Different Ways to be an Egg Donor

Did you know there’s more than one way to become an egg donor in Manchester and Cheshire?

At Manchester Fertility, through our Manchester Donors programme, we welcome women who donate eggs in a variety of ways: altruistically; via egg-sharing for reduced-cost IVF; to their partner as a same-sex couple; or to someone they know as a ‘known donor’.

In all cases, these women meet the criteria to be an egg donor which includes being aged 18-35, non-smokers and healthy with no family history of genetic or hereditary conditions.

All egg donors also receive implications counselling with our specialist team to ensure they understand what being an egg donor really means now and in the future.

Our dedicated Donation Team explains all the egg donation options and the differences between each:

Altruistic egg donation in the North West

Altruistic egg donation is when you donate your eggs simply to help someone else have a baby. You’ll be compensated for your time, expenses and commitment to the process, receiving £750 compensation per donation cycle.

Egg-sharing for reduced-cost IVF

Women who need IVF themselves can also donate eggs. This is called egg-sharing, and as an egg-sharer you receive your private IVF cycle with us at a reduced-cost of £1,000 in return for your donation.

When you egg-share, half of the eggs we collect during your IVF cycle – that aren’t being used for your own treatment – are donated to our egg donor programme. Your shared eggs go directly into our donor egg bank, so other women who need donor eggs can start their treatment with no delay.

We have strong success rates for our egg-sharers. Over 46% of women become pregnant through their egg-sharing cycle with us.

Partner IVF: Same-sex female couples

Many female same-sex couples we help want to share the experience of having a baby together. One partner will use her eggs for the IVF cycle, whilst the other partner receives the resulting embryo and carries the baby. This means that one partner is effectively ‘donating’ her eggs to her partner. If she wishes, she can also donate some eggs to our donor programme too, if she fulfils the criteria, to benefit from reduced cost IVF with donor sperm.

Known donation: Donating eggs to someone you know

It’s not uncommon for someone who needs an egg donor to find a family member or friend who is willing to help them have a baby, and at Manchester Fertility we’ve helped many couples to have a family with the help of someone they know. If you’ve been asked to be an egg donor, even though you’re known to the people you want to help, you still have to undergo the same screening and tests as anonymous egg donors to ensure that you’re actually suitable to be an egg donor.

As an egg donor, you’re not the legal parent of any child born and have no parental rights. The recipient of your eggs is the legal parent as the birth mother. You will all be given counselling by our expert team to explain the implications of known donation so you can ensure it’s right for all of you.

Donating eggs: Get in touch

If you’d like to discuss your egg donation options, have a chat to our friendly Donation Team as a first step on 0161 300 2734.

You can also come and meet our egg donation team at this year’s Fertility Show at Manchester Central (25-26 March). Book your tickets here.