The Requirements for Egg Donation: Do You Qualify?
Egg donation is a beautiful and selfless act of kindness that can help women around the world who struggle with infertility. However, not everyone qualifies to donate their eggs. A reputable fertility clinic requires young and healthy women to ensure the best chances of successful conception for the parents-to-be. We will cover here the requirements that need to be met to become an egg donor.
Age Qualifications for Egg Donation
In South Africa, egg donors must be between 21 and 31 years old. Although the legal age to donate eggs is 18 years, the South African Society for Reproductive Medicine (SASREG) recommends that egg donors are at least 21 years old. Women who are over 35 years old are considered to have an “advanced” maternal age, and both the quality and quantity of their eggs decline with age. For this reason, the upper age limit for egg donors is 31 years old.
Health Qualifications for Egg Donation
To qualify as an egg donor, you must be physically and mentally healthy. Your physical health can be determined by calculating your body mass index (BMI), which tells you whether your weight is healthy for someone of your height. Egg donors need to have an optimal BMI between 18 and 30. Good lifestyle choices are also necessary to become an egg donor. Certain lifestyle choices, such as drug abuse, disqualify women from becoming egg donors. Although smoking cigarettes is not a disqualifier, good results over 25 years of practice have shown that smoking donors produce fewer eggs and poor-quality embryos compared to non-smoking donors. Thus, non-smoking egg donors are preferred.
Mental health is also important, and egg donors undergo psychological assessments before donating.
Commitment to Egg Donation Program
Donating eggs requires more time and involvement than other types of donations. For instance, to complete an egg donation cycle, you will need to self-administer fertility injections for 10-12 days and attend four doctor’s appointments during this time, as well as taking a full day off work or daily activities on egg retrieval day. Therefore, qualifying as an egg donor requires dedication and time.
Altruistic Motivation
Egg donation is a complex process that requires more time and effort from egg donors than other types of donations. The donation process may also have a psychological impact. Therefore, egg donors must have a deep desire to help another woman conceive and be motivated by altruism.
Conclusion
If you meet the qualifications for egg donation, you can contact us and become a donor.
Egg donation is a generous act that can bring joy and fulfilment to another woman’s life. By donating young and healthy eggs, you can give an infertile couple the best chance of successful conception and help them start a family.
