5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming an Egg Donor
1. Recovery is in my opinion the hardest. It sometimes took a solid 5-7 days for my body to start feeling normal again. I was really bloated post retrieval and needed time to recover. I was exhausted and really did not feel well. Going to work every day was really hard after my retrievals, and physical labor was not easy, almost impossible some days.
2. The process is really not fun or easy. The application process and testing can take months. Once you are ready to move forward and cycle, you need to put your donation cycle at the top of your priority list. You not only have to take a lot of injections, but you will need, (sometimes daily), blood work and or ultrasounds to make sure your body is responding to your medication.
3. There are risks associated with egg donation. There is risk involved with any medical procedure, but I feel that egg donors are not always aware of these risks. While most donations are pretty seamless, you should know what you are putting your body through, look for warning signs for possible problems and what can go wrong during and after the donation. Most donors have mild discomfort after the retrieval. Serious complications can happen, and include bleeding, infection, and constipation. In extremely rare cases there can be internal damage to organs and heavy bleeding.
4. Who is going to be your doctor, and have you met their staff? This is a very personal procedure; you want to be comfortable with the medical team that is treating you. This procedure requires internal ultrasounds, as well as an internal ultrasound with needle guided egg retrieval. You will have light sedation to keep you comfortable during the procedure, but this process is much more pleasant knowing who is taking care of you during this procedure.
5. Egg donation is a selfless act, so rewarding and truly amazing gift. There are so many wonderful people in this world who are struggling with infertility, and you can change people’s lives. I used to think I was helping an infertile couple, but their whole entire family’s life changed from this beautiful baby. Knowing that I contributed to someone’s dreams was enough to make the entire process completely worth it.