When you think about it, there's nothing high-tech about a human egg. Yes, it's a miracle of nature, but it has also been around as long as human beings have been around. The egg is standard equipment in mammals in general. So what's this "high-tech" stuff all about?
The answer isn't in the egg itself. It's in the techniques used to place donated human eggs center stage in treating infertility. And these techniques are very important in that approximately 11 percent of all the high-tech fertility treatments performed today use egg donation.
Egg donation played a part in more than 10,000 in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures during 2007. And, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 50 percent of the transfers resulted in live births. Key to the process, however, is finding the right donor.
Basically, you have two broad choices. You can go with someone you know or you can yourtechanswers.com accept the egg donation from a stranger. There are pros and cons to each approach and they have a lot to do with emotional connections.
If you decide to accept an egg donation from someone you know, it might be simply because you like her. You know something about her and her family. You can also keep up with her medical history. If something comes up, you'll know about it and, if action is necessary, you can take it on behalf of your child.
But knowing the donor can bring its own set of problems. After all, the donor is your child's biological mother. You need to have a good idea about where the relationships will go in the future. What will happen a few years down the road when your egg donor will start to see herself in your child's eyes and shape of nose? These questions need to be asked before any commitment is made.
Egg donation from a known person is not as common as egg donation from a stranger. Most women prefer the anonymity. Fertility clinics provide donor programs to help make the process as simple as possible, and the clinic has to follow certain guidelines that ensure medical and psychological screening.
Making the final decision on a donor requires time and careful consideration. And it's easy to feel overwhelmed, so it's best to try to keep it as simple as possible. The most important considerations are health and psychological stability. Trying to find the perfect donor can be an exercise in frustration. Everyone has imperfections.