CRGW Ltd: 07029220
EGG SHARING – INFORMATION FOR RECIPIENTS
Screening
Blood tests will be taken from you for:
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HIV
Hepatitis B and C
Rubella
You will also need a pelvic scan.
The Egg Provider
A full personal and family medical history will be taken from the provider. They are advised that
failure to disclose inheritable disorders about which they know or should reasonably have known
could result in an affected child suing them in the future.
Although the provider is screened for certain viruses, such as HIV, it is possible, that the
laboratory may report a negative test when it may just not be able to detect a virus with the tests
available. This is due to the nature of the tests and is unavoidable.
Screening of the provider may reveal an unsuspected infectious or genetic condition and
appropriate counselling and treatment would be arranged, this would also exclude them form
proceeding with the arrangement.
Counselling
Prior to undertaking treatment, we will ask you / your partner to be seen by an independent
counsellor who will explore ethical, and legal issues with you. Here she may discuss concerns
regarding welfare of the child issues, including any feedback from the clinic meeting.
It is important that you consider carefully all these before proceeding
Ethical Issues
You will be asked to consider the following issues;
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How you feel about having a child from donated eggs?
What you will tell the child about his / her genetic origins? It is important that a child born
from donor treatment be told about their origins in early childhood. There is evidence that
finding out suddenly later can be emotionally damaging to children and family relations.
The subject should be approached from an early age. The Donor Conception network
provides four downloads on how to approach this with children at different ages.
You should consider the needs of children born as a result of your decision to egg share,
and the needs of any existing children now and in the future
There is the possibility that children born as a result of this treatment could be unknowing
siblings who in the future may live in the same geographical area.
Document Name: PI 44 Egg Sharing – Info for Recipients
Approved By: Umesh Acharya
Author: Amanda O’Leary
Version 3 (June 2013)
Page 1 of 5
CRGW Ltd: 07029220
Legal Issues
Since 1991 the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has kept a confidential
register about all sperm, egg and embryo donations. This includes a physical description, ethnicity
and (if provided) occupation and interests. The register includes all treatments and resulting
children. The following information can now be accessed;
Donor-conceived individuals can receive:
18 year olds will be able to obtain:
 identifying information about the donor including name, address, date of birth and physical
appearance if the donation was made after April 2005
 Identifying information from donations made prior to April 2005 if the donor has
retrospectively removed anonymity.
 Anonymous information if the donation was made before April 2005 and anonymity has not
been removed
 Donor conceived offspring who intend to marry, or enter a civil partnership can submit a
joint application to establish whether they are genetically related.
 Non-identifying information about their donor conceived genetically related siblings
including number, sex and year of birth.
 18 year olds will be able to find out identifying information about donor conceived
genetically related siblings, if both sides consent, and will be able to find out identifying
information about their donor, if applicable.
16 year olds will be entitled to:
 Non identifying information about their donor and their donor conceived genetically related
siblings
 16 year olds who intend to enter an intimate physical relationship can find out whether they
are genetically related.
Parents of donor-conceived individuals:
 Can be provided with non- identifying information about the donor by the clinic when they
receive treatment
 Upon request the HFEA can provide them with the number, sex and year of birth of other
offspring with the same donor.
Donors
 Have the right to access the following anonymous information about their genetic offspring;
number, sex and year of birth of people born as a result of their donation
 The HFEA is expected to contact and forewarn a donor of the fact that a donor conceived
person has requested identifying information about him or her.
 Donors will be able to contact the clinic or the HFEA for this information
Further Legal Issues
 Egg providers are allowed donate eggs which lead to the creation of a maximum of 10
families. The provider can restrict the use of her eggs to fewer than 10 families or place
other restrictions on her consent.
 The egg provider may withdraw her consent to the agreement at any time before any eggs
or embryos created form the treatment are transferred to you, used for research or allowed
to perish.
Document Name: PI 44 Egg Sharing – Info for Recipients
Approved By: Umesh Acharya
Author: Amanda O’Leary
Version 3 (June 2013)
Page 2 of 5
CRGW Ltd: 07029220
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The outcome of the treatment cycles may be disclosed to the provider and recipient if both
have consented. (This is up to the individual and we will respect your decision)
Non identifying information may be given to you about the provider and we also encourage
her to write a short biography which can be given to any child resulting from the
arrangement.
Egg providers have no legal claim to any children born from their donation.
It is illegal for payment to be made as part of an egg sharing arrangement
You will be the legal parent of any child resulting from donated eggs that have been
fertilised and implanted in your womb.
Medical Issues
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The provider may not produce enough eggs and this cannot always be anticipated as the
ovary’s response to the stimulating drugs can vary from cycle to cycle.
Potentially there is risk of over stimulation for the provider as we try to ensure enough eggs for
all – this can result in serious complications for the provider, we are not prepared to take this
risk and will plan treatment accordingly.
Because the provider is sharing her eggs with you, there will not be many embryos available to
freeze. Some embryos are unsuitable for freezing.
There is a possibility that only one of the couples in an egg share arrangement may become
pregnant. Information about the outcome of your cycle can be shared if you both consent. The
implications of receiving information about the outcome of the treatment of person(s) with
whom the eggs are shared, and allowing information about the outcome of one’s own cycle to
be divulged need to be considered.
In an egg sharing arrangement, both the egg provider and recipient have fertility problems and
this should be considered, as the egg provider may have an undetected egg problem causing
her infertility, which would therefore affect your embryos.
As we are treating both the Egg Recipient and Egg Provider there is a potential conflict of
interest because we are trying to do our best for both of you .We will ensure that this does not
interfere with your clinical care and you will each be allocated a different nurse. If you feel that
you have we have in any way treated you unfairly please discuss this with us.
We would emphasise that neither you nor your egg provider should feel under pressure to go
ahead with the treatment
If the egg provider discovers a previously unsuspected genetic condition, the centre and the
HFEA should be informed immediately, and consideration would be given to informing the egg
recipient, the couples where there have been live births, and couples where pregnancies are
on-going. In all circumstances the appropriate tests would be offered and counselling
arranged.
The Treatment Cycle
This involves the provider undergoing a cycle of IVF and at the same time you take medication to
prepare your womb for an embryo transfer.
To allow synchronisation of your cycles you may need to commence either the oral contraceptive
pill (if not contraindicated) or a progesterone tablet. If you have functioning ovaries we will initially
“switch off” your hormones with daily injections to enable us to control your cycle. After 2-3 weeks
you will be seen for a scan and then commence tablets to thicken up your womb lining. This
usually takes about 2 weeks. At the same time, the donor will be undergoing stimulation to her
ovaries. On the day of her egg collection your partner will be asked to produce a semen sample
(unless donor sperm is used) The embryologist will inseminate the eggs and leave them in an
Document Name: PI 44 Egg Sharing – Info for Recipients
Approved By: Umesh Acharya
Author: Amanda O’Leary
Version 3 (June 2013)
Page 3 of 5
CRGW Ltd: 07029220
incubator overnight. They are checked for fertilisation the following day. You will be contacted
and given an appointment for an embryo transfer 2-5 days hours after the egg collection. You will
continue your medication and do a pregnancy test 14-16 days after the embryo transfer. As with
all fertility treatment there is a risk of ectopic pregnancy and multiple pregnancies.
No more than two embryos can be replaced for you, irrespective of your age, as the eggs are
derived from a donor of less than 36 years of age. To reduce the risks of multiple pregnancy we
now encourage a single embryo transfer.
If your womb lining does not become thick enough for embryo transfer at the appropriate time, we
will freeze and store all the embryos that were created for your use and you can return for a
subsequent attempt at a later date.
Consents
There are a number of consents and forms to complete before treatment can proceed.
 We will require a copy of your passport
 You will need to consent to enable us to keep your GP informed of your progress and to
request information from them if there are any welfare of the child concerns.
 Welfare of the Child questionnaire
 Consent to Embryo Transfer ( female)
 Consent to use and storage of your sperm and embryos for your partners treatment ( male)
 If using donor sperm there will be additional consents concerning legal parenthood (see
information sheet regarding using donor sperm)
 The egg sharing agreement
The Egg Sharing Agreement
NB. There is a separate consent form for the agreement and the following outlines its
contents
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If the egg provider produces 8 or more eggs she will share 50% of them with you. If she
produces an odd number, you will get the extra egg. If she gets less than 8 eggs, we
believe that there are too few to share and she will have the option to either keep them all
or donate them all to you.
The egg provider can withdraw from the egg sharing programme at any time before the
embryos have been transferred. If this happens we will find you another donor.
If there are less than 8 follicles on day 10, the provider may choose to continue to egg
collection and keep all the eggs for her own use.
In these circumstances the provider is advised that she will not be suitable as an egg
provider in the future.
The cost of the drugs is to be borne by the recipient individually and not reimbursed in the
above circumstances.
Anonymity
Neither you nor your egg provider will have any identifying information about the other and we will
ensure that you attend the clinic on different days or times
Document Name: PI 44 Egg Sharing – Info for Recipients
Approved By: Umesh Acharya
Author: Amanda O’Leary
Version 3 (June 2013)
Page 4 of 5
CRGW Ltd: 07029220
Divulging Information about Cycle Outcomes
You can choose to make information about the outcome of your cycle available to the egg
provider. This can be helpful emotionally and in planning future treatments, alternatively you may
prefer not to divulge any information- we will respect your wishes. You may wish to receive
information about the egg provider’s cycle outcome, if consent is given. Again you have the right to
choose and we will respect your decision.
Cycle for the Egg Recipient includes: ultrasound scan
 consultation
 counselling
 the provider’s IVF cycle
 the recipient’s embryo transfer cycle
 embryo freezing for one year
The cycle cost DOES NOT include
 Drugs for the individual couples
 Additional procedures not included in usual IVF/ICSI package
 Embryo Freezing after the first year
 Semen analysis
 Male virology bloods
 Screening bloods for both partners
For further information please see:
DC Network
National Gamete Donor Trust
Document Name: PI 44 Egg Sharing – Info for Recipients
Approved By: Umesh Acharya
Author: Amanda O’Leary
Version 3 (June 2013)
Page 5 of 5