The old stigmas are fading, and public opinion is catching up with the miracles of science and medicine. As a result, egg donation is becoming a frequent and routine element of reproductive treatment for thousands of women.
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably heard that egg donation can be an excellent opportunity to support infertility-stricken families while earning up to $10,000 per cycle. The main query on your mind, however, is undoubted whether it’s safe to donate eggs once you start giving the notion considerable thought.
What Risks or Potential Side Effects Should You Be Aware of Before Committing?
Donating eggs could seem a little science fiction-y or frightening if you’re unfamiliar with fertility medicine. However, physicians have been performing this for a while. Only the first stage of an In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) cycle, which has been used since the 1970s, involves the stimulation of the ovaries and egg retrieval. Since the first IVF baby was born, the procedure has been rigorously scrutinized for safety and improved, polished, and tested.
Going through an egg donation cycle is highly safe for most women, and the main difference is that you’re donating them instead of using IVF or freezing your eggs during the donation process.
With a Thorough Egg Donor Screening Procedure, Reduce Your Risk Factors
Any egg donation procedure begins with a careful screening to ensure you’re a good candidate. Not simply to ensure that you can produce high-quality eggs but also for your overall wellness.
The medical professionals at the Rite Options fertility clinic will run several blood tests and scans to ensure your hormone levels are all within normal range and that your ovaries are healthy and working regularly. This reduces the risk considerably by allowing the doctors to identify any potential issues before you begin taking medicine to stimulate your ovaries.
It will also assist minimize your risk factors if you follow some instructions, such as refraining from drinking alcohol or having sex throughout the donation period.
What Are the Adverse Effects of Egg Donation?
- Injections and blood tests
- Drug interactions for fertility
- The syndrome of ovarian hyperstimulation (OHSS)
- Problems with egg retrieval
Egg donation has some risks, just like any medical operation. You should be aware of a few adverse effects and extremely uncommon problems.
Injections and Blood Tests:
Throughout the cycle, you will require several blood tests as well as injections of fertility drugs. You should be ready for that if you’ve ever had a blood test or an injection since you may find it a little painful, and there may occasionally be some redness or a slight bruise where it was administered.
Side Effects of Fertility Drugs:
The drugs you’ll take to stimulate your ovaries are hormones, and the good news is that they are stronger versions of molecules your body naturally produces. They are also timed to align with your cycle and are dosed to help your ovaries to mature more eggs.
However, because you will consume more of these hormones than usual, you can experience a few moderate side effects that frequently resemble PMS symptoms. Everyone responds differently (and many women don’t! ), but you might feel bloated, have a headache, have aching breasts, or be a little moody. Some women experience a slight weight increase, which often goes away following their subsequent period. An allergic reaction to the medicine is conceivable in incredibly rare circumstances.
Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS):
When a woman’s ovaries overreact to the fertility drug, it can have a rare adverse effect (less than a 5% chance of occurring in any particular cycle). Severe stomach discomfort, nausea, and bloating are a few signs and symptoms of OHSS. The screening exams you undergo before starting the cycle, diligent monitoring, and dosage will all work to reduce the risk of developing OHSS. Most OHSS instances are minor and will go away on their own in about a week.
However, in incredibly uncommon circumstances, this condition can worsen. An egg donor should see a doctor right away if she starts to feel sick or is short of breath.
Problems With Egg Retrieval:
You’ll go to the egg donor agency or a fertility clinic so that the mature eggs are extracted after taking the fertility medicines and getting the “trigger shot,” which concludes the ovarian stimulation phase of the procedure. The egg retrieval treatment is a quick, extremely safe procedure that lasts roughly 30 minutes. You will receive a mild sedative from the clinic so that you won’t experience any pain and will likely forget the treatment. You will then wait in the recovery area until you feel entirely awake for about an hour while the nursing staff keeps an eye on you. The same anesthesia that dentists use to extract your wisdom teeth is also utilized during egg retrieval. Patients may very infrequently experience an adverse reaction to the anesthesia, and it is scarce for egg retrieval to result in bleeding or infection.
Egg donation is generally very safe because the risks and side effects are comparable to any routine, minimally intrusive medical operation. Donating your eggs has no known long-term side effects or health issues, and it won’t prevent you from having children in the future.
