Case Studies
Egg Sharing Offers Couples Access To IVF Treatment
Following successful IVF treatment at Bourn Hall, Emma is keen for other couples to consider taking part in the Clinic’s egg share programme which helps other women become pregnant while making treatment more accessible.
"I am a nurse and I wasn’t aware that women going for IVF treatment could share their eggs. When I was asked by the Clinic whether I would consider becoming an egg sharer, I knew it was something that I wanted to do. Having tried for a baby for many years, I had so much empathy for other women in a similar situation."
Emma said, "I had no issues around egg donation. Both my husband and I are very practical people and to us egg sharing is similar to carrying a donor card or giving blood.
"To me it makes complete sense; it makes IVF more accessible financially to the woman prepared to egg share, whilst at the same time benefiting women who may otherwise have to wait years for an egg donor."
Emma was advised she needed IVF following 3 natural ectopic pregnancies which had damaged her tubes.
"My opinion on infertility is that it is all about ‘if onlys’. I could have a baby ‘if only’ my fallopian tubes worked. For others it could be ‘if only’ my eggs/sperm worked.
For me IVF was the perfect answer as the treatment was originally developed to help women with blocked tubes. Helping another person overcome their ‘if onlys’ seemed the right thing to do. Especially when I was getting so much help myself for which I will be eternally grateful."
Emma had a first cycle of IVF as an egg sharer, as a result she became pregnant with her daughter and had a number of embryos frozen, as she explains.
"Egg sharing is when a woman goes for an IVF cycle as normal but gives away some of her eggs. I produced eleven eggs, six of these I kept and the rest I gave to an anonymous recipient."
Her daughter is a result of the first embryo transfer. Emma then had a further cycle of IVF in which she was an altruistic donor giving away all her eggs, before having another frozen embryo transfer from her first cycle which resulted in the twins Robert and Sian.
Over Easter 2008 Emma talked about her experiences as an egg donor when waiting lists at the Clinic had increased to more than two years due to a shortage of donors coming forward. With Emma’s help the ‘Easter Dozen Appeal’ for altruistic egg donors encouraged more than a dozen women to come forward and resulted in twelve couples being offered the chance of eggs.
She continued, "It gives me so much satisfaction to think that as a result of my egg sharing I have potentially helped other women to have a family. Being able to share my eggs has been incredibly rewarding and has given me a real sense of making a difference."
