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Sometimes couples are unable to conceive even with the help of medical intervention, and may need sperm, eggs or even embryos donated by other people to help them have a child.

Women can also have babies for other people and this is called surrogacy. All of these procedures are highly emotive and you’ll need plenty of thought, counselling and support if you decide to go ahead.

What is egg donation?

Some women are unable to produce eggs, so an egg donor can be used during IVF treatment. The process involves removing eggs from a donor’s ovary, fertilising them In Vitro and implanting them back into the uterus of the woman who will mother the child. The procedure is quite complex as hormonal drugs have to be used to stimulate the donor’s egg production and the eggs have to be collected by surgical techniques. For this reason egg donors are hard to come by especially since the laws on anonymity are changing. A ‘known’ donor like a friend or relative can donate eggs, or an unknown donor can donate.

There are contentious issues which surround egg donation, such as the woman carrying, giving birth and bringing up a child who was conceived with their partner’s sperm and a donor’s egg. The child may also want to trace his or her ‘donor’ parent later in life.

Other controversial situations have arisen recently, such as a mother donating her eggs and freezing them for her daughter (who is under ten) because her daughter suffers from a disease where she is unable to have children when she is older. This would mean that the daughter gives birth to her half sister one day.

Woman may also want to donate eggs before they undergo treatment such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy which will destroy the eggs in her body. This means that after the treatment if she wants to become pregnant she can use the frozen eggs.

Some interesting facts:

• Every year around 1,500 people are born through donor assisted conception.
• Since the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority Act was introduced in 1991, over 18,000 donor children have been born in the UK.
• There are over one million donor offspring worldwide.
• After 2008 (when the children born after 1st Aug, 1991 reach 16), donor children intending to marry can contact the HFEA to find out if they are related to their partner.
• Cryos, the world's largest sperm bank is based in Denmark and exports to 35 countries including Britain. Of their donors, 12% would continue to donate if anonymity was abolished.

(Thanks to the HFEA)

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