EGG SHARING - INFORMATION FOR EGG PROVIDER
One of the ways of paying for your IVF treatment / ICSI is through our Egg Sharing Programme. In this programme you get your treatment at a significantly reduced price. In return, you agree to share the eggs collected from you in that cycle with a woman who requires egg donation.
Suitability
For a woman to be considered for the Egg Sharing Programme she has to be under 36 years old with no personal or family history of inherited illnesses or abnormalities. She will be seen by the Consultant and a Specialist Nurse for assessment and she will also have independent counselling. The response to any previous fertility treatment she may have had and the result of hormonal tests (basal serum FSH) will be reviewed before deciding on her suitability. The GP will be contacted (with the patient’s permission) for details about medical and family history.
Prior to treatment you will be screened for sexually transmitted diseases (chlamydia and gonorrhoea), hepatitis B & C, HIV (the Aids virus) and cystic fibrosis. You will also have a blood test to check your chromosomes (Karyotype)
Egg-Sharing Arrangements
The egg sharing works as follows:
- It costs you £………. for IVF (£……. for ICSI) for both the treatment and drugs. These are non-refundable.
- The woman sharing your eggs will remain anonymous and you will not be given any details about her. You will also be anonymous to her.
- If you get 6 eggs or more, you will share them equally with her. If you get an even number, each one of you will get half the eggs. If you get an odd number, you will get the extra egg. She will never be given more of your eggs than you get yourself.
- If you get less than 6 eggs, you will keep them all yourself and have your treatment as planned.
- You may withdraw or vary your consent to sharing your eggs or the use of embryos produced from the eggs at anytime up to the time of embryo transfer, without financial penalty. You may also at any time withdraw or vary your consent to the storage of embryos created from your donated eggs.
- According to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, you will not be the legal parent of any child resulting from your donated eggs.
- You will be given suitable opportunity to take part in counselling about the implications of the proposed treatment.
- You will be asked to sign two consent forms -HFEA (00)7. One HFEA (00)7 consent form will apply to the use of the eggs and the storage of the embryos created for your own use. The other consent form applies to the use of the donated eggs and the embryos created from them, for use by the recipient couple.
Important Notice: Please note that your treatment can go ahead only if a matching patient who requires egg donation is ready to start her treatment. This means that you may need to wait for a variable period of time till such a patient is available.
Alternative Options
Another way of paying for your treatment is to pay in full. In such case you keep all your eggs for yourself and you do not have to wait for the availability of a suitable recipient.