Vitalab - Egg Donor Program - The Vitalab Egg Donation Programm

Being an egg donor can be a very rewarding experience. For couples unable to conceive using their own eggs, egg donation is their only hope of starting a family. Egg donors are compensated for their time and effort and the medical screening is completely free. Your confidentiality is absolutely guaranteed.

To become an egg donor at VITALAB, you must be a woman between the ages of 21 and 35. Females of all races and ethnicities are invited to participate. You will be asked to complete a personal and medical history questionnaire, and to participate in medical and psychological screening. The purpose of this careful examination is twofold: to determine that you are medically and genetically appropriate as an egg donor, and to ensure that there is no likelihood that egg donation will be harmful to or difficult for you in any way. Your participation, and the information you provide, remains completely confidential. There is no cost to you for any of the screening tests, nor are you required to belong to a Medical Aid in order to participate in the VITALAB egg donation programme.

The Egg Donation Programme at VITALAB began in January 1990 and is especially aimed at women with infertility problems caused by premature menopause. Since then, numerous other reasons for donor eggs have developed such as removal of ovaries due to diseases such as cancer or benign conditions such as cysts or endometriosis. It is also indicated for those with the risk of transmitting genetic illnesses to their offspring as well as for older females, such as women in their forties.

Recently, many women find themselves wanting to commence a family unit at an age when their own eggs have aged, losing their ability to fertilise normally, implant and develop into an ongoing pregnancy.

In all these cases, egg donation is the only way of becoming a mother. And it is possible, thanks to the fact that there are women who take part in a strictly controlled egg donation programme to assist these women on their road to parenthood.

Can you imagine being told that you would never be able to have children? Infertility affects several million women each year. Using the latest medical technology some of these women can realise their dreams of having a family but they cannot do it without you, the egg donor.

As an egg donor you able to give a gift of life to a couple that want a child to love. Can there be a more precious gift?

The process of egg donation is not easy, but for an egg donor, the satisfaction of knowing that her gift has helped created a family is worth the effort. Being an egg donor is a rewarding experience in itself but there are other benefits as well. The egg donor will receive a complete free medical screening including blood testing. The results of medical screening and testing will be made available to you for your records. For your time and effort you will also receive financial compensation for reasonable expenses incurred, at the completion of the cycle. The pregnancy rate per embryo transfer is 55%. The cumulative pregnancy rate of patients after 3 cycles of egg donation reaches 92%. The miscarriage rate is 15%. This contrasts with miscarriage rates of more than 50% in women conceiving with their own eggs, older than 42yrs, should they be fortunate enough to do so.