Counselling and Care Throughout Your Donor Journey

In this blog, we set the scene of the donor counselling regulations in the UK and discuss how talking to a counsellor could help you have the most rewarding donor experience.

Donor anonymity in egg donation

In the UK, the law on donor anonymity changed in 2005 so that all donors must be identifiable to any child born from their donation. Once donor-conceived children reach 18, they have a legal right to apply to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and learn identifiable information about their donor. This doesn’t mean that if you become an egg donor, every child born from your donation will reach out to you. However, if you are their donor, they could contact you if they choose to. This helps donor-conceived adults understand their biological heritage on a deeper level. With this change, the HFEA regulations were updated to reflect the changing commitments of becoming an egg donor.

HFEA regulations on counselling for egg donors

The current regulations mean that anyone who donates eggs, sperm or embryos in the UK is offered the choice of speaking to a counsellor to make sure they fully understand the implications of their decision to donate. At Egg Donors UK, it’s part of our policy that all donors have a counselling session with one of our fully qualified counsellors before egg collection to ensure egg donation is the right decision for them.

Counselling benefits everyone involved in the donation process, helping donors, recipients, and any future donor-conceived children to have the most positive donation experience possible.

The benefits of talking to a counsellor about egg donation.

Our in-house counsellors have supported many egg donors through the donation process over the last 12 years. Having access to a specialist team of fertility counsellors, well-versed in the details of what the process involves, can give you more precise insights than other people who may currently be in your support network. Speaking to an independent person who is objective can help to provide:

Mental clarity

Deciding to donate your eggs is a significant decision that you may have been considering for months or years before taking the first step to donation. If you are considering egg donation but are unsure if it's the right decision for you, our team can help you make an informed choice. When you reach out to our team, our dedicated donor programme coordinators will talk you through the entire process in detail and answer any questions you have. We will give you all the information to make sure you are 100% certain that this is the right decision for you. We will always ensure that you are fully prepared to become a donor and are certain in your decision before proceeding any further.

Different perspectives

Egg donation is a very considered decision.We're sure you’ve thought a lot about whether donation is right for you, but our counsellors may be able to help you consider your thoughts from another perspective and ask you some questions you may not have thought of. In a counselling session, they might ask you questions such as;

• Do you want to know the birthdays of any donor-conceived children born from your donation?
• What would you imagine the relationship to be like if your donor-conceived child reached out at 18?
• How would you feel about your family potentially meeting your donor recipient and their donor-conceived child in the future?

Extending your support network

Generally, reactions to learning that your loved one is becoming an egg donor are positive; however, factors such as age or religion may influence the reaction you receive. If your family or support network is not familiar with egg donation, you may also need to educate them about what it entails. Our counsellors can provide support in helping you speak to your family and friends. Whether that be discussing the process, pointing you to resources, or helping you practise how to tell them that you are becoming an egg donor, how to explain your decision, and how to prepare for their reaction.

At Egg Donors UK, our team always recommends informing your support network about your donation, as you will need help throughout the process. This may include assistance with taking medication at home in the lead-up to your donation or picking you up from your egg collection appointment.

Extra support from the team at Egg Donors UK

We offer all our donors a complimentary counselling session with our experienced fertility counsellors. If you would like to book a follow-up appointment after your first counselling session or feel you need more support to decide if egg donation is right for you, you can speak with your dedicated donor programme assistant about our additional support options. They are always happy to answer any questions you may have about donations throughout your journey, from the initial enquiry to the future after your donation.

You can contact our donor programme team by calling 01613002734, or you can start your application to become an egg donor here.