What Are the Long-Term Effects of Egg Donation?

The ovaries contain all the eggs a female will use in their reproductive years. This stockpile of eggs is called the ovarian reserve, and the eggs are called oocytes. At birth the oocytes are about one to two million. By the time a female reaches puberty, her oocytes are about 300,000. Each menstrual cycle, about 11 to 20 oocytes are released at a time and they begin developing to maturity. One of these usually becomes dominant, maturing faster than the rest and is released into the fallopian tube for fertilization when it is fully matured. The remaining oocytes stop developing and are discarded by the body. 

This process repeats itself each cycle and with time, because the number of oocytes is limited, the ovarian reserve gradually becomes diminished. After a certain age i.e. 35 years, a woman will find it increasingly challenging to build the family naturally with each passing year. At a point her ovarian reserve will be depleted and she will no longer have a menstrual cycle. This phase of her life is known as menopause. Even so, there are many concerns about the long-term side effects of egg donation. So let us talk about the impact of egg donation in the long term.

Research on Future Health and Fertility

Egg donation is a medical process that aims to mature more than one egg at the time several follicles are released. In this way, rather than the body having one mature egg and discarding the rest, several mature eggs can be retrieved and used for family building. This medical process does not interfere with the oocytes in the ovarian reserve. A female can donate their eggs up to six times without depleting her own egg supply. 

Long-Term Fertility

Egg donation in the long term has not been known to cause infertility. As we had mentioned earlier, about 11 to 20 follicles are released per cycle and these are what ovarian stimulation targets for egg donation. A person’s ovarian reserve retains the eggs that it would have had under a normal cycle. 

It is important to remember that  later in life, the ovarian reserve gets diminished. This means that even without egg donation, after a certain age, a woman will have challenges building her family naturally. More and more women are choosing to build their families later in life and often face challenges doing so naturally. Egg donors have an option to freeze some of their eggs for their own future family building plans should they choose to do so later in life.

Long-Term Research

Egg donation is a fairly new entrant to family building compared to sperm donation. As a result, egg donation does not have any long-term research available to show what the long-term effects are on donors. What could help to bridge this information gap is for studies to be done following egg donors after donation. In this way, professional healthcare providers would be better equipped to address matters of long-term fertility and changes in reproductive health, if any. 

Emotional and Psychological Effects

In order to ensure that the egg donor is mentally prepared for this process, they undergo a psychological evaluation. This ensures that they do not have any history of poor mental health, or signs of being negatively impacted emotionally by the process of egg donation. 

Screening

Egg donation occurs over several phases beginning with egg donor screening. The health of the egg donor is evaluated physically in terms of BMI; medically for infections or diseases; genetically for hereditary conditions; psychologically for any mental issues that could impact or interfere with the egg donation process. 

These factors are weighed against a person’s lifestyle which includes sleep, stress levels, diet, alcohol, tobacco and drug use and exercise. The purpose of this is not just to ensure the successful retrieval of healthy eggs, but to ensure that the egg donor is in the best of health prior to beginning the process. 

Typically an egg donor who is in good health before egg donation will recover well afterward. In the short term, the medications and hormones used to develop the eggs may have some side effects, which quickly resolve themselves after the eggs are retrieved. 

Anonymity

An egg donor may enter into egg donation desiring to remain anonymous. The degree of anonymity in egg donation is usually determined by the recipients of the egg donation. Egg donor agencies tend to seek out the best possible matches for donors and recipients, therefore they do consider  anonymity preferences of both parties. 

Currently, there is an increase in advocacy where people born from egg donation are seeking more transparency in finding their egg donors. In addition, there are online services that assist people in tracing their ancestry using DNA samples. In the long-term, there is a real possibility that egg donors may not be able to maintain their anonymity indefinitely.

Termination Clauses

Each egg donor contract has clauses regarding termination and dispute resolution. Typically, an egg donor is required to fulfil their contractual agreement to have the eggs retrieved. Since the egg donor enters into this process willingly, they cannot be forced to complete the cycle if they are unable or unwilling to. Discontinuation mid process however can result in financial penalties. In the long term, the cost of terminating can have a negative impact financially on an egg donor.   

Psychological Effects

In addressing the mental and emotional aspects of egg donation thoroughly, an egg donor has autonomy in their decision when they choose to proceed. Two main reasons for screening beforehand is that the medical treatment itself using hormones could cause mood shifts in varying degrees. There are medical risks involved in the egg retrieval procedure, as well, donors have no parental rights to the children that will be conceived from their eggs. In addition, there are some psychological issues that can be passed on through the DNA putting a child at risk of experiencing these issues at some point in their life. 

Summary

Egg donation has seen many people build their families in circumstances where they did not have viable eggs of their own. For egg donors, this process is fulfilling and they often donate more than once. While the medical process may have some side-effects and comes with some risks, it typically does not have a negative impact on a person’s ovarian reserves. 

There has not been any research or sufficient information regarding the medical, physical, psychological, or reproductive impact egg donation has had on egg donors later in life. As research continues to be done in the field of reproductive medicine, there is plenty of room for growth and discovery. It is expected that this would lead to more information being available regarding the long-term effects of egg donation. In the meantime, there are fertility experts at the Utah Fertility Center who are available to respond to any queries or concerns you may have about egg donation. To know if you are a suitable candidate for egg donation, contact us today!.

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