Starting Egg Donation: All About the Prep Appointment, Medication & Support

You’ve completed your screening, had your implications counselling and are now ready to donate your eggs - what happens next?

Here’s an overview of the first phase of the egg donation process and more about how we support you at this stage:

Your prep appointment

Once you have been matched with a recipient, we will arrange a ‘prep’ appointment. Your prep appointment is with one of our Fertility Nurses, where we talk you through the ovarian stimulation process that produces mature eggs for donation.

This part of the process is tailored to you, to ensure a safe ovarian response and to ensure quality eggs for donation.

We will explain: 

• The specific fertility medications you will be taking to stimulate egg growth
• What these medications do
• How often you will take your medications
• How to administer your medications through self-injection
• How we will monitor you to check your ovarian response every few days
• When you will need to come in for monitoring scans and what we look for

If you are unsure about injecting your medications or are worried about ‘getting it wrong’, our Fertility Nurses will show you how to safely inject yourself, so you can confidently take your medication at home.

Egg donation medications

We will organise all your fertility medications and arrange for them to be delivered direct to you by medical courier.

The fertility medications you will be prescribed are the same hormones that your body produces naturally during the ovulation process. Fertility medications are taken in two phases:

• First of all you will self-administer hormones that are given by injection, to stimulate the ovaries to produce eggs ready for donation. 

• Then once you reach the final stage of your treatment you will administer a further hormone that will ensure maturation of your eggs. This will also release the eggs from the follicle walls, so they are ready for collection.

You will have a final monitoring scan which will show that your eggs are ready. You will then be booked in for your egg retrieval procedure within the next few days.

The whole process of ovarian stimulation and egg maturation takes around two weeks to complete.

Nursing support

We know that taking medications, injections and timing can all seem a little overwhelming. But don’t worry. Our dedicated Donation team and our Fertility Nursing team will help you.

They will give you personal support, advice and reassurance during this crucial first stage of egg donation. Call our team on 0161 300 2734.

If you have any questions about ovarian stimulation and medications, you can also email us: donate@manchesterdonors.com or message us through our dedicated Facebook page. If you would like to donate your eggs with us, you can apply online. Complete our simple application form and we will be in touch.