My journey has been nothing short of AMAZING!
 
I first decided that I wanted to donate my eggs almost one year ago.  I did a bunch of research online and it was the easiest decision to choose baby2mom- It wasn’t until 3 months later that I had matched.  Someone chose me!!

I had never spoken to anyone who had donated before but I wanted to be able to give a little back, so I went for it.

I’ve been asked so many times since I started this: “Why donate your eggs?”.  If I’m feeling particularly cynical, I’ll say “Well, the money’s decent” – although I would still do it for nothing at all.  Most of the time, I’ll say that it’s because I want to help. I want to give somebody a chance at a family.  I want to do something spectacular for somebody else.  And because I hope that if I ever needed it, I would hope that somebody else would step up and donate their eggs for me.  Honestly, I can think of dozens of reasons why I should donate, but not a single reason why I shouldn’t.

I asked myself a question - Do I see children in my future? I did not think so at the time.  What stops me from donating my eggs, it’s not that I will be using them soon.

I got a phone call from Jenny (She sounded excited and enthusiastic like she always does) who advised me that someone chose me.  We went through a few pointers over the phone, and that was it!

At the time, I was still living in PE.  A month before the actual process started I moved to Cape Town.  I immediately advised Jenny, who was so supportive and advised me that it would not be a problem.  Jenny took it upon herself to schedule all my appointments in Cape Town.  1 2 3 and everything was sorted and scheduled.

From there I had a psychological evaluation with Leanne van der Westhuizen – we had a wonderful chat that honestly seemed like a lot less than an hour! – I then had an appointment with DR. Hulme at Aevitas Clinic in Pinelands, Cape Town.  He who was so kind and gentle that any nervousness I had been feeling disappeared instantly.  I had so much faith in Dr Hulme and his team that I was more worried about not being able to bring my side to the party. He assured me that I was doing a fantastic job!

And then, of course, there were the abdominal injections – I do not have a phobia for needles, so that was the least of my worries. The nurse at Aevitas was so accommodating with the collection of the injections, she met up with me at her home after hours since her home was close to my home and would save me a trip to Aevitas.  This saved me so much time.

The first morning was quick and easy.  I needed to do them before work – and seeing as I start work at 8am, it meant pretty much the first thing I did in the morning was poke myself in the stomach. I remember asking myself “Why is everything so easy and painless?”

The next set of injections was somewhat different to the previous ones.  The lovely nurse at Aevitas gave me the crash course on how to mix it up and inject. This also was quick and easy.

I went for two scans - My scans revealed that everything was on track every time I went to Aevitas.  The doctor also advised me on the process and what was happening inside my tummy.  He would often repeat himself – “You are doing a fantastic job.” I responded beautifully to all the medication – Dr Hulme was always so pleased with my scans and I realised I was quite proud of myself.

Jenny was there every step of the way.  She messaged me at least once a day to ask how I was feeling, how did the scans go, etc. etc.  I was fortunate to have Jenny by my side every step of the way.

Then came the exciting part – Travelling to Durban (My first time ever!!) I flied the Thursday afternoon and got checked in to City lodge Hotel.

I was admitted on Friday morning at the Natal fertility Clinic.  I was dressed in possibly the least sexy hospital gown of all time; I was led to the table where the anaesthetist I’d met earlier was standing by.

Before I knew it, I woke up, everything was over and done.  I was in no amount of pain (which was weird at the time because I prepared myself to be in pain).  I spent the remainder of the day curled up in my hotel room with the aircon on (as I was not used to Durban’s humidity).

I’m positively fascinated by the whole process, the nurse at Natal Fertility clinic gave me a breakdown of exactly how many “good eggs” they got.

Do I ever think about meeting the recipient’s or their child/children?  Well, I’d like to see that they’re healthy, and obviously I’m curious about how much they resemble me.  But that’s about it and they aren’t my children.  They never were.  As weird as it sounds, they always belonged to my recipient.  I’m just glad that I could be a part of the whole process.

Having asked hundreds of questions, Jenny was there every step of the way.  It was nice to have someone by my side (although it was over the phone).

The whole process seemed to fly by so quickly.  Once the paperwork was sorted and the initial appointments with the doctors were done, there was no looking back – I was on my way to changing someone’s life forever.

I pray that in my giving, a new family has been born.  May God guide you and bless you in your new journey as parents and a family. My love and prayers are forever with you.