Due to the shortage of egg donors many women have to wait for suitable donors to come forward and unfortunately some end up missing out on valuable IVF treatment due to the small numbers of people volunteering their eggs for donation. However egg donation is not quite as easy as sperm donation, but what are the risks involved?

There is an understandable shortage of donors willing to harvest their eggs for use in egg donation for fertility treatment. However there is also a shortage of sperm donors and when you compare the two different means of obtaining the donations this seems quite strange. Sperm is quickly and easily obtained and contained and is ready for instant carriage to the recipient. Egg donation requires the egg donor to take a series of fertility drugs before harvesting of her eggs is undertaken via a small procedure carried out under local anaesthetic.

Fertility drugs taken by the egg donor make her produce a larger amount of eggs, due to the stimulation of the ovaries. It is these fertility drugs that cause the egg donor the most problems when it comes to egg donation.

A tiny percentage of egg donors end up suffering with OHSS. This stands for Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome, and is where the ovaries end up over responding to the fertility drugs. Hence numerous eggs begin to mature instead of the intended three or four. As a result the ovaries become enlarged due to the mass of eggs and this enlarging brings with it a feeling of general discomfort and occasionally distension of the egg donor’s abdomen.

Occasionally around one in two hundred cases of OHSS end up in hospital. However symptoms usually settle down by themselves. Mild cases require no other treatment than rest and pain killers whereas in the rarer cases intravenous fluids are given along with the opportunity of having excess fluid removed from the abdomen in order to reduce the distension and discomfort. Very occasionally treatment means the egg donation needs to be abandoned. However this does not cause any long term problems for the egg donor.

Egg donation causing ovarian cancer has not been proved. There is a suggested link between the fertility drugs usage and increased risk to ovarian cancer. But like many cancer links, this has not yet been supported with any firm evidence.

The actual egg retrieval procedure can cause bleeding and in a small amount of cases infection. There have been reports of egg donors experiencing headaches, head colds or night sweats due to the imbalance of hormones at this time. However there is no evidence to support any theory that egg donation can cause infertility to the egg donor.

The procedure of IVF egg donation is one which carries with it a lot of hope and goodwill. The risks to the egg donor are negliable. The time and effort spent taking fertility drugs and in harvesting your eggs will offer someone the opportunity to alter their life forever. Remember however to look after your own interests whilst making others dreams come true.

Author Bio: This article is contributed by Alison Pullen from the ConceptionDirect Publishing Team. She works together with founder Nigel and writes fertility and relationship articles. You can find more about Egg Donation and ConceptionDirect by visiting their website and blog.

Category: Womens Interest
Keywords: egg donation, egg donor, egg donors