Understanding Egg Donation – Anonymous vs. Full Disclosure

The World Egg Bank offers two different types of disclosure to our donors: anonymous or full disclosure.

What is anonymous?
Anonymous egg donations apply to United States recipients and in other regions where by law egg donation remain anonymous. In these cases the only information about the egg donor shared with the recipient is; age, ethnicity, medical his tory, family history, childhood or recent photographs, education, etc. Identifying information such as name, address, contact information is never released to the recipients.

What is full-disclosure?
Full-disclosure is an option for our donors who agree to donate their eggs to UK and Australian recipients. In these regions, anonymous donations are no longer allowed so that people born from donated gametes are able to trace their biological history if they desire. Agreeing to full disclosure means that the donor is open to the possibility that if a child is born from her donation, the child might be able to contact her. By doing so the egg donor is opening herself to being an eligible donor for about 50% of The World Egg Bank’s current recipient’s in full disclosure regions in addition to the recipients from anonymous regions.

Legal Implications of full-disclosure: Donors, recipients and the individuals born as result of the donation, have legal rights and responsibilities.

• Individuals born from donor procedures have a right to obtain identifying information of their donor, once they reach the age of 18.
• As a donor you do not have any legal responsibility for the people/person born as result of your donation.
• All donors and recipients are required to have counselling before proceeding to donor treatment.
• If you and the recipient agree to the release of identifying information, contact, and/or information exchange can occur before the child is 18 years of age.

Donor’s identifying information will be kept in a government registry in the region the recipient/intended parents reside/where the child is born. If a child whom resulted from donation chooses that they want to have access to the identifying information of the egg donor they must apply through the government registry and go through counselling to get approved access.

If the child is approved access the donor would be contacted, offered counselling and asked if she is comfortable giving consent to the release of information.

Keep in mind that just because a donor agrees to full-disclosure does not guarantee their eggs will be sold to recipients who reside in full-disclosure regions. It also does not guarantee that if their eggs are sold to recipients in these regions that a birth will occur or that a child born from a donation would contact their biological donors.

from The World Egg Bank http://www.theworldeggbank.com/blogs/understanding-egg-donation-anonymous-vs-full-disclosure/

Top foods for egg donors

Many egg donors describe their experience during their donation cycle and post-retrieval as being similar to PMS symptoms, such as cramping, bloating, fatigue, soreness, etc. There is a way to help conquer these common side effects and that is through the magic of food! We’ve compiled a list for donors to help fuel their body of key nutrients before, during and after their cycle:

• Quinoa: This complex carb boosts serotonin levels, the feel-good hormone
• Omega-3s: Whether it’s salmon, chia seeds, or fortified greens Omega-3s have essential anti-inflammatory properties
• Lean Meats: Such as red meat, chicken or turkey have B12 to fight the fatigue
• Dark Leafy Greens: Kale, spinach, romaine have great supply of vitamin A, an antioxidant which helps in supporting immune functions
• Bananas: The less you sleep, the more susceptible to pain you are and bananas carry melatonin, the sleep hormone, to help you get a good night sleep before and after retrieval
• Fiber: Foods with high fiber and water content such as lentils, berries, and beans will relieve the feeling of bloating and discomfort
• Pumpkin Seeds: If a headache has you down then eat some of these magnesium-filled super seeds
• Eggs: Rich in protein and healthy fatty acids, eggs will make donor’s feel full and satisfied while also fueling up on vitamins A, B2, B5, B12, K and many more
• Saltine Crackers: These crackers give a good fix of sodium while also being easy on the tummy, an ideal combo those who might be dealing with nausea or depleted appetite

In addition to these yummy options, our clinical staff also advises our donors to remember to drink plenty of fluids during and after their retrieval to stay properly hydrated. Sports drinks such as Gatorade are ideal since they give donors electrolytes and sugar that help aide in reviving the body of nutirents and promote recovery.

*Please note that every body is different and cycle related side effects to medications, retrieval and recovery can vary from person to person.

from The World Egg Bank http://www.theworldeggbank.com/blogs/top-foods-for-egg-donors/

Eggsquisite facts about ovum (aka eggs)

1) An egg is the largest cell in the female body. It’s about the size of a needle point and could even be seen with the human eye. Even more fascinating, it’d take about 15,000 sperm to make the size of one egg!

2) I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “You’re born with all the eggs you’ll ever have,” which is true, however the average woman will only ovulate about 400 – 500 times in her life between puberty and menopause. That means hundreds of thousands of eggs are naturally absorbed into the body.

3) The lifespan of a matured egg is only about 12-24 hours. If it is not fertilized during that timeframe then it is flushed out of the body. Although the egg’s lifespan short a sperm can live in a woman’s fallopian tubes for 1 to 5 days, so it’s possible to get pregnant within a 5 day period after unprotected sex if the egg ovulates while sperm is still present in the reproductive tract.

4) When vitirified (frozen), female eggs have a much longer lifespan. The oldest egg used to produce healthy baby was frozen for nearly 25 years.

from The World Egg Bank http://www.theworldeggbank.com/blogs/eggsquisite-facts-about-ovum-aka-eggs/