After watching my cousin struggle to conceive I knew donating eggs was the right path for me.
I’ve always believed in helping people who are in need wherever I can, and after watching my cousin struggle to conceive for a long time, I knew that donating my eggs so that another woman could have the opportunity to become a mother was the right thing to do for me.
When I was researching how to go about this, I found London Egg Bank along with several other companies that I looked at in detail. From the very beginning, London Egg Bank had the most helpful and friendliest staff you could imagine. They answered every question I had and made me feel at ease from the very beginning of my journey. When it came to deciding where I would make my donation, they were the obvious choice.
Once I was happy with the decision to donate, I set off on my donation journey – which did turn out to be something of a rollercoaster.
My first step in January 2022 was to come off my contraceptive pill injection and to undergo some in-depth tests to make sure I was a suitable candidate for egg donation.
After a very good start, I didn’t then manage to donate until July 2022, as it took so long for my contraception to wear off. But as soon as I had my period, my proper journey to donation could really begin.
“I’m particularly proud that someone I know and have spoken to is going to start their own egg-donating journey because of my story.”
For two weeks I had a scan every other day, travelling from Gloucester to Bristol and back for them, and I had to do daily injections up to 4 times a day. This part of the process did get upsetting at times, as I was on the borderline of the stimulation not working as my follicles weren’t growing as quickly as hoped.
But through it, the team and I kept going and stayed hopeful and in the end, we got there. It was time for egg collection and so I travelled to the Cardiff clinic.
I was extremely nervous about egg collection, but the team in Cardiff were just as helpful as the people I’d already met in Bristol. One nurse said I looked like a rabbit in the headlights, which made me laugh and eased the tension straight away.
I was put under sedation for the egg collection and was finished and on my way home within an hour or so, and I promise I didn’t feel or remember a thing.
I have donated twice now and each time the teams in Bristol and Cardiff have been exceptional I cannot thank them all enough for all their help and support.
For myself and my husband, we talked through all the implications of egg donation including the fact that a donor-conceived person can learn the identity of their ID release donor when they turn 18, and that wasn’t a concern for us at all. To us, any person born as a result of my egg donation will be welcome to contact us if they want to, we feel strongly that people should know their full story and we would be happy to help with that if it happens.
I have been very open with family and friends about being a donor, and I have had the most amazing support and response when people hear what I’m doing. I was quite nervous about telling some people that I know, but they have all been in awe of what I’ve done.
And I’m particularly proud that someone I know and have spoken to is going to start their own egg-donating journey because of my story.
For anyone considering egg donation, I would encourage them to make sure they have thought through all the considerations before they start. Don’t jump in without doing your research, as it’s not a quick and easy process.
The teams at London Egg Bank put a lot of time and effort into keeping you safe, but you need to keep yourself safe too. Be prepared for the ups and downs, your hormones will be all over the place, and you’ll cry at the most random things whilst taking the injections!
But I can promise you this - you and everyone around you will be so proud of what you are doing, and the opportunity you are giving to someone to create their own little family.
Could you become an Egg donor? Make a real difference to another woman’s life. Your generous gift will give another woman the chance of having a family of her own
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