Australia

What does the process of the Known Egg Donor Program entail? 

We begin this journey with a initial video Call with IP’s:

Donors will be required to do a video call with IP’s (Intending Parents / Recipients) at the initial stage of the whole process. This is usually about a 30minute call whereby the IP’s get to meet the donor and get to know a little about them and vice versa. 

Pre-counselling video call with counselor:

A video call will be set up between you and one of the psychologists prior to your cycle. This is so that the psychologist can have a brief chat with you and ask some questions and answer any you may have. This is just to ensure you are comfortable, ascertain you understand the process and have committed to it the match willingly. Refer to “Pre-Counseling video Call with Councilor” doc for some standard questions you can expect. 

Donors will have the opportunity to meet their IP’s in person once in Australia. This usually happens at an IP & Donor dinner, whereby all IP’s and donors attend a dinner at a lovely restaurant to chat and get to know each other a little more. - Whilst you are in Australia, you will have the opportunity to spend as much (or not so much) time with your IP’s as you and your IP’s are happy and comfortable with. This is different with every donor and IP and must be respected from both sides. Consult with Traveling Donors Egg Donor Coordinator. At this meeting you will be provided with a detailed explanation of the procedures involved in ovarian stimulation and egg collection. This is to ensure your comfort and safety and to answer any questions you may have. It is important that you understand and are comfortable with every aspect of the process. You will be asked to complete and sign all required consent forms. A Donor Coordinator will also complete your registration with the Fertility Group. This initial visit can take up to one – two hours.

Psychologist Consultation: 

Part of this procedure is an interview with a psychologist to discuss any potential issues which may arise from a psychological perspective. This interview will be attended by the donor and the IP’s, and sometimes the psychologist requests separate sessions too. The discussion around these counseling sessions relates to the using of the donor’s eggs and to ensure the donor realizes the implications of such. 

Example: 

If the egg donation results in a child, will the IP’s be comfortable with explaining to the child they are an ‘egg donor baby’. Also, from the donor perspective, ‘if I have children in the future, how will I feel about not knowing if they have genetic half siblings?’ ‘If I wish to have children in the future, and I find I am unable to, how will I then feel about the donation now being made?’ Also, some generic questions around why you chose to become a donor, etc. For most people these are not major issues, but to ensure all aspects are considered from the donor as well as the IP’s, these kinds of topics are discussed in the counseling session. This consultation can take up to one - two hours. 

Future contact: 

Part of being a known egg donor means that the IP’s and donors may have contact even once the egg donation process is complete. i.e. should the donation result in pregnancy the IP’s may keep in contact with the donor and share updates, news, pictures etc. Furthermore, should there be any children born as a result of your donation, contact between the IP’s and donors may be kept open (the extent to which this contact needs to be discussed and agreed upon between IP’s and donors.) There are also different types of altruistic Known Egg Donors:

Known: 

In this arrangement, you and your IP’s will have each other’s contact details, meet in person, and have the opportunity to get to know each other. Contact after the donation process is complete can be kept open between IP’s and donors, and any resulting children. 

Semi-Known:

The amount of information that is shared is limited. For example, donors and IP’s may decide that they do not want to exchange contact information or be in contact after the egg donation process is complete. However, the donor will still be required to meet the IP’s and attend the counseling sessions, but may request that limited further contact be made i.e. updates re potential children resulting from the donation etc. Being a known / Semi Known donor requires that your identity will be known to the recipient and at the age of 18 any resulting children born of your donation, will have the right to access your information as registered on the clinic’s donor registry. The clinic will however contact you as a courtesy to inform you that this information will be released. 

Tell me about the legal side?

Egg donors can withdraw or change their consent prior to insemination or fertilization of the eggs. Once fertilization has taken place, the embryo belongs to the recipient. An important factor is where you stand legally as an egg donor. As an egg donor you have no legal rights or responsibilities to any child born as a result of egg donation. Under Australian law, the woman giving birth to the child is the legal mother of any child born. The intending parents are legally and financially responsible for the child / children and have full custody and parent rights to that child / children. The donor has no legal right to child / children and has no financial or legal responsibilities. This project was created in an effort to assist Australian couples who wish to undergo treatment in their home country as such it is important to note that this is an altruistic open donation. We do encourage you to do your own independent research on what it means to be a known egg donor to ensure that you are able to make an informed decision before proceeding with your application.

Altruistic known donors receive no valuable compensation as Australian legislation prevents payment for any human tissues. All routine out-of-pocket expenses for an egg donor are reimbursed by the recipient for whom the egg donor is donating to. However, if there are any complications requiring unexpected hospitalization or loss of work time, these are not financially covered by the Fertility Group. However, all egg donors will have Standard Health cover purchased by their recipient couple, this should be used if there are any unforeseen complications so that the egg donor is covered up to Australian standards. Known Egg Donors will book and cover all flights, travel and accommodation costs on your behalf. We cover all donor testing, medical screening, medical costs and medication costs (excluding donor birth control pills as it is a requirement for donors to be on birth control prior to donor cycles).