Egg donation is a form of third-party reproduction or conception that enables women with an intact uterus to achieve pregnancy when it would otherwise be difficult or impossible.  

Eggs must be donated by a known or anonymous altruistic donor. Altruistic means that the donor cannot receive any form of compensation for donating their eggs. Most egg donors are known (related) to their recipients as there are very few anonymous altruistic donors available.
 

Egg Donation Procedure

All parties must have psychological counselling prior to an egg donation treatment cycle. The treatment cycle consists of having the donor go through hormone therapy for ovulation stimulation while the recipient’s uterus is synchronized to prepare for the embryo transfer. By using IVF technology, the eggs are retrieved from the ovaries of the donor, which are then either fertilized by the sperm of the recipient’s male partner or through a sperm donor. The resulting embryo(s) are then implanted into the recipient’s uterus.

The donor’s contribution is to provide the genetic material, but the pregnancy (gestation), labour and birth, and parenting falls to the recipient. If pregnancy is achieved, the resulting child will be genetically related to the recipient’s partner if his sperm was used, but not to the recipient.

Women who may need egg donation include those with:

• Poor egg quality and/or diminished ovarian function due to advanced maternal age or surgery/illness 
• Unexplained infertility 
• Congenital absence of eggs or ovaries 
• Prior cancer treatments 
• A high risk of transmitting genetic diseases