Fertility egg donation, or Donor Egg IVF, is an alternative form of IVF treatment for women who can no longer produce their own fertilizable eggs. It works in exactly the same way as regular IVF, except that the eggs to be fertilized are gathered from another woman before being fertilized by sperm from her husband or partner and then placed inside her.
Is this a viable form of IVF treatment, and if so what are the advantages and drawbacks of it?
The crucial difference that has to be considered is that successful regular IVF treatment (and natural fertility treatment) produces a baby that, genetically, is the same as a non-IVF baby, i.e. it has the genetic makeup of both parents in equal shares. Both mother and father are able to pass on their own genes, wedded together in their own unique combination, to produce another human being in their own likeness.
This has to be contrasted with fertility egg donation IVF, where only the father can pass on his genes, the egg being provided by an outsider (it may be someone known and approved by the couple concerned but all the same the genetic link is still severed). In some cases the sperm also is provided by an outside male donor, where the male partner of the egg recipient is infertile as well, in which case neither of the parents actually pass on their genes to the child.
To pass on our own genetic inheritance to the next generation is a basic and natural urge felt by the vast majority of human beings. When this is not possible for one or both of the potential parents, they should carefully consider the implications of fertility egg donation before embarking on the complex and expensive procedure that IVF encompasses.
Bringing up a child is often fraught with difficulties and challenges too numerous to mention in any detail here, but there’s no doubt that the genetic link between parent and child, the fact that the child is in part at least the parent’s own flesh and blood, makes possible the imposition of the duties and burdens of parenthood on the parents by the child without breaking point being reached.
All parents will know what I mean here. The love the baby instinctively and freely gives its parents is invariably an ample reward for all the inconvenience, expense and trouble, from changing diapers when a baby to the school run later on.
This natural bond is weaker or lacking altogether in the case of a baby made possible through fertility egg donation, so if this applies to you then you should make sure you appreciate the challenges ahead and can love the child as your very own whatever the future may hold. If you have any doubts, you may want to investigate further to see if natural fertility treatment may be possible after all.
Just go to our home page and complete the form for your free copy of “How The Female Body Really Works” to start your quest to have your own baby – naturally.
Philip Gegan
