Egg Sharing for Recipients
The MFS egg sharing programme increases the number of donor eggs available to women who are unable to (or prefer not to) use their own eggs to conceive with IVF or ICSI treatment.
Egg sharing recipients are cared for by the usual team of clinical, scientific and administration staff at MFS, and also benefit from contact with the egg and embryo donation coordinator, Donna Rea-Gardner.
Who may benefit from egg sharing recipient treatment?
Women who require IVF or ICSI treatment and who require donor eggs to conceive, for reasons including:
- age - as a woman ages she has fewer eggs and as they age too, they may develop chromosomal abnormalities reducing the chance of conceiving and increasing the chance of miscarriage if she does conceive. Over the age of 40, 66% of women have trouble conceiving and 40% of pregnancies that do occur, end in miscarriage
- premature menopause
- infertility as a result of cancer treatment
- ovarian failure
- risk of passing on hereditary diseases, eg cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy or fragile ‘X’ syndrome
Egg share recipients are usually 49 years old or younger and in good health. Requests from women over 50 years old are considered on an individual basis and assessed by members of the MFS clinical team.
Egg sharing also benefits the women who are the egg share donors by reducing the cost of their treatment. These women have to meet the rigorous screening criteria for donors, including:
- under 36 years old
- within a normal weight range - ie have a BMI of 22 to 25
- have no personal or family history of inherited illness or abnormalities
- non-smokers
- free of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C
- their eggs must be of sufficient quality to give them and the recipient the best chance of conceiving
The recipient of the sharer’s donor eggs pays the greater part of the cost of the egg share donor’s treatment and the cost of a standard package of fertility drugs for the donor, in addition to the cost of her own IVF or ICSI treatment and the drugs she requires.
What does treatment involve?
Potential egg share recipients liaise with the MFS egg and embryo donation co-ordinator and, if they are self-funding their treatment, will join the egg recipient waiting list.
Following an initial consultation, treatment assessment, follow-up appointment, screening, matching and treatment planning appointment and possible counselling, an egg share recipient will begin IVF or ICSI treatment as recommended by the clinical and scientific teams at MFS.
Go to information about IVF treatment
Go to information about ICSI treatment
Egg allocation
Eggs are allocated as follows:
- if six intact eggs or more are collected, the recipient receives at least half of the donor’s eggs
- if an even number of eggs is collected, both receive half
- if an odd number is collected, the extra egg is given to the recipient
- if the donor produces only one or two eggs, she keeps them herself as there is a chance that they are of poor quality
- if three, four or five eggs are collected, there are two options:
- the donor gives the recipient all the eggs, OR
- the donor keeps all of the collected eggs and the recipient’s treatment is postponed and she is credited towards a future treatment cycle, as per the MFS cancellation policy
Matching
MFS matches, as closely as possible, the following characteristics of the donor and recipient:
- ethnicity
- skin tone
- eye colour
- hair colour
- height
- build
MFS takes into account any preferences or restrictions a donor makes when matching a donor with a recipient. Treatment can go ahead only if a matching patient who requires IVF or ICSI is ready to start her treatment, so the recipient may need to wait until the donor is available.
Synchronising the recipient and donor
Once matched, the donor and recipient will be treated by different members of the clinical team. Both women begin their down regulation drugs around the same time. After two to three weeks the donor begins her fertility drugs to stimulate the development of egg follicles and the recipient begins HRT to help grow a suitable endometrium. The recipient then begins progesterone pessaries to prepare her uterus to receive the embryos. Following egg collection, fertilisation and embryo transfer, both the donor and recipient will know if they are pregnant within 14 days. A six week dating scan will follow two weeks after any positive pregnancy test.
Identity of egg sharers
Both the egg share recipient and egg share donor remain anonymous to each other, although the recipient may receive some non-identifying information about the donor, such as a description of her physical characteristics and personal interests.
Go to more information on donor identity and the law
What is included in the recipient egg sharing treatment cost?
- treatment planning
- ultrasound monitoring scans
- teaching how to give injections
- sperm preparation
- standard IVF insemination or ICSI insemination of eggs
- embryo transfer
- embryo freezing and storage for first year (if suitable)
- pregnancy test
- six week dating scan and/or follow-up to review the treatment cycle
In addition, the recipient bears the cost of:
- screening for the egg share donor
- the cost of drugs for her own treatment
- standard package of drugs for the egg share donor
What is not included in the donor egg sharing treatment cost?
- initial consultation or follow-up consultation (as appropriate), OR
- treatment assessment or repeat screening (as appropriate)
- fee for freezing sperm (if required)
- fee for donor sperm (if required)
- either:
- the HFEA levy for the creation in vitro, or transfer of, embryos, or
- the HFEA levy for using donor sperm (if required)
How long does treatment take?
Screening a donor and matching a recipient usually takes up to four weeks, although in exceptional circumstances may take longer. Following this, egg sharing for recipients takes an average of eight to 10 weeks from the beginning of the treatment cycle to pregnancy test.
Costs
Cost of egg share recipient administration fee at MFS: £510
Cost of egg share recipient treatment with IVF at MFS: £5,485
Cost of egg share recipient treatment with ICSI at MFS: £5,995
More information
Go to the MFS Patient Treatment Information page and download the following infosheets:
- Egg Sharing for Donors
- Egg Sharing for Recipients
- IVF: In Viro Fertilisation
- ICSI: Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection
In addition: