Donate eggs for cheaper private IVF treatment

We’re often asked if it’s possible to become an egg donor if you need IVF yourself. The answer is yes – and in return, you’ll receive your cycle of private IVF with us at a reduced cost.

Donating some of your eggs and undergoing IVF at the same time is known as egg-sharing, and it’s a way to make private IVF more affordable for those who need it, whilst helping other women who are relying on an egg donor to have a baby at the same time.

Am I able to egg-share?

As you’ll be donating eggs as part of your IVF treatment, the same criteria applies as if you were just donating eggs altruistically. You must be aged 18-35 to egg-share, in good health with a BMI within normal range, and a non-smoker including e-cigarettes or have quit smoking at least three months prior.

Your initial pre-treatment investigations, including your ovarian reserve test, will give us a good indication of how well your ovaries will respond to the stimulation needed for IVF, and if you’ll produce enough eggs to share between your own IVF cycle and our egg donor programme.

How many eggs will I donate?

If your stimulation goes well, half of your eggs retrieved in our clinic theatre during your IVF cycle are donated, whilst you keep the remaining eggs for use in your own cycle. But this is dependent upon how many eggs are actually collected. If less than eight eggs are retrieved, you’ll usually keep all of these for your own treatment with no additional cost to you and no further commitment to our egg-sharing programme.

We’ll explain how egg allocation works before your IVF or ICSI cycle begins.

Does egg-sharing affect my chances of IVF pregnancy?

No, you’re no less likely to get pregnant than you would be if you didn’t egg-share. You’ll only egg-share if you produce enough eggs. At Manchester Fertility, we have strong pregnancy rates for our egg-sharers, thanks to our advanced IVF techniques and technologies, including Time-Lapse EmbryoScope incubators and EmbryoGlue.

Can I egg-share to someone I know, such as my partner?

We’ve helped many same-sex couples to share with your partner successfully. You may decide on this option if you are younger than your partner and so have the better quality eggs due to your age, but you want your partner to carry the baby and give birth. Your eggs will be shared between your partner for use in donor sperm IVF, and our donor programme. We have UK sperm donors available now, with no waiting list.

Find out more about egg-sharing

To see if you are eligible or if have any questions about donating eggs and having IVF at the same time, apply online or contact the donation team on 0161 300 2730.