Cost of living crisis could lead to increase in women donating their eggs

Experts predict that the cost of living may increase for women who donate their eggs.

In the UK, women under 35 can register to offer eggs for up to £750 at a time to infertile women undergoing IVF treatment.

There is currently a severe shortage and high demand for egg donors, with women in some parts of the country having to wait more than two years to start a family.

Charity leaders told MailOnline that women “could become more curious” about donating their eggs as money dwindles in the coming months.

Rising inflation and the war in Ukraine are expected to nearly double energy bills this fall, and food and fuel prices are expected to rise as well.

Experts said they wouldn’t be “surprised” if more people signed up to “try to make more money.”

But doctors urged women to “think seriously” as being an egg donor has lifelong obligations.

Babies born with these eggs, which are frozen and stored in the bank, can communicate with their biological mothers from the age of 18.

A report from the HFEA revealed that the number of people signing up to donate eggs fell 23% (green bars) in 2020, while sperm donations (yellow bars) fell 14% from the previous year. The HFEA said the drop could be due to local closures and hesitation stemming from Covid catching concerns and growing pressure on the NHS.

According to data from the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA), more than 1,500 women donated their eggs in 2020, a quarter less than 2,000 in 2019.

HFEA He said the drop in donor numbers was most likely due to potential donors’ inhibitions and hesitations about COVID safety.

While only 1,548 women donated eggs in 2020, around 14,000 donated eggs were used in IVF cycles.

And a quarter of those who used donor eggs said they were difficult to access.

Simultaneously with the decline in supply, the number of women seeking donor eggs increased as they later left to try to get pregnant.

The famine forced women to wait up to two years to start a family with donated eggs.

While women waited an average of three months in 2021, one in eight waited more than a year.

Clinics pay women £750 for each treatment that ends with the collection and donation of their eggs.

However, women can achieve more if their travel, accommodation and childcare costs are higher.

The payment will be a reimbursement for gas, childcare and hotel rather than a financial incentive.

Women aged 18-35 can donate their eggs, provided they pass a health check, older women can only do so in exceptional circumstances.

These volunteers are offered guidance to evaluate the implications of their decisions and give their written consent.

The medical process for egg donation is the same as for the early stages of IVF, which takes three to four weeks.

Women take daily injection medications or nasal sprays to suppress their hormones and then begin hormone therapy to increase the number of eggs they produce.

Doctors inject hormones into the eggs to mature them a few days before the eggs are harvested—a 30-minute procedure under general anesthesia.

As more families fall into poverty this winter, Sarah Norcross, director of fertility organization Progress Educational Trust, believes more women can turn to clinics to offer their eggs.

She told MailOnline: “During a cost of living crisis, more women may wonder about donating their eggs to help others start a family.”

However, he noted that the number he will donate will be only a “small percentage” of those who do so due to the nature of the procedure.

Ms Norcross explains: ‘These are medical checkups, hormone injections and egg retrieval.

“It can also be psychologically challenging because egg donors must accept that by the time they reach 18 years of age, all children born as a result of their donation must be identifiable.”

The whole process, from registration to actual donation, can take up to two months.

Cancer survivors, menopausal women, or those with a genetic disease can become pregnant using donor eggs.

Donated eggs are then inseminated and placed in the womb of a woman who is unable to use her own eggs.

Same-sex couples can also have children through a surrogate using donor eggs.

Currently, egg donors are usually family members, charitable donors, or women undergoing fertility treatment who can donate some of their eggs in exchange for free or reduced IVF.

But Professor Allan Pacey, an andrologist at the University of Sheffield and former president of the British Fertility Society, told MailOnline there could be a wave of donations from the public.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if more people sign up for medical practices as a way to make more money. [during the cost-of-living crisis].

“But when it comes to egg (and sperm) donation, I urge people to think seriously about it because it’s a pretty big undertaking and when babies are born there are lifetime obligations.

“I encourage people to accept the consultancy offer so they know exactly what they’re signing up for.”

Although egg donation is considered very safe, some women may react to various fertility drugs, from hot flashes and headaches to life-threatening ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).

Symptoms of OHSS include a bloated stomach, stomach pain, nausea, and fainting.

Clare Ettinghausen, HFEA’s director of strategy and business affairs, told MailOnline that egg donation is “a selfless act that helps people reunite with their long-awaited families in a way they would never have otherwise.”

“But choosing to donate your eggs is a medical procedure and therefore not without risk,” he said.

“We advise anyone considering becoming an egg donor to seek expert advice and expert advice before making a decision,” Ms Ettinghausen added.