Introduction
What if you don’t use all your eggs during your fertility treatment? The journey of frozen eggs doesn’t end with their preservation. The conversation surrounding the fate of frozen eggs and embryos has expanded beyond mere medical procedure to encompass broader ethical and moral dimensions.
In this article, we delve into the various alternatives to disposing of frozen eggs.
If you have frozen eggs you don’t want to use or no longer need, you may have a number of different options, depending on which country you stored your eggs or embryos in.
In Hong Kong, most women would dispose of their eggs through the fertility clinic. Unused eggs are removed from the freezer to perish naturally in warmer temperatures or water. Also available to women in Hong Kong is the additional option to donate the eggs to someone else. If you opt for that option, you’ll be offering a chance for someone who very much wants a family. However, there are some hoops to jump through. According to the guidance from Hong Kong’s Council on Human Reproductive Technology, most clinics offering the service of using donor eggs would perform baseline tests for donors for infectious diseases, as well as genetic disease, like thalassemia carrier. They would also ask donors their personal and family history to determine if there is a risk of hereditary diseases. Once eligible, you could be a potential egg donor for someone else.
It is important to note that it’s against the law to sell and buy eggs and embryos in Hong Kong. Furthermore, egg or embryo recipients cannot give donors monetary reward.
In the UK, US, and Singapore, eggs that you do not wish to use (for example, because the eggs are not needed, or are not suitable, for treatment) can be donated to training or research.
For training, your eggs would be stored for potential use by healthcare professionals to practice the techniques involved in fertility treatment. As for research, eggs, sperm, and embryos are extremely helpful in aiding scientists to understand causes of infertility and hereditary diseases, and develop treatments. Since the procedure by which eggs are obtained is invasive and carries risk and inconvenience, most women wouldn’t choose to donate eggs, so research institutes depend on women who have already gone through the process for fertility purposes and have surplus that they no longer wish to use.
Donations are not compensated, as there is a risk of commercializing and exploiting women for eggs, so research institutions depend on altruistic donations. There have been moral and legal issues surrounding compensation of egg donors in Europe and North America, concerning the potential trade of eggs across national boundaries and the exploitation of women.
Find out with your fertility doctor or clinic if they offer these options for you. As always, whatever you choose, be sure to closely and thoroughly read through any consent form you sign, whether regarding the disposal or donation process.
What Sow Fertility Can Do For You
At Sow Fertility, we aim to provide relevant information and support to guide women through their fertility journey, debunking myths on the topic of fertility preservation.
We are dedicated to making seemingly complicated information about fertility comprehensible to enable you to make informed decisions about your reproductive timeline. We can also help you access comprehensive tests and suitable solutions and therapies with our extensive network of fertility professionals. We are committed to ensuring that you feel confident and equipped in your fertility planning.
Citations:
[1] https://www.verywellfamily.com/extra-embryos-after-ivf-what-are-your-options-1960215
[4] https://www.hkarc.com.hk/Embryo_Donation_en.html ; https://www.chrt.org.hk/
