Most egg donors report satisfaction after donating, openness to meet children
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Key takeaways:
- Most egg donors report feeling positive after having donated, with many reporting an openness to contact the resulting children.
- Some donors reported concerns regarding health and fertility after donating.
DENVER — Most oocyte donors remain positive about the decision to donate and report a willingness for future contact with the children born from donations, whereas some expressed health and fertility concerns after donating, data show.
“There is a clear need to better understand the long-term psychosocial impact of oocyte donation for donors,” Sarah R. Holley, PhD, psychologist at the University of California, San Francisco, told Healio. “The study shows that, years after their donation, most donors feel positively about their donation experience, though some are concerned about its impact on their health or fertility. While they generally don’t think about the donation often, many donors are curious about the children born from their donation and the majority are open to future contact if requested by the child after age 18.”
Holley and colleagues conducted a retrospective survey study, presented at the ASRM Scientific Congress & Expo, with 234 oocyte donors (mean age, 34.5 years) who completed at least one donation cycle for the in-house egg donor program between 2009 and 2021 from two clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area. The survey asked how donors felt about donating, if they were concerned that donating affected their health, how much they think about children born from their donation and if they are willing to have future contact with children born from their donation.
Respondents had a mean of 2.8 oocyte donation cycles with a mean of 7.4 years since last donation.
Most (88%) donors reported feeling positively about donating. More than half (59%) of respondents reported not being concerned that donating affected their health, whereas 22% reported that they were concerned. Most donors (73%) reported that they were curious about the children born from their donation and 11% of all respondents reported often thinking about the children born from their donation compared with 89% who never or rarely thought about the children.
When asked about willingness for future contact with children born from their donation, 47% of respondents reported that they would someday like to meet the children while 30% were ambivalent and 20% disagreed. When donors were asked how open they were for future contact if asked once the child was an adult, 63% reported being willing, 76% reported willingness to communication with the child via phone or email and 68% reported willingness to meet the child if asked. Overall, only 11.5% of donors indicated being unwilling for any future contact.
“The next step is to explore factors influencing donor satisfaction, openness to future contact and health concerns.,” Holley told Healio. “Answers to these questions will help us to better support women as they consider whether being a donor is right for them.”
For more information:
Sarah R. Holley, PhD, can be reached at sarah.holley@ucsf.edu.