Egg Sharing: A better way to cheaper eggs?

Although I am not an egg donation expert by any means I would like to broach the subject of egg sharing. Its not a common situation however, with the cost of IVF and Egg Donation in general, more Intended Parents are looking at ways to cut back the costs of ART and egg sharing can be one way.

Egg Sharing can be done when 2 Intended Parents/Couples like the same egg donor and want to share her egg donation. If she has a good track record of producing many eggs per medicated cycle or there is an agreement up front of how the split will be determined then it can work out to everyone's advantage. Because an egg donor does not get compensated per egg...just per donation, she is not compromised in anyway. The IP's will split all the costs regarding her fee, medication, egg retrieval, travel etc. The eggs then would be divided per the agreement and fertilized with each IP's sperm. Then following the protocol, the embryo transfer will take place per the RE's orders.

How do you find someone willing to share an egg donor? Talk to your clinic, if they have an in-house donation program. Tell the coordinator that you are interested in egg sharing and what you are looking for in a donor. She/he can put the word out to potential patients and see if anyone is also interested in the same type of donor. This same conversation can be had with the egg donation agency. Some agencies do not advocate shared donations. Its best to know that before you sign on with them so all the options are open. (I would like to note that a couple going through IVF with more then enough eggs for themselves maybe open to "donating" the extra eggs in return for the retrieval procedure or other costs covered by the recipient couple. This is something else that can be discussed with your Doctor.)

One issue to consider is the emotional aspect. How would one party feel if the other did not conceive? Or should that information be shared in the first place? When considering the costs of IVF and ART in general, Egg Sharing may be one of the less costly solutions.

Sharon
http://www.infertilityanswers.net/