Becoming an Egg Donor

Why are egg donors required?

• For the treatment of couples in which the woman is unable to produce her own eggs, either because her ovaries never developed normally such as for Turner’s syndrome, or she has had surgery to remove her ovaries or chemotherapy or radiotherapy for cancer or has had a premature menopause, or for older patients.
   
• Couples may decide not to use the woman’s own eggs to prevent passing on a severe life threatening genetic condition to her children such as haemophilia, Huntingdon’s chorea or Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy.
   

What criteria do you have to meet to become an egg donor?

• You must be between the ages of 18 and 35 years.
• You should live in the Leicestershire area or be able to commute regularly.
• You must have medical information about your family (for this reason people that have been adopted may not be eligible).
• You must be fit and healthy with no family history of mental disorders, or inherited conditions.
• You must have a body mass index of between 19-30 i.e. not be extremely underweight or overweight (this can decrease the chance of successfully retrieving eggs).
• Ideally you should have proven fertility and be a non-smoker but these are not essential requirements.
• You must not be at a higher risk of having acquired the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), such as an intravenous drug user.
• You need to be available for a period of 6-12 months post donation for follow up testing
• You are advised not to travel outside the country during the time you are donating due to the ongoing risks posed by both Zika and Ebola
   

I'd like to become a donor, what do I do next?

Firstly, thank you for considering becoming a donor with us.

Please read through the information booklet on this page. If you'd like an appointment to discuss becoming a donor please call: 0116 258 5944 or email donors@uhl-tr.nhs.uk.