now that our family is complete, I now more than ever feel like egg donation is something I would definitely consider doing again.

 

Q. Any other words of wisdom or advice do you have for someone thinking about being an egg donor?

A. Regardless of your motivations to participate in egg donation, just know that being a part of bringing a new life into the world is such an amazing feeling. The short-term injections, monitoring, and ultimately the retrieval were well worth the time and effort and its outcome is literally something that could last a lifetime. 

 

Learn more about becoming an egg donor with Forward Fertility. Looking for more advice from an experienced egg donor? Visit our blog to read another donor’s Q&A.

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