The Science Behind Egg Donation: What Happens in Your Body?

When couples or individuals are unable to use their own eggs to build their families, they use egg donor services. Individuals who desire to donate their eggs to assist others in building their families will undergo several pre-screening evaluations before they can donate their eggs. At the pre-screening phase, they are medically and psychologically evaluated for any factors that could have a negative impact on the eggs they donate. 

The egg donation process is timed and monitored closely so that as many eggs as possible can be retrieved. In order to understand how egg donation works, it is important to understand how a normal menstrual cycle occurs in a bit more detail. In this article we shall tackle the science behind egg donation, to create clarity on what happens inside the body of an egg donor. 

The Role of Hormones in Egg Maturation

A normal menstrual cycle has four phases which are ovulation, menstruation, luteal phase and follicular phase. These phases are regulated by the release of hormones, which increase or decrease in levels depending on the phase being regulated. The follicular phase, whereby eggs are developed, is regulated by the follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). 

In the natural cycle, several follicles are released from an ovary onto its surface where they develop until  one of these follicles matures. The fallopian tube then draws closer to the ovary and collects the mature egg and begins to transfer it toward the uterus. At this point, the other follicles stop their development. 

Typically, while more than one follicle is released per cycle, only one typically matures. In egg donation, hormones and medications are used to mature more of these follicles. Since this process is also dependent on a woman’s natural cycle, developing as many of the follicles at a go allows for sufficient eggs to be retrieved for treatment, storage, and a little extra, just in case. 

How Ovarian Stimulation Works

Since the body already produces its own hormones during a menstrual cycle, the use of hormonal injections and medications to regulate this process is carefully controlled. This is to prevent hormonal overload in the bloodstream, to manage any side effects, as well, ensure that egg development is progressing as desired.

Ovarian stimulation typically begins by ‘resetting’ the natural menstrual cycle using medications. This process creates a window necessary for the uterine lining to develop in sync with the development of the eggs. Once the reset happens, then the actual stimulation of the follicles begins using hormonal injections. These are administered in regular intervals, in small doses, as the follicular development is monitored. 

When the follicles have developed to a desired size, the final hormone injection is intended to trigger them to become mature simultaneously. There is no telling, of the total that were initially released, how many will mature. What is certain is that more than one will mature, ready for the next phase of egg retrieval, a brief outpatient procedure. 

There is a certain age range required for one to donate their eggs. Based on the fact that younger females have a larger ovarian reserve, they may have more eggs retrieved per cycle than those who are older. However, other factors like overall health, diet and lifestyle do contribute to how well a person responds to ovarian stimulation. 

What Happens to Your Eggs After Retrieval?

How the eggs will be used by their recipients may vary, however, the immediate next step following egg retrieval is to place the eggs in an incubator and evaluate them. An evaluation entails counting how many eggs were retrieved; how many of the retrieved eggs were damaged during retrieval; how many of the undamaged eggs are actually mature and; how many of the mature eggs are free of any anomalies. 

The healthy eggs will then be preserved as they are for recipients who prefer to use frozen eggs. Sometimes a recipient prefers to have use of the eggs soon after they are retrieved, in which case the eggs will be fertilized and transferred to their already prepared uterus. In some cases, recipients prefer to use frozen embryos therefore the eggs will be fertilized and preserved in their embryonic phase. For these, embryo transfer will occur at a future date.

Short-Term & Long-Term Effects on the Body

The effects of the egg donation process itself in the short-term may include ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). This occurs when the body has a stronger reaction to the hormonal injections. Since the process is typically monitored closely, OHSS tends to be a rare occurrence.As well, a person may experience some mild cramping or spotting. In rare cases, donors may experience intra-abdominal bleeding due to injury during egg retrieval. Sometimes, one may experience a delay in the return of their normal cycle, or a delay in becoming pregnant for six to 12 months after the procedure.

There is insufficient information regarding what happens to the body in the long term, following egg donation. This is because studies simply have not been done on this subject. The common, unverified concerns about the long-term effects include infertility, cysts, fibroids and menstrual problems. Medically speaking, these cited effects also have additional factors that cause their occurrence. Therefore, proper diagnosis would have to be done in order to determine their cause.  

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