Choosing an Egg Donor

Beginning your IVF journey using donor eggs is a HUGE step. But we feel that one of the toughest decisions you will need to make is how to choose your egg donor south africa who ticks all your boxes.

And how / where do you start?

Our team here at EDSA takes the question of how to choose your donor very seriously, and we decided it was important for us to take you through each step of the process in full, so that you can make your decision, as to who you feel would be the perfect egg donor for your family.

We really do care about you, and we fully understand how daunting this journey can be at the beginning. So we have set out three questions that you will need to consider before taking the next big step in your fertility journey.

Are you emotionally prepared to start your fertility journey using donated eggs?

 

Having to use donated eggs is not an easy decision for anyone to make. Nine out of ten times, the reason a couple has had to make this decision is because they have come to realize they cannot conceive naturally, and potentially have already gone through a very long and hard emotional journey of ups, downs, and no doubt, bereavement of some kind.

It is important to ensure that before you embark on this journey, You need to be honest with yourself as to whether you and your partner have had enough time to “grieve”, whether through counseling you have come to terms with your losses and your future decisions, and most importantly, during this process, it is vital that you are kind to yourselves, first and foremost.

What is the process once a donor has been selected?

At EDSA we pre-screen our donors because we know how upsetting it can be when the donor you have chosen, cannot proceed because of a failed psychological assessment, or because the doctor finds that she has a poor Antral Follicle Count (AFC) and therefore won’t be able to produce a desired amount of eggs.

It is important to understand too that it can be extremely intimidating for a donor to visit a fertility specialist for the first time. And this visit only occurs once they have been chosen by a family to donate. Part of our pre-screening includes an appointment with a fertility clinic where our donors meet a fertility specialist, a fertility nurse and other staff at the clinic. They are given a tour of the clinic, theatre and laboratory and staff will also be able to demonstrate to the donor, the medication they will need to take. This takes a huge amount of pressure off the donors and will ensure that the donor is prepared and excited about any prospective donations going forward.

What qualities are most important to you when it comes to an egg donor?

So how DO you choose an egg donor? At the basic level, egg donors will go through a strict screening process for physical and mental health, family medical history, some genetic tests, and many more. The most important quality here is for the donor to pass this screening process. Only then should you start thinking about other criteria, such as:

Appearance: Many recipients are interested in donors with similar physical features
Personal background: Education, personality, career
Ethnicity / religious preference

By answering the above three questions, you can begin to ascertain what donor would be a perfect fit for you and your family. We know it may seem extremely overwhelming at first. Finding the perfect egg donor, and looking for egg donors can take up a lot of time, but this is why we at EDSA are here to assist you every step of the way.

Do you have questions about our screening process, our egg donors, or our search criteria?

Contact us now with your questions so that we can assist you in finding your perfect egg donor.

Love EDSA x