BONUS EPISODE : Why I donated my eggs

Want to know more about donating your eggs?

Altrui was set up in 2010 to meet the overwhelming need in the UK for egg donors. It’s founder Alison Bagshaw who I spoke to in a previous episode here felt UK couples needed more practical help when it came to finding an egg donor and that women who wanted to donate their eggs needed to be properly looked after, well informed and appreciated for what they were doing

I met Alison up with Alison at The Fertility Show in London in November where we spoke about how best to capture these remarkable women. Alison was planning the Altrui Christmas party which you will hear some of the ladies I spoke to mention which was a chance for them all to get together.

Alison and I wanted to capture what it is to donate your eggs, from the women who walk through Altrui’s doors and so I spoke with three ladies, Faye, Debbie and Jade about their decision to donate and how the experience was for them.

Faye is a policewoman with most of my friends were in their 30’s, and she had a friend dealing with infertility. Faye was already a blood donor, felt she could do something to help other people. She was 24 when she found Altrui and had an initial chat with Alison. Faye explained how Altrui asked her for her about her motivation for donating and explained how other donors have felt going through the process. My main concerns were would it affect my fertility which I was assured it wouldn’t.

Faye talked about how it did her the world of good as she had to take really good care of herself to be ready for when it was going to happen.

She describes how after the procedure, she didn’t feel any discomfort, I didn’t’ feel any different, that she just felt the excitement as to whether it had been successful, it felt so lovely to be a part of someone else’s dream. She said “I came away afterwards feeling so proud of myself”

Faye also explained how “I don’t view it as my own child, this is a gift I’ve given to someone else, so that they can have a family” Faye is yet to have her own children.

Debbie already has two children, loves to travel and was only nervous when she was trying to complete her profile as she thought nobody would like me. It took about a month when Alison called to Debbie to say they had a match and Debbie was delighted to hear that the recipient was an older woman, who also was a keen traveller as she felt they potentially had a lot in common. One question she had was whether the child could have any hold on her estate. Altrui explained that as soon as the eggs leave your body, they belong to the recipient.

Jade is a mum to three children and was keen to donate, she felt the clinics were just putting my eggs in a freezer and then they were dished out when someone needed them. However, she explained how with Alrui it felt like there was someone on the other end waiting that she was donating to, a more special and rewarding experience.

All of the donors talked about how Altrui were with them every step of the way supporting them and answering any questions and that is was a hugely positive and rewarding experience.

You can follow Altrui on twitter here

Did you know… one in six women in the UK face fertility issues?
We specialise in finding, matching and looking after altruistic egg donors with one-to-one, anonymous donation. For more information, please visit our website pic.twitter.com/qq5UzDwny9

— Altrui Egg Donation (@AltruiFertility) February 27, 2019