I’m a serial egg donor — the process is intense, but I love helping others start families

A UK medical writer who doesn’t think she wants to have children has donated 88 eggs to help four couples start families.

Alex Webster, 31, hatched a plan after discovering in 2016 that her friend needed donor eggs to conceive.

Feeling inspired and wanting to help other women in the same situation, she contacted the private clinic TFP Oxford Fertility, part of the TFP Fertility UK network, and was accepted to become a donor.

“I’m possibly not geared for motherhood as much as some,” Webster told SWNS. “Because there are women who need help creating their own families, this is where I can fit in.”

Webster, who hails from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, said egg retrieval is “intense” — you can be wiped out for a few days.

Donors have to inject themselves for 14 days to suppress their natural hormone production so the clinic can control the ovulation process.

A second set of daily injections, taken for 12 days, is designed to stimulate follicle growth so several eggs can be retrieved.

A final hormone injection called a “trigger shot” is administered about 36 hours before egg collection.

“I needed a quiet weekend after the procedure because I felt some discomfort and was tired,” Webster shared. “The process is three weeks long, but the long-term implications of a family being able to have a child is worth it.”

The TFP Oxford Fertility team collected 42 eggs from Webster in November 2022 and 46 eggs when she repeated the steps eight months later.

“It seemed like a waste to me that I have these eggs and there are all these women out there who want to start families but can’t,” Webster said.

She doesn’t know the couples she is helping, but once the children reach 16, they will be allowed to find out some stuff about her.

When they become adults, they can receive identifying information.

“As part of the preparation to donate, I received counseling to understand the implications of egg donation,” Webster divulged. “I also had to write a letter to be shared with the parents who will receive my eggs.”

Webster isn’t sure she will donate eggs again, but it is something she is thinking about.

She noted that the process is time-consuming, and it sapped her energy.

“For me, the consideration is that I have already helped four families and I don’t know how many more I would like to help,” Webster mused. “I hope women who read this will be encouraged to donate or contact the fertility clinic to find out more about how they can help.”

Nearly 15,000 transfers of frozen embryo donor eggs in 2020 resulted in a US birth, statistics show.

Egg donation can also be a lucrative venture — compensation often ranges from $5,000 to $10,000, with all expenses paid.