Our guest blog is brought to you by our Donor Ambassador, Karen!
Young women in their twenties are often faced with prioritizing school and career over relationships and family. At the same time, they are sometimes saddled with financial debt as they gain the education and training they need for their career. This creates the need for a second job or an additional part time job and many times that leaves little time for studying or frankly, anything else other than school. Most young woman are also extremely interested in giving back or at least having their hard work mean something in the whole scheme of things. These are common problems we young students face and I believe that for young women, the option of becoming an egg donor is one way to help get you through financially while also profoundly helping someone else in the process.
Egg donation is about a 6-8 week process which involves numerous doctors appointments, the administering of daily injections and ends in a medical procedure done under a mild general anesthetic. It is an involved process and one that you should go into fully aware of and educated about, but is a worthwhile endeavor and one that can easily be worked into a student’s schedule. Medical risks or concerns are minimal although something called Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome (OHSS) can happen, albeit rarely. Still, if it does happen, it is treatable and at the most, requires a few extra days of recovery time.
There are a number of reasons why I believe becoming an egg donor to be a worthwhile pursuit. First, if you are of ethnic descent or really belong to any race besides Caucasian, you are in demand. Ethnic diversity is important for egg donors as the demand for ethnic backgrounds such as African American, Middle Eastern, Indian or Asian in general has increased while numbers of donors in those categories are low. Still, there are plenty of people that are a part of this population who are struggling with infertility and seek a donor who matches their physical characteristics. There are no known lasting effects from either the medications or the procedure, the retrieval, associated with egg donation. In addition, the compensation can go a long way to supplementing your income without the long and often late hours required of a second job. Finally, and what I view as the greatest benefit is the fact that you are helping someone expand their family by having a child.
Being an egg donor in this day and age is quite common and can be a great way to pay off student loans or help supplement your income while you are starting out. Additionally, it is a great way to give back in a real and important way.
