Being an identity-release donor: a qualitative study exploring the motivations, experiences and future expectations of current UK egg donors

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the motivations, experiences and future expectations of identity-release egg donors in the UK following the removal of donor anonymity and the increase in financial compensation for egg donation. This exploratory, in-depth qualitative study comprised semi-structured interviews with 11 women who had attended an egg donation screening appointment at a UK clinic during a four-month period in 2014. Interviews were conducted two to six weeks after the woman had donated or had withdrawn/been rejected from the donation process. Participants’ primary motivation for donating was to help infertile women have their ‘own child’, and the recent increase in financial compensation did not seem to play a significant role in their decision. All were happy to be identifiable and contacted by children born as a result of their donation. However, some were hesitant about providing non-identifying information about themselves for these offspring and wished for further information about the recipient(s) of their eggs and the outcome of their donation. Whilst this study was limited due to the small sample size, it is the first study of UK egg donors following the rise in donor compensation and suggests that other strategies may be more effective in increasing donor numbers.

Keywords:

• Egg donation
• egg donor
• identity-release donation
• motivation
• information provision
• financial compensation

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the women who took part in this study and the staff at London Women’s Clinic who helped with recruitment.

Role of authors

All authors were involved in the design of the study. Kamal Ahuja assisted with the recruitment of participants. All other authors were involved in the analysis and interpretation of data. This manuscript was drafted by Susanna Graham and has been approved by all authors.

Disclosure statement

Dr Kamal Ahuja is the Scientific and Managing Director of London Women’s Clinic. The other authors have no conflict of interest to declare. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.