Newcastle Fertility Clinic urging people to become donors

A fertility clinic in the North East is calling on more women to consider becoming egg donors to help couples struggling to conceive

Newcastle Fertility Clinic offers IVF and sperm retrieval but said it is always seeking more egg donors. One egg donor who has donated is Beth who told her story to the Chronicle Live.

Beth first donated in 2018 and has done so four times since.

The mother-of-two said: “I have two children myself and being able to give that to someone else in a situation which can be overwhelming is amazing.

“To be honest, I’m also a massive nerd so it is incredibly interesting from a scientific point of view.

“The younger you are when it comes to donating your eggs, the better it is. Often people don’t realise that until it’s too late.”

Beth plays a particularly pivotal role being an egg donor as she is a mitochondrial egg donor which means her eggs have been used to help women who have mitochondrial DNA issues and need their cells swapped out for the eggs she provides.

Fertility consultant, Dr Matthew Prior said egg donation was vital in helping families to conceive.

He said: “Patients who can’t have children themselves have two options. They can find a known donor – a friend or family member – and that happens in a small number of cases, but most people use eggs from an anonymous donor. Essentially, what that means for the donor is going through part of the IVF process.

“Having fertility problems is really more common than perhaps people think and donating can make a real difference to people’s lives.”

If you are aged between 18 and 35, are fit and healthy, and would like more information, visit the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to find out more about your rights and what to expect.

Learn more about donating your eggs by clicking here

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