Egg Donation

What is egg donation

Egg donation is most commonly used when the patient is unable to produce her own eggs. This type of infertility is often associated with older maternal age, when the ovaries store of follicles is beginning to run out. The tell-tale signs are irregular - and even absent - periods, which are often a prelude to the menopause. In normal 'fertile' women this can happen in their late 30s and early 40s, but there are also unfortunate younger women who are found to have 'premature' menopause. This can happen in women as young as 20 or 30. For these women, egg donation is the only possible fertility treatment.

How it works

Treatment is much the same as standard IVF, except that the eggs are sourced from a friend or relative (known egg donation) or from an anonymous donor or egg bank. Patients receiving ‘fresh’ donor eggs from a donor must have hormone therapy to ensure that their own menstrual cycle matches the donor’s and is ready to receive an embryo for implantation. For patients using frozen eggs, all eggs are stored in a frozen state and are only thawed for fertilisation and transfer when needed by the recipient patient.

The London Egg Bank

The London Women’s Clinic has partnered with the London Egg Bank to provide access to a very large database of UK-recruited HFEA-compliant egg donors via their online catalogue.  This means patients at all LWC locations can be treated with egg donation without facing a long waiting list - and have a good chance of finding a suitably matching donor without delay.  

Counselling

For all patients considering treatment using donor eggs, counselling is always necessary to ensure they are fully aware of the UK's legislation on the identity of egg donors. All children born as a result of donor eggs in the UK have the right at the age of 18 to know the donor’s identity.