Egg donors’ motivations, experiences, and opinions: A survey of egg donors in South Africa

Abstract

The objective of this study was to gain information from egg donors in South Africa (SA) which could be pertinent to policy development on egg donation. The study was conducted on egg donors in the database of a Cape Town-based egg donation agency who donated within a year preceding the study. 150 egg donors from the population of 226 participated in an online survey. The main results are: 95% of respondents experienced egg donation as being positive. However, 7% of respondents report not giving proper informed consent, and a similar percentage of respondents also report not knowing whether any medical risks actually materialised as sequelae to their donations. This is a cause for concern and should be investigated further. Regarding donor anonymity, which is currently the legal position in SA, 79% of respondents indicated that they would still have donated had they been legally required to release their identities. Accordingly, possible legal reform away from the current system of donor anonymity seems unlikely to significantly impact the supply of donated eggs. Regarding motivation, respondents report being primarily motivated by wanting to help infertile women. However, respondents believe that a fair and realistic amount of compensation would be about 60% higher than what is currently paid as the national standard fixed amount. This fixed-amount compensation system should be further investigated in terms of its legality, impact on donor profile, and its current amount.

Egg Donation: Exploring Attitudes of Students Towards Donation

“…The scale had three sections: attitudes on ED in general; an estimation of the specific circumstances regarding donation; and attitudes towards openness, or keeping secrets regarding the child's genetic origin. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, which is rare in opinion surveys regarding ED (Baykal et al, 2008;Gezinski et al, 2016;Kenney & McGowan, 2010;Khalili, et al, 2006;Isikoglu et al, 2006;Lee et al, 2017;Skoog-Svanberg et al, 2003a;Skoog-Svanberg et al, 2003b;Stöbel-Richter et al, 2009;Thaldar, 2020). The study of the metric characteristics of the scale using an internal consistency method at this point is inapplicable, since there is a notable oscillation in the attitudes.…”

South Africa’s latest medically assisted reproduction draft regulations: close, but no cigar

“…26 However, the Southern African Society of Reproductive Medicine and Gynaecological Endoscopy (the society) published a guideline of R7 000 compensation for egg donors per donation. 27 This is problematic in at least three ways. First, the society's membership is open only to healthcare practitioners working in the medically assisted reproduction industry, with no representation of donors or patients.…”

Perceptions of Fertility Physicians Treating Women Undergoing IVF Using an Egg Donation

“…In addition, studies have examined the effects of egg donation on parenting [ 22 , 23 ], and on the child’s development and psychological adaptation [ 24 , 25 ], as well as the issue of secrecy, i.e., whether to disclose the use of a donor egg [ 26 , 27 ]. Still, other studies have examined the impact of the donation on the donor herself [ 28 , 29 ]. However, very little is known about the procedure from the point of view of reproductive physicians [ 30 ], as the critical encounter between the woman or couple and the specialist physician has not received the attention it deserves [ 31 ].…”