Egg donation is a boon for sterile couples

Egg donation is a process through which the ovum of women is collected for assisted reproduction and biomedical purpose. In case of assisted reproductive technology (ART), the ovules of women are used in In-vitro fertilization process. The eggs collected by the women are fertilized in the laboratory by combing it with the sperms. Infrequently, the ovules are frozen and stored in a laboratory for later use of intended parents. Normally, egg bequest is a main part of ART and the ASRM (American Society of Reproductive Medicine) and FDA has issued particular guidelines for ovum bequest.

Ovum donation is required for many reasons. When a female partner is unable to have genetic children or the chances of pregnancy are considerably low, they can seek help from ovum contributors. Added to this, some ladies are born without ovaries and are unable to give birth to their own child. In some cases, women reproductive organ is removed due to infections or other circumstances. In certain situations, due to a genetic disorder, women cannot give birth to a child as there may be more chances of transmission of diseases to the baby. But, in some cases, although women have none of these issues, they are still not able to conceive. In other words, these women suffer from undiagnosed infertility and thus turn towards egg donor. Gay male couple also uses ovum bequest and seek help from surrogates to complete their family.

Anonymous and semi-anonymous egg donors are recruited by the donor agencies and IVF clinics. In some countries such as UK, the law entails non-anonymity ovule contributors but, in some countries like Spain, South Africa, France and Czech Republic, the law entails anonymity egg contributors.