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Being an egg sharer
- Visit Lister Fertility Clinic, the UK’s largest private IVF unit
- Dedicated donor team
- Over 50% success per fresh attempt
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BEING AN EGG SHARER AT HCA UK
Why choose us?
Egg sharing is a unique programme we’ve developed to benefit two groups of women, those who need IVF treatment or would like to freeze their eggs and those who are unable to produce their own eggs so need an anonymous egg donation. As a thank you for your generosity, if you choose to share your eggs you won’t be charged for your own standard IVF treatment, apart from the small HFEA licence fee.
While we’re proud to have the largest egg donation programme in the UK at HCA UK, many couples are still waiting for their chance to start or grow their family, making donating your eggs an altruistic act. Our egg sharers have an impressive live birth rate of over 50% per fresh attempt, significantly higher than the national average of 38.1%.
While we’re proud to have the largest egg donation programme in the UK at HCA UK, many couples are still waiting for their chance to start or grow their family, making donating your eggs an altruistic act. Our egg sharers have an impressive live birth rate of over 50% per fresh attempt, significantly higher than the national average of 38.1%.
If you’re the one who needs IVF treatment or would like to freeze your eggs, you can choose to share your eggs with another woman and you won’t be charged for your own standard treatment. Both women benefit, making this programme a genuine win-win.
Safety is always our priority here at HCA UK, so ideally, an egg sharer should be between the ages of 21 and 35 without any history of inheritable conditions. You should also have a BMI of less than 35 and markers suggesting a normal egg reserve.
You’ll be tested to ensure that you have a good egg reserve, have a consultation with a doctor to discuss your medical history and family medical history, complete implications counselling and complete donor screening tests such as: HIV antibody, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, haemoglobin, blood grouping and cystic fibrosis and you’ll also undergo chromosome studies.
With your consent, we’ll write to your GP to obtain your past and present medical history too.
With your consent, we’ll write to your GP to obtain your past and present medical history too.
No, as a thanks for your generosity you will not need to shoulder the cost of any investigations, standard IVF costs, blastocyst transfer or drug costs. We do ask however that you pay the £100 HFEA license fee.
Some additional costs such embryo freezing for your own IVF treatment and ICSI (if it’s required) will also incur a charge, although the ICSI fee is significantly reduced if you’re sharing your eggs.
If you are egg freezing and sharing your eggs, there’ll be no charge for the treatment or the first year’s storage of your frozen eggs.
Some additional costs such embryo freezing for your own IVF treatment and ICSI (if it’s required) will also incur a charge, although the ICSI fee is significantly reduced if you’re sharing your eggs.
If you are egg freezing and sharing your eggs, there’ll be no charge for the treatment or the first year’s storage of your frozen eggs.
23,000+
babies born with us
10+
dedicated fertility consultants
35+
years since we opened our doors
All in one place
Our main clinic is linked to the HCA UK hospital network, with all tests and procedures carried out onsite
State-of-the-art in-house labs
All necessary tests are expertly processed in our outstanding in-house labs
Exceptional, personalised care
Be looked after in one of the UK’s leading private fertility centres, offering personalised care and a wealth of fertility specialists
YOUR FERTILITY PERESERVATION JOURNEY
What to expect
We work with leading fertility experts across a range of medical fields from consultants, embryologists and sonographers to counsellors and experienced fertility-trained nurse practitioners, ensuring you’re supported every step of the way and can get good answers to the questions you’re likely to have.
Our specialist counselling is available at any time during or after your treatment. Please rest assured that you’re always free to change your mind about egg-sharing, including withdrawing consent after your eggs have been harvested.
01
Initial consultation
At your initial consultation, your consultant will talk to you about your medical, family and lifestyle history and conduct a thorough physical examination. This is your opportunity to ask us any questions you have about the process and your options.
We’ll also ask for you consent to write to your GP to obtain your past and present medical history.
02
Counselling
For your wellbeing and to ensure that you’re making the right, informed choice for your family, all women seeking to become an egg donor/egg sharer need to have specialist counselling before being accepted on to the egg-sharing programme as a donor.
You'll meet one of our counsellors to ensure you fully understand the procedure and the ethical, legal and social aspects of egg donation. This free counselling service is available before, during and after treatment, ensuring you always have the support you need.
03
Screening tests
To make sure the chance of passing on any infections or serious health conditions is as low as possible, we'll screen for HIV, hepatitis B and C, syphilis and gonorrhoea. We'll also run tests to check your haemoglobin levels, blood grouping, chromosome studies and cystic fibrosis screening.
These will all be processed in our in-house lab, so you’ll have results back as soon as possible.
04
Egg donation procedure
As in a standard IVF cycle, you'll have hormone injections for a couple of weeks to stimulate your ovaries.
When your follicles reach a specific size, you'll have a minor vaginal procedure to collect your eggs. We perform this under anaesthesia or sedation, so it won't be painful. Your eggs may be used by your recipient straight away, or they can be frozen for later use.
Where can I access the egg sharing programme?
The Egg Donation Unit is based at the Lister Fertility Clinic in Chelsea, London at the Lister Hospital. You’ll have access to our dedicated egg donation team and industry-leading fertility experts who can help, from initial consultation through to treatment and guiding you through the next steps.
Lister Fertility Clinic
Chelsea Bridge Road SW1W 8RH London
FAQs
Yes, neither egg sharer nor egg recipient will meet. However, information about you will be held at the central register with the Human Fertilisation and Embryo Authority (HFEA). At the age of 18, anyone born as a result of a sperm, egg or embryo donation will have access to identifying information about their donor. This doesn’t apply to egg donations made before 1 April 2005.
You can find out more about how donor information is shared here.
You can find out more about how donor information is shared here.
We can let you know whether a live birth has resulted from your egg donation, the number of children that have been born and the year of birth and sex of the baby.
Yes, being an egg donor can be an emotionally complex journey. To ensure you’re making the right, informed choice for your family, all women seeking to become an egg donor need to have specialist counselling before being accepted on to the egg-sharing programme.
You'll meet one of our counsellors to ensure you fully understand the procedure and the ethical, legal and social aspects of egg donation. This free counselling service is available before, during and after treatment, ensuring you always have the support you need.
You'll meet one of our counsellors to ensure you fully understand the procedure and the ethical, legal and social aspects of egg donation. This free counselling service is available before, during and after treatment, ensuring you always have the support you need.
You’re free to withdraw consent to your egg sharing at any time until the embryos are used, without threat of financial penalty or fear of recrimination. To protect other parties involved, you however won’t be eligible for egg sharing in the future.
We’re here for you at every stage of the process. If you have any questions before, during or after your donation, please feel free to call the Lister Fertility Clinic team, who will be glad to help. Our counsellors are available at any time during or after your treatment.
More information on egg sharing can be found on the HFEA website.
More information on egg sharing can be found on the HFEA website.
Our patients’ fertility stories
Faye and Oliver's story
For Faye and Oliver, their wish to start a family led them to discover the egg sharing programme at Lister Fertility Clinic.
How Lister Fertility Clinic helped two fathers-to-be
Paul is sitting in his home in Belfast, with his husband Neil and their beautiful three-month-old son Felix, talking about their journey to fatherhood – a journey that the Lister Fertility Clinic, part of HCA Healthcare UK, accompanied them on.
Clare’s fertility treatment
Clare and her husband Derek thought they might never have children, until joining the egg-sharing programme at the Lister Fertility Clinic.
“The team’s resourcefulness and dynamic problem-solving have made a big difference in my journey - and no doubt others’ involved as well. This spirit of care and excellence has been demonstrated not just by a single individual, but every team member I’ve encountered, making me confident that Lister is the best fertility clinic I could have chosen.”
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This content is intended for general information only and does not replace the need for personal advice from a qualified health professional.