It is when you give of yourself that you truly give” Kahlil Gibran

There is no greater gift that a woman can give, then the gift of life. As we enter the second month of 2010 and some of those new year resolutions start to fade, egg donation is a selfless act that will forever be appreciated and may change the life of a woman in a way you can only imagine. Whether the donated compensation which you will receive matter to you or not, the act of giving touches the soul and remains forever appreciated.

Since the first pregnancy with egg donation in South Africa, performed at Cape Fertility Clinic, Cape Town in 1986, egg donation has become a regular and routine treatment over the past 22 years and the number of people seeking this form of fertility treatment has increased.

The statistics are that 33% of women older than 37 years, who present to a fertility clinic with infertility, will require the use of donor eggs to achieve a pregnancy. It is emotionally overwhelming for a woman to learn that she may have to use an egg donor to become a parent.  She then often decides to approach a fertility agency in search of a suitable egg donor.

Egg donation in South Africa is safe and confidentially. Egg donors do not meet or know the identity of the recipient parents and vice versa.

Egg Donors are medically and psychologically screened to confirm that they are ideal egg donor candidates. Egg donors are treated by the top fertility specialists in the country and are given suitable medication to stimulate egg development. Egg donation does not adversely affect the egg donor’s fertility.

On the day of egg retrieval the matured eggs will be collected via the vagina via a “suction” device. The egg donor is under conscious sedation for about 20 minutes and will feel nothing. There is no cutting.

As one of our 90 egg donors recently wrote:

“My egg donating experience with Giftovlife was absolutely wonderful!

I have always wanted to add to other’s lives and thus was able to have the opportunity to donate my eggs to help another angel in this world, have a family! Definitely an experience I will never forget and I will treasure all my life!”

Her recipient woman is currently pregnant with a little girl. What a gift!

Gift ov life Egg Donation and Surrogacy – www.giftovlife.com is a fertility agency offering an egg donation and surrogacy program.

South African woman battling infertility due compromised or absent eggs of their own may not realise how fortunate they are. Operating in South Africa we are able to offer the services of donor angels who are able, willing and allowed by law, to donate their excess eggs to woman who otherwise would not be able to experience the joy of motherhood. We are made acutely aware of how fortunate we are by the daily enquiries and new clients seeking our services from France, the UK, Hong Kong and especially Australia. In some parts of the world it’s not appropriate or acceptable to even mention “egg donation” or “surrogate.” What a sad place to find yourself as a woman in need of an egg donor or a surrogate mother. Yes, South Africa is a wonderful place to be!

The sense of relief and joy that these couples express when they find us and realise that its “ok” to need and egg donor or a surrogate mother, is rewarding in itself. Often they are happy to accept anyone that would be willing to donate eggs for them. When they realise that they have over 90 egg donors to choose from at Gift ov life, each with an extensive 20 page detailed profile, they are often delightfully shocked.

The high success rates and affordable costs for egg donation IVF and surrogacy in South Africa, make us a haven for these woman, often desperate by the time they find us.

Here’s to South Africa…where we have a world of hope renewed!

Gift ov life Egg Donation and Surrogacy – www.giftovlife.com is a fertility agency offering an egg donation and surrogacy program.

How should one measure the success of an egg donor agency? On the face of it one might say, “Well, it must be the number of pregnancies achieved!” “Is it?” Is the number of pregnancies achieved not the result of more factors than an egg donor agency can take credit for? After all, the fertility clinic and doctors and their treatment prescribed, the age of the donor and her fertility screening, the quality and quantity of the sperm used to fertilise, the ability of the uterus to facilitate the growth of the embryo. These are all factors that must be optimal in order to achieve pregnancy.

The fact is that all egg donor agencies are governed by certain criteria that ensure donors are viable as fertile egg donors. These factors include egg donors being between the ages of 18 and 35, having a certain and optimal BMI and being screened before an egg donation cycle is undertaken. These factors result in all agencies being created equal as regards the actual donor. Or does it? How does one rate an agency? What after all is the role of the egg donor agency?

We conclude that the role of the agency includes both “passport” factors and “differentiating factors.” Passport factors are standard practices that allow an egg donor agency to remain viable and attractive to recipient parents. They include, promptness in dealing with enquiries, a professional and understanding approach and first hand knowledge and experience of the IVF process. What then differentiates one agency from the rest, if it is not the number of pregnancies achieved, the level of professionalism and first hand experience?

Well, put yourself in the shoes of the recipient parents… what would be most important to you…what would be the differentiating factors for you?

Would you not want to know about the donors, whose genes you choosing, inside and out? Surely her grades at school, her tertiary education, her sexual orientation, how her grandparents may have died, whether she or anyone in her family suffers from one of 90 different conditions that can be passed on genetically, her parents hair and eye colour, their height and body frame…the list goes on and on. The fact is that not all egg donor agencies take the interest, time or effort to make as much information available as possible to prospective parents means that all egg donor agencies are not, in fact, created equal. At the end of the day, when that little miracle is born, don’t you agree it’s worth having made an informed decision? After all, as potential egg donor recipient parents, isn’t it worth it for you to take care in choosing an agency that gives you all the information?

By Dawn Blank, Gift ov life Egg Donor Agency www.giftovlife.com

For those women whose “partners look at them and they fall pregnant” the use of donor eggs may seem completely absurd. It’s a case of “If you have never walked in someone’s shoes don’t judge them,” and often it’s a complete ignorance, as is the case when you are dealing with a choice you would never have to make.

The reality is that, for those increasing woman who, without the use of donor eggs would never be able to experience motherhood, egg donation is the greatest gift of life.

The need for donor eggs is on the increase, as infertility becomes a widespread in a sentence that does not discriminate. Our fast paced lifestyles; stress, cancer and delaying having children are all factors that can result in a woman’s ovaries not functioning to produce viable eggs for fertilisation. For these woman an egg donor is a last resort and a gift of life. The world of fertility brings fulfillment and joy to couples via egg donation, or surrogacy. In South Africa we are fortunate as egg donation is legal and agencies have an ever-expanding range of doors available to choose from for egg donation.

By Dawn Blank, Gift ov life Egg Donation & Surrogacy Agency www.giftovlife.com

For psychological and to ensure optimal egg quality, only donors between the ages of 21 and 34 can be recruited by egg donor agencies. There are no requirements in South Africa for an egg donor registry to be kept and the child’s birth certificate details the names of the recipient parents.

It is important for intended parents planning egg donation in South Africa to choose a reputable egg donation agency – one that works with the leading fertility clinics in South Africa. You should also be provided with a Detailed Profile of the Egg Donors available, according to international best practice and covering physical attributes, personality, reproductive health, genetic history, medical history, school grades and family history details.

Egg Donation in South Africa is not only legal and ethical, it provides restored hope to those who otherwise could not experience the joy of a child. Planning your egg donation through Gift ov life egg donation and surrogacy agency – www.giftovlife.com – ensures that you receive world-class service, a choice of national egg donors and access to the top fertility clinics nationwide.