Unfortunately not. The truth is that egg donation and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) are such delicate procedures, with so many lives at stake, that medical experts couldn’t possibly risk transmitting HIV to either the surrogate mother or the unborn baby in good conscience. Keep reading to discover HIV’s negative effects on your periods, why this is bad for successful egg donation, and how to reach an egg donation expert if you’d like to discuss this a bit more.
Egg donation and periods
An important part of the egg donation journey involves regulating your periods. We’re talking about getting them like clockwork, so that all the medical professionals involved know the exact best times to extract the eggs they need, and that when they do so they are getting the best eggs possible.
How does HIV affect this?
The impacts of HIV on a women’s period actually have nothing to do with the virus itself. HIV affects your immune system, and changes to your immune system can impact your estrogen and progesterone levels. Since these are the hormones in charge of regulating your period, the more active your HIV, the more likely you are to experience issues with your period.
What is perinatal transmission?
Perinatal transmission of any virus is the transmission from mother to child while they are still in the womb. An egg donor won’t be carrying the child to term, but their eggs still carry genetic and other information about the donor, possibly even things like viruses. The chances of HIV being transferred via ovum are small, but they are there nonetheless.
Wanting the best for the baby
What it all boils down to at the end of the day is wanting the best for the baby. IVF treatment is safe and secure for all involved, and we want to keep it that way – especially for the unborn baby. If egg donor agencies accept HIV-positive egg donors, there’s a chance this could lead to babies being born HIV-positive.
Speak to an egg donation expert
Nurture Egg Donor Programme is the most successful egg donation programme in South Africa. We are a group of ladies with first-hand experience with egg donation and IVF treatment. Our goal is to ensure that our egg donors are looked after and know what to expect, while ensuring that the eggs we provide to intended parents are of the best quality possible. Contact us to discuss this topic further, or read our egg donor stories to find out more.
