I became interested in egg donation last summer when a coworker of mine mentioned, during our lunch break, that she was in the process of donating.  I had heard of the process before but never gave it much thought until she told me about her experience.  She was in the last phase of the process, the self-injections, and was so overjoyed with the experience.  She talked about how comfortable it had all been and how great it felt to help a family grow.  This got me interested and I immediately began researching my options.  I quickly discovered a wealth of positive feedback, both from donors and recipients.  Next I brought the idea up with my doctor, who gave me her approval.  She assured me there was little health risk involved and agreed that donation would be a great gift to give a hopeful parent-to-be.

During this “discovery time,” I was in the middle of a cross-country move from Boston to Los Angeles.  Once I arrived in LA and gave myself time to get comfortable, I began looking for a donation agency.  I found BHED online and – after reading countless, positive reviews of the company – I decided to apply.  The application process was easy.  I began with an online profile and included all of my history.  I then met with a BHED consultant to review my background and go over the details.  After our meeting I was added to the database and the rest is history!  I’m currently awaiting a match.

The idea of being part of something way bigger than myself is very exciting.  I’m 22 years old and have no plans to start a family soon.  Since I’m not currently using my eggs, I hope to give them to a recipient who is hoping to have a child now.  I’m comfortable traveling, as well as having either an open donation or no contact whatsoever with the recipient; basically whatever helps the parent feel more at ease.  I feel very blessed to have found BHED and am excited to contribute to a family!

- Rene #13291

Today’s donor spotlight, Rose #11943, is 23 years old and a proud graduate of UCLA.  An athletic, quirky beauty, Rose is a static trapeze master who speaks Kiswahili and has worked with NGO’s and service organizations in Africa and Guatemala.  She’s available for a cycle immediately and is looking forward to helping a couple in need. Her personal essay is below.

“A short history of me:

I graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA (unweighted) and was accepted to UCLA in the field of political science theory, which was my major until being accepted into the UCLA film school.  I completed my undergrad degree in Cinematography (3.7 GPA).  I practice and teach static trapeze and other circus skills, and have always enjoyed physical adventure (kayaking, hiking, etc).  I’m not particularly competitive except with myself.  I enjoy the sciences a great deal, and have always academically excelled in the arts and humanities.  In high school I was very involved with the theater and directed several large productions as a fundraiser for a free women’s cancer clinic.  I draw, paint and sew on my own time, while my degree at UCLA focused on both the technical and artistic side of photography and lighting.  I love to read, to be outside, to find new music and to get to know new people.  I will try any food once.  (I don’t know if any of that is genetic, but it probably can’t hurt).

My family: I come from a large family, while I only have one sister (she is 15 and brilliant), my grandmother had eleven children and I have around 30 first cousins (many of whom have 2 to 5 children of their own).  Within that large group there’s an incredibly diverse range of talents, but a common thread of ‘proactive’ with a sizable handful of artistry and the occasional Olympian (gymnastics and kayaking).  Osteoporosis in the 80+ crowd is common.  My grandfather has it fairly severely.  He also fell down the stairs and broke his neck two Christmases ago, was in a coma for two weeks, and is now back to hiking with my grandma.  I think this demonstrates rather well the stubborn immortality complex that has been common amongst all of my older relatives (my grandma still refuses to retire).

Over the past three years one of my friends became infertile due to ovarian cysts, and another participated as an egg donor in a program in northern California.  After seeing the immense hurt of discovering one might not be a mother, and watching another friend experience helping a couple achieve the family they desire, I’m interested in also helping a couple reach that goal.  I love children and do intend to raise a family of my own, but for me it is in the distant future… However, I have these eggs sitting around if you’d like to use some…

-rose”

From our companion site, Ask Kate:

Q: I’m anticipating 2 major out-of-town events: my brother is graduating college on 5/5; and close friends getting married on 5/26.  What is your experience with timelines and cycle startups?  What are some possible scenarios?  Have you ever had doctors allow you to go out of town for 2-4 days during a cycle?  And if so, will they work with you pending your consistency with the protocol and availability for major follow-ups and procedures?  I’ll of course ask my doctor when I go in for results in a month, but I’d like to have an idea and start getting my ducks in a row ASAP.

A: First, congratulations on being matched.  Big news.  As for your schedule – you have been picked.  The chosen one, literally.  The cycle cannot go forward without you.  That said, ALL of the responsbibility lies on you at this point – and until the second the anesthesiologiest awakens you post-retrieval.  If there is anything, anything, anything you need to make your med team aware of, do it immediately, whether you think it’ll be an issue or not.  You have the right to list some blackout dates, but that doesn’t mean you get to dictate the schedule; it means it’ll be taken into consideration.  If you have signed legal, and you are in the throes of testing, you are responsible for showing up for appointments every single time they’re on the schedule.  It’s not just you going through the calendar, it’s the recipient/surrogate, so everything you’re doing is in sync with another person, and if you can’t adhere to the schedule, it can’t move forward.

I have said this so many times it hurts: When you’re a donor, your cycle and responsibility trumps everything.  Every.  Thing.  Not only are you being paid to abide, your eggs are the life bread that are keeping someone else’s dreams of a family going.  Once you start your hormone injections, your doctor may want to see you every other day.  I have done cycles where I have run the risk of hyperstimulation and I had to be in the office daily at 8am until retrieval.  There’s no telling how your cycle will go.  Be very upfront with anything you may see as a problem and DO NOT underestimate information.  Good luck.

- Kate Lee, 6-time BHED donor

www.askaneggdonor.com