What you need to know about egg donation and donors in South Africa

An egg donor is a young female (we accept donors between the ages of 19 and 32) who donates some of her own eggs to intended parents who are not able to or medically struggling to have a baby. There are various factors which could lead to a decreased amount and quality of eggs. These could include age; early menopause; treatment of medical conditions, e.g. chemotherapy, which could damage eggs; and many more.

Egg donors donate their eggs in instances where the intended mother cannot produce good quality eggs for fertilization or where surrogacy is involved and donor eggs are required as part of the process.

After egg retrieval, the donor eggs are fertilised through IVF with either the sperm of the intended parent or one of them, in the case of gay couples or male single parents, or the partner’s sperm in the case of heterosexual couples. Through fertilisation an embryo forms and is placed back into the womb of the intended mother or surrogate mom.

Egg donation in South Africa is anonymous. This means that neither the donor' or recipients' identity will be revealed to each other.  

Once the intended parent/s decides to proceed with egg donation, a such intended parent/s is matched with a donor. These donor eggs are then used in combination with IVF treatment, to result in a successful pregnancy. Couples also have the choice of using either fresh or frozen eggs. 

Apart from the instance of surrogacy, the factors and circumstances below may lead to the need of a donor eggs by a woman:

• Premature ovarian failure or early menopause;
• Absence of ovaries or after chemotherapy;
• Female age associated with ovarian dysfunction;
• Repeated IVF failure;
• Repeated pregnancy loss;
• A risk of passing on genetic disease.