Can You Donate Eggs On Birth Control? How Different Birth Control Methods Affect Donor Qualifications

Many individuals who want to donate eggs are currently on some form of birth control, and may wonder whether they’re disqualified from donating eggs because of it. Do you have to stop taking birth control, or does it make you permanently ineligible to donate eggs? Can you donate eggs on birth control is the main topic for todays blog.

Keep reading to find out how your form of birth control may affect your egg donation timeline, plus eligibility criteria that may disqualify you from donating eggs.

 

Can You Donate Eggs on Birth Control?

You can donate eggs on most forms of birth control, but not all. Depending on the method, you may need to discontinue or alter your birth control before starting an egg donation cycle.

When you have completed all screening and are ready to begin taking the medications required for donation, your clinic will ask that you abstain from intercourse to remove the risk of getting pregnant. During the egg donation process, you will take hormones to induce ovulation and release multiple eggs. These hormones will make you extremely fertile, with a risk of becoming pregnant with one or even multiple babies.

 

Can You Donate Eggs On Birth Control Pills?

You can donate eggs on birth control pills. Since birth control does not reduce your fertility and instead prevents pregnancy using hormones (such as estrogen and progesterone) to block fertilization or stop ovulation, you are okay to donate.

While completing the preliminary screening to become an egg donor, such as genetic screenings and a psychological evaluation, you may continue taking birth control pills.

Once you are ready to begin the hormone injections that will help your body mature and release multiple eggs, you will be asked to pause your birth control pills. Again, we strongly recommend you remain entirely abstinent during the donation process to eliminate your risk of an unplanned pregnancy.

 

Can You Donate Eggs If You Are On Depo-Provera?

You cannot donate eggs if you have recently received the depo-provera injection, otherwise known as “the shot.” However, you can discontinue receiving injections and become eligible to donate eggs after two regular menstruation cycles.

Women on Depo-Provera cannot donate eggs because the injection releases hormones into the body that lowers fertility rates for a while. Once you discontinue injections, you must wait for all the hormones to leave your body and your fertility rates to return to normal.

 

Can You Donate Eggs With A Nexplanon Implant?

You cannot donate eggs if you have an arm implant like Nexplanon currently inserted. You must have the implant removed and wait through at least two normal menstrual cycles before you can qualify to donate eggs.

 

Can You Donate Eggs With a NuvaRing or Birth Control Patch?

At The World Egg and Sperm Bank, you can still donate eggs if you are on a NuvaRing or a birth control patch.

 

Can You Donate Eggs With An IUD In?

Yes, you can donate eggs with a IUD insertion. Copper IUDs do not use hormones to prevent pregnancy, and in most cases can be left in throughout the egg donation process.

 

Can You Donate Eggs If Your Tubes Are Tied?

You can donate eggs if your tubes are tied. Since eggs are retrieved before they reach the fallopian tubes, having your tubes tied does not impact how eggs are matured or retrieved.

 

How Long Do You Have To Be Off Birth Control Before Donating Eggs?

Depending on the birth control method you use, you may be able to stay on birth control throughout the screening process until you start taking fertility injections.

IUDs, birth control rings, and birth control patches do not need to be removed to donate. The Depo shot must be discontinued and you must wait until you’ve had at least two regular menstrual cycles before you can get fertility testing. The same is true for arm implants.

 

Other Health Factors That May Impact Egg Donor Eligibility

Potential donors must meet certain requirements to donate eggs at The World Egg and Sperm Bank.

 

General Physical Health

You must be a generally healthy person in order to donate eggs, which includes:

• Having a health BMI. Since twilight sedation is administered during the elective egg retrieval procedure, this is for the safety of the donor as well as the clinical staff
• No smoking, tobacco, or drug use

 

General Mental Health

While egg donation is a rewarding experience, it requires a substantial amount of dedication, including several clinic appointments and hormone injections. We follow all guidelines set by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), which suggest psychological screenings in addition to genetic and medical screenings. This screening assesses the potential donors motivations to donate and their mental stability throughout the process.

Read up on what to expect during your egg donation psychological screening to learn what is covered in the screening process.

 

Inheritable Conditions

Donors must undergo genetic testing to screen for inheritable genetic disorders. Several serious genetic conditions can disqualify an individual from donating eggs, since genetic mutations can be passed to the donated egg.

 

STDs

You may not be able to donate eggs if you have had an STD. STDs that are routinely screened for include:

• Herpes
• HPV
• Gonorrhea
• Chlamydia
• Syphilis
• Hepatitis
• HIV

Some diseases that are not transmittable through donor eggs, such as herpes or HPV, will not necessarily disqualify you from donating eggs. If you have tested positive for a curable disease such as gonorrhea and have been treated for it, you may be allowed to apply 12 months after treatment.

Make sure to ask your clinician about STD disqualifiers before starting the screening process if this is something that you’re concerned about.

 

Allergic Reactions

Severe allergic reactions to the injected hormones are rare, but to ensure the donor’s health, they may disqualify an individual from donating eggs. Minor allergic reactions, such as temporary redness or swelling at the injection site, will not disqualify you from donating eggs.

 

Final Word On Whether You Can Donate Eggs On Birth Control

The specialists at your egg donation clinic will educate you further on their birth control requirements, but in general you can donate eggs on birth control. Most likely, you will need to pause your birth control method when you start injecting hormones. The hormone injections will make you especially fertile, so remain abstinent during this time to protect yourself from an unplanned, risky pregnancy.

If you’re interested in donating eggs to help people build their own families, you can apply to donate eggs on our website in less than 30 minutes.

 

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