Nurture Egg Donor Program
Egg Donor FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions
Because you are on our site, we know that you’re the type of person who will have a whole bunch of questions you’d like answered. How do we know this? Because only the most fabulous, curious, wonderful people become egg donors and if you are thinking about becoming an egg donor then you must fall into this category!
We have put together this list of questions that will help you with your research, but if you have more questions that we have not answered then please contact us at info@nurture.co.za.
An egg donor is a healthy young woman who is between the ages of 19 and 29. This special woman donates a few of her eggs to recipient parents-to-be, who strongly desire to have a child but who are unable to produce eggs. An egg donor gives one of the most beautiful gifts possible — the gift of having a family.
The recipient of donor egg(s) is someone who desires to have a child but is unable to produce viable eggs themselves. This might be due to various reasons: the mother-to-be might have premature ovarian failure, or infertility due to poor egg quality or age, or severe endometriosis, or other health issues. Or it might be a same-sex couple who need the help of an egg donor and a surrogate to help them have children of their own. Being unable to have a child when you really, really want one is heartbreaking.
Nurture is South Africa's largest and most successful egg donor program, and the most recommended egg donor program by Fertility Clinics all across South Africa.
Over the past 16 years, we have facilitated over 4200 egg donation cycles and processed over 20,000 egg donor applications. We pride ourselves on our professionalism, the exceptional support and care we provide to our egg donors and recipients, and our excellent reputation within the fertility sector in South Africa and across the world.
Your first step is to check whether you meet the criteria to be a Nurture Egg Donor. You can read more about the criteria here: Egg Donor Criteria.
If you meet the criteria, your next step is to register on our Nurture Egg Donor Portal (Link) and fill out the initial application form.
You will then be sent a verification link to the email address you registered with. Once you've verified your account, it is time to complete the full application form, which asks you to provide information about your physical characteristics, your personality and character, your academic and sporting achievements, and your health history.
A question that may be on your mind is: When will I be chosen?
The truth is, there isn’t a straightforward answer. While we wish we could say exactly when you’ll be matched, the reality is that the timing can vary for each donor. Some might be matched within days, while others may wait weeks, months, or even longer. It’s all about the unique connection between you and hopeful parents looking for someone just like you.
Why the Wait?
It’s important to remember that finding a match is like a personalised search for the perfect fit. Intended Parents are looking for specific characteristics that resonate with them. This could include physical features, personality traits, or other aspects that make your profile stand out. So, while you might be eager to get started, there’s no guarantee of when you’ll be chosen. And that’s okay—it’s part of the journey. This doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you or your profile! It simply means the right match hasn’t come along just yet.
For more information about increasing your chances of getting chosen, check out this blog post: How Long Does It Take To Get Chosen?
Think of it this way:
Point A: Those eggs you donated? They would have been flushed away with your normal cycle if you hadn’t donated them. The eggs that are retrieved during an egg donation cycle are eggs that would have gone to waste anyway.
Point B: Eggs or sperm alone do not make a child! The right egg needs to meet the right sperm at the right time, be carried in the right womb and delivered to the right parents. All of these 'ingredients' need to come together to create a child.
The short answer is: Not you!
Being a parent is not about DNA, eggs, or sperm. Simple biology does not a parent make.
A parent is the one who cradles their baby to his or her chest, gently rocking the baby to sleep. The one who holds their sickly child in their arms, wiping their feverish brow.
A parent is the one who whispers ‘I love you’ into their sleeping ear, who wipes the snotty nose, who fixes the scraped knee, and cleans the poopy diapers.
A parent is the one who loves the child unconditionally, no matter where their DNA comes from.
The egg donor, surrogate, or birth mother (in the case of an adopted child) is a wonderful, beautiful, and generous person who helped in the creation of that child, but they are not the child's parent. That child’s parent is the one the child calls mommy or daddy.
What makes a parent is not about what happened at the moment of conception; it is about what happens every day from then on in the life of the child.
The factors recipient parents-to-be consider when selecting their egg donor are personal and varied. For some recipient parents, things like eye colour, hair colour, height, etc are important. They are looking for a donor who looks like the mom-to-be. Others are looking for a donor who shares similar interests or academic qualifications. In most cases, it is often the bits about your personality and character that resonate most with them. So please provide as much information as possible. More is more when it comes to your egg donor application, as long as the information you provide is accurate and honest. Read more about how recipient parents-to-be choose their ideal egg donor here: "How Future Parents Choose Their Ideal Egg Donor"
Providing good-quality childhood photographs of yourself is extremely important. Donors with many good-quality photos of themselves as a young child (between the ages of 2 and 10) get chosen quicker than those who don't provide childhood pics. Read more about the importance of childhood photos here: "Why Childhood Photos are Important"
You can continue to use the birth control that you are on while you are waiting to be matched with a recipient. Once chosen, when you attend your first medical appointment at the clinic, the fertility doctor will discuss your current birth control method with you and your course of action going forward.
Donating eggs will not affect your future fertility. When you do an egg donation cycle, the eggs that are collected are eggs that would have gone to waste in that particular cycle.
You are born with all the eggs you will ever have in your lifetime. Once you reach puberty, when you ovulate naturally, your body starts to mature 15 to 20 eggs every cycle, which all fight it out to be the one winner that makes it to ovulation. The ones that don’t win the race get reabsorbed into your body and disappear. When you donate eggs, your body might mature 10 to 20 eggs per cycle which are then matured through the use of fertility medication and collected in the egg retrieval process. So those 10-20 eggs which are retrieved during egg retrieval are the same eggs that would have lost the race and gone to waste anyway. At the end, you have the same amount of eggs left in reserve that you would’ve had anyway. The only difference between a natural cycle and an egg donation cycle, is that the eggs that would have gone to waste are collected and donated to someone whose only chance of having a baby is through the gift of donor eggs.
The bottom line is this: donating egg is safe and has no negative affect on your chances of having your own children one day.
For more information about egg donation and your future fertility, visit this page: Does Donating Eggs Affect My Future Fertility?
Short answer: No! It does not hurt.
Donating eggs is a painless procedure. There is no surgery or cutting. Eggs are retrieved via conscious sedation, so you will be asleep and feel no pain during the 15-20 minute egg retrieval procedure.
Here is some feedback from a donor who has just donated: "I would love to donate again! My "recovery" was so quick I don’t even think it needs to be called a recovery. Within a few hours, I was perfect."
You will need someone to drive you home after the egg retrieval procedure, as you will have had sedation for the egg retrieval. You are not allowed to drive a vehicle after receiving sedation, no matter how little sedation was given.
You may find that you need to take it easy for the remainder of the day after the procedure, but by the next day, you can hop, skip, swim, or do cartwheels if that's your thing. There is no downtime or time off work or studies required after the egg retrieval.
Not you! All your medication, doctor visits, blood tests, and medical procedures relating to the donation are funded by the recipient parents-to-be.
Donor compensation is guided by various regulatory bodies, such as SASREG and the South African Medical Ethics Committee, and is currently set between R8,000 and R10,000, depending on where you donate.
This compensation paid to you is not to pay for the eggs you donate nor as monetary reward. You are not 'selling' your eggs; you are donating them as a gift to your recipient parents. The donor fee paid to you is compensation for your time and effort during the donation.
For more information about the fee paid to you when you donate eggs, visit the Donor Compensation page on our website: Link
If you are donating in South Africa for a South African recipient parent, your donation will be done anonymously.
If you are donating in South Africa for an international recipient parent, you will be asked whether you are willing to donate as an Identity Release donor.
See below for further explanation as to how both options work.
Remember, the choice to donate anonymously or as an identity release donor is 100% up to you. It is your choice as to how you would like to donate.
Anonymous Egg Donation
You will not know the identity of your recipient parents-to-be, and the recipient parents will not know your identity. They will only be able to view your anonymous donor profile, which is the information you provided in your donor application, including your physical characteristics, your personality and character, your academic and other achievements, your health history as well as that of your immediate family, as well as your childhood pics. All identifying information is removed from your profile before it is made available to the recipient parents-to-be.
Identity Release Donation
Identity release in egg donation refers to an arrangement where the donor agrees that identifying information, such as their name and contact details, can be shared with the donor-conceived child once they reach a certain age, typically 18, should the child request this information. This contrasts with an anonymous donation, where the donor's identity remains confidential.
Identity release allows the donor-conceived child to access information about their genetic background if they wish to.
For more information about donating as an Identity Release donor, visit this page on our website: www.nurture.co.za/id-release
If you would like to know whether your donation resulted in a pregnancy, and the recipient parents agree, we will let you know the outcome of your donation.
You will need to take one day's leave from your work or studies, and that is the day of egg retrieval. The doctor will provide you with a medical certificate if required.
Besides that one full day that you will need to take off, you will also need to attend between 4 and 5 appointments at the fertility clinic over a 2-3 month period. Each appointment should take between 30-60 minutes. These appointments will happen during normal office hours. They cannot happen after hours or only on a weekend.
The great news is that all the dates are worked out in advance, so you will be able to plan around your studies and work.
So you might have to take some time off, but certainly not more than one full day's leave.
Let’s get the 2 immediate general concerns out of the way – 1) Am I going to put on weight? You are on medication for 12 days so we are not quite sure how many kilo’s you can pack on in 12 days, but if it is more than a kilo or two, step away from the 7th slab of Toblerone! 2) Am I going to turn into an emotional basket case / raving ice-pick killer? The Doctor’s who we work with are not cowboys, i.e. they are not pumping you full of hormones so that your body produces kazillions of eggs – They use a very mild/gentle stimulation protocol which is closely monitored. Side effects differ from donor to donor. Some women experience absolutely none. If you are prone to premenstrual syndrome (PMS) you may feel some of the side effects attributed to the injections. These effects are usually mild and may include allergic sensitivity, breast tenderness, abdominal bloating, headaches and/or mood swings. You shouldn’t become too much of a dragon, but if you do, blame it on the hormones! You may gain a kilogram or 2, which will only be a temporary weight gain as it is when you have PMS. As with any medical procedure, there is always a minuscule chance of infection, and/or reaction to the anaesthetic medication(s). Bleeding is usually minimal and infection is unlikely as an intravenous antibiotic is routinely administered at the time of the procedure.
This is the serious bit and we can do serious. The clinics we work with prefer to have all the steps in place so that none of these nasties happen – Prevention being better than cure! The primary risk is a condition called Ovarian Hyper-Stimulation Syndrome (OHSS). This is relatively rare (1% of IVF cases). It is caused by the ovary producing too many eggs in response to the drug stimulation. This is why we make sure that you can get to the clinic for all those important scans – The doctor’s can soon pick up that your ovaries are over zealous – and will adjust the medication accordingly. i.e. lower the medication whilst you are on it. If OHSS does kick in, it normally happens a day or two after the retrieval – you will go from feeling uncomfortable to pretty rotten – You have your Nurture representative’s cell number – you will have the doctor’s cell number and if in any doubt, get dialling. Symptoms include feeling nauseous, extreme bloating and pain. The doctor will ask you to get to the clinic so that he can assess your condition. Normally extra bed rest and a couple of days for your ovaries to shrink back to their normal size is sufficient. IF the doctors are overly concerned, they will check you into the clinic, hook you up to a drip and administer anti-biotics. Basically, your ovaries are swollen, pissed off and they are letting you know all about it. They need an extra bit of TLC and time to shrink back to their normal size. It is also key to note that in the majority of egg donation cycles in South Africa a ‘new’ medical protocol called “Lupron trigger protocol” or GnRH agonist trigger protocol is used that effectively eliminates the development of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).
For more information, visit: https://www.advancedfertility.com/lupron-trigger-prevent-hyperstimulation.htm
The secondary potential risk is the risk of infection – whether one is having a baby, having an ingrown toe nail cut out, wisdom teeth removed or donating ones precious eggs – there is always a chance of an infection developing. There is NO doctor, agency or clinic that can say “Yes Ma’am – this procedure is 100% safe” (so beware the people who do!) The thing to remember is that the chance of anything going wrong is highly unlikely, but not impossible. Again – what most clinics do – is, whilst you are under having your eggs retrieved, they will administer an anti-biotic shot to counter act that very small risk of infection.
Should a donor need follow up care as a result of a complication arising from the donation – the clinic that she donates at will see to it.
As with any medical procedure, there are risks. Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome is the most common serious complication (see point above). It may become a more serious problem in 1% of women undergoing egg donation and very rarely it can be life threatening.
We would prefer a donor to only be signed up with fabulous us, however…we realize that some donors can and do sign up with other agencies, so if you do this – let us know – and more importantly – if you are selected through us (or the other agency) we need you to tell them (or us) right away. As you know, it is physically impossible to do 2 simultaneous donations! There is a VERY precious recipient who is investing a whole lot of soul here, so…a bit of common sense and courtesy needs to prevail here! Yebo yes!?
The South African guidelines state that a donor may donate six times or 6 viable pregnancies (whichever comes first). This can differ slightly between clinics – depending on their policy. When you are matched for a donation, we remove your profile from our website. After the donation is completed (and if the Dr has given his/her approval to Nurture that you can donate again), it is then up to you to decide if you would like to join our fabulous Nurture team again. We will put your profile back on the website a month after your last donation. That way if you get snapped up straight away, you will have had three months break between donations.
If your application is successful and you are chosen, you are given the opportunity to chat about these feelings with our counseling Psychologist before proceeding. This is a very personal decision which you must be comfortable with. We will encourage you to take time to make the right decision for you and will respect whatever you decide to do.
Not an issue, however you need to be aware that you will have to undergo a number of internal vaginal scans and there is a risk that the hymen may be ruptured during the egg retrieval process. We have had many virgins who have donated successfully!
No, the eggs are removed vaginally with an ultrasound guided fine needle whilst you are under sedation. The actual egg retrieval takes about 20 minutes. For a video on how eggs are retrieved, you can have a look at this video which although not totally the same, is similar to what egg donors go through in South Africa: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV5lA_0i4S4
Unfortunately not.
Nurture has many donors who travel around South Africa to donate. Nurture currently works with clinics based in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and Durban. You can indicate whether you would like to/are able to donate at various locations. If you are chosen to donate in a city far from home, are willing to travel and can afford the time away from home/work/university the process will involve a day trip to that specific city (generally fly in the morning and back the same day). Then around 2 months later, you will need to travel back to that city and stay for a minimum of 10 days. All of the necessary travel, transport, accommodation and daily allowance arrangements will be taken care of and paid for on your behalf. There is no cost to you, the donor.
No, you need to have finished breast-feeding and have had 2 consecutive periods again prior to being able to donate
From the time you are chosen by a recipient it usually takes 2 to 3 months until the actual egg donation happens. The initial screening happens shortly after being chosen (2 appointments – one with the doctor and one with the psychologist). Then about 2 months after the initial screening the actual donation process begins. You will have an appointment to collect your medication and once you start injecting yourself with the fertility medication, there will be a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 4 visits to the clinic for an internal scan + the day of retrieval (this is the only day you will need to take the whole day off.) A doctor’s note can be arranged with reception at the clinic for any/all of the appointments, (this will be a regular gynae letter & will not disclose that you are donating your eggs.) To summarize – you are looking at a minimum of 7 appointments over a 2-3 month period.
To avoid getting pregnant yourself during the egg donation process you need to be extra careful!! You are super fertile before and after the donation. You will either need to abstain (ouch!!) or you will need to use condoms. The ‘rhythm method’ is NOT a reliable method, don’t do it! Once you get your period after your egg retrieval, you can go back to your normal method of contraception.
Remember – the objective is for the recipient to get pregnant right now, not you Be wise, condomize!
As the law stands no contact is allowed between the donor and the potential child in the future.
Our recipients are amazing, resilient and tenacious people. Most of them have endured years of fertility treatment, to no avail. The common thread that connects this group of people is the desire to become parents. Each and every recipient has consulted with a Fertility Specialist, at the highest level and the decision to use an egg donor is sometimes not an easy one. Although our recipients are eternally grateful for the generosity and appreciate the ultimate act of kindness offered by you (our donors), they still undergo a certain amount of emotional distress before finding peace in the process.
You can rest assured knowing that the physical, emotional and financial investment made by our recipient parents is reassurance of the fact that these are good people, wanting to be good parents. Our team support each and every recipient through their journey, from choosing a donor who is right for them, throughout the donation process and beyond.
It may interest you to see some Recipient feedback on our website.
Body mass index or BMI, is an index of a person’s relative “skinniness or heaviness”. The BMI factors in a person’s weight and their height to give an overall “index”. For a woman to donate eggs, it is a medical requirement that her BMI is between 18 and 28.
You can calculate yours here.
No it doesn’t.
Your treatment will take place at the clinic where your recipient’s fertility Dr is based. We will only know which clinic you are donating at if/when you are selected. The clinics we work with can be found here.
Yes, SA Legislation currently states that unless a “known” donation is arranged i.e. Your sister, cousin, friend is the egg donor, egg donation has to remain strictly anonymous.
It is not possible to specify how many eggs are donated as everyone responds to the medication differently and added to that, every donation cycle is different. Just to explain further – the female body releases new eggs each month (until your mid 30’s). If left unfertilised these eggs are flushed away each month with your menstrual cycle. During a donation cycle you are given medication to gently stimulate your egg growth – those “extra” eggs are the eggs which are donated. The average number of eggs retrieved is 15 with each cycle.