Egg Donor FAQ

An egg donor is a healthy young woman, usually between the ages of 19 and 29, who voluntarily donates some of her eggs to help individuals or couples who are unable to conceive using their own eggs. These hopeful parents may have faced infertility, medical conditions, or other challenges on their journey to parenthood.

By donating her eggs, an egg donor offers something truly extraordinary — the opportunity for someone else to have a child and build the family they’ve longed for. It’s an act of compassion, generosity, and immense impact.

Someone may need the help of an egg donor if they are unable to produce healthy, viable eggs themselves. This can be due to a number of reasons, including premature ovarian failure, age-related infertility, poor egg quality, or medical conditions such as severe endometriosis.

Egg donation also offers a path to parenthood for same-sex male couples who are building their family through the help of both an egg donor and a surrogate.

Struggling to have a child when it’s something you deeply long for can be incredibly painful. Egg donors play a vital role in offering hope and helping create families where it may not have been possible otherwise.

Nurture is South Africa’s leading and most trusted egg donor program. For over 17 years, we’ve worked hand-in-hand with the country’s top fertility clinics and have earned the reputation of being the most recommended agency in the industry.

With more than 4,500 completed donation cycles and over 30,000 donor applications processed, we’ve built a program that puts care, safety, and support at the heart of everything we do. Our dedicated team is here to guide and support you every step of the way, ensuring you feel valued, informed, and respected throughout your donation journey.

When you donate through Nurture, you’re not just helping someone have a baby—you’re becoming part of a compassionate, professional community committed to making a real difference.

The first step to becoming an egg donor with Nurture is to check whether you meet the eligibility criteria. You can read more about the requirements here: https://www.nurture.co.za/egg-donors/egg-donor-criteria/ 

If you qualify, the next step is to register on the Nurture Egg Donor Portal: https://portal.nurture.co.za/members/sign_up/donors 

After registering, you’ll receive a verification link via email. Once your account is verified, you’ll be able to complete the full application form. This form will ask for details about your physical characteristics, personality, education, achievements, and medical history. This information helps future parents get a meaningful sense of who you are as they search for the right donor.

The process of choosing an egg donor is deeply personal and unique to each recipient parent. Some are looking for a physical match—factors like eye colour, hair colour, height, or build can help a mom-to-be feel more connected to the donor and imagine a resemblance in her future child. Others may focus on shared interests, personality traits, academic background, or life experiences.

Often, it’s the little details in your profile—how you describe yourself, your values, or your hobbies—that create a meaningful connection for the recipient. That’s why it’s so important to be open, detailed, and honest in your application. The more thoughtfully you complete your profile, the more likely it is that a recipient will feel that connection with you.

High-quality childhood photos (between the ages of 2 and 10) are also essential. These images help recipient parents picture what their future child might look like, and donors who include them are often chosen more quickly.

To learn more about what helps you stand out, check out these blog posts:

How Future Parents Choose Their Ideal Egg Donor: https://www.nurture.co.za/egg-donor/how-future-parents-choose-their-ideal-egg-donor/ 

Why Childhood Photos Are Important: https://www.nurture.co.za/recipients/picture-this-why-are-my-childhood-photos-important-if-i-register-as-an-egg-donor/ 

When will I be chosen to donate?

This is one of the most common questions we get—and the honest answer is that there’s no set timeline. Some egg donors are chosen within days of being added to the database, while others may wait weeks or even months. In some cases, a match may not happen at all.

Why the wait?

Finding the right match is a very personal process. Intended parents are looking for someone who feels like the right fit for them, and that could be based on physical traits, personality, childhood photos, or other unique details in your profile. If you haven’t been chosen yet, it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you—it just means the right recipient hasn’t come along yet.

For tips on how to increase your chances of being selected, read our blog post: How Long Does It Take To Get Chosen?

You can continue using your current birth control while you wait to be matched with a recipient. Once you’ve been chosen and attend your first medical appointment, the fertility doctor will review your birth control method and advise on the best approach going forward. In many cases, your birth control will form part of the planning process to help synchronise your cycle with the recipient’s treatment.

It’s completely natural to wonder how you’ll feel about the idea of children being born from your donated eggs. Many egg donors find peace and pride in understanding the role they played in helping someone else build a family.

Here’s something to keep in mind:

Firstly, the eggs retrieved during a donation cycle are not “extra” eggs taken from your future supply. They are eggs that your body would have naturally discarded during your menstrual cycle if they hadn’t been donated.

Secondly, an egg on its own doesn’t make a child. It takes the right egg, the right sperm, the right timing, the right womb, and the right parents to create a child. Your generous contribution is one part of a much bigger picture.

The children born from egg donation are deeply loved and wanted by the parents who raised them. You’re not becoming a parent—you’re helping someone else experience the joy of parenthood. And that is an incredibly powerful gift.

Who is the child's parent?

The short answer is: not you.

As an egg donor, you’re playing a powerful and generous role in helping create a life—but you are not the parent of the child born from your donation.

Being a parent is not defined by DNA. It’s defined by love, care, and presence. A parent is the one who wakes up for midnight feeds, who kisses away tears, who changes nappies and reads bedtime stories. A parent is the one who shows up—day after day—with unconditional love.

While your donation may help make parenthood possible, the true parents are the ones who raise, nurture, and love the child. They are the ones who will be called mom or dad.

You’re offering the gift of possibility. But the role of parent belongs entirely to those who walk the journey of raising that child every single day.

No, donating your eggs will not affect your ability to have children in the future. The eggs that are collected during a donation cycle are eggs your body would have naturally discarded during that month’s cycle.

Here’s how it works: You’re born with all the eggs you’ll ever have. From puberty, your body begins to mature a group of eggs—usually 15 to 20—each month. Normally, only one egg makes it to ovulation, and the rest are absorbed by the body and disappear.

When you donate, the fertility medication helps more of those eggs in that month’s group to mature fully. These are then retrieved and donated. You don’t lose any extra eggs—you simply give a second chance to the ones that would have been lost.

The bottom line is: egg donation is safe and does not reduce your future fertility.

To learn more, read this article: Does Donating Eggs Affect My Future Fertility?

https://www.nurture.co.za/egg-donor/does-donating-eggs-affect-my-future-fertility/ 

The short answer is: no, it doesn’t hurt.

Egg donation is a painless and non-surgical procedure. The eggs are retrieved while you’re under conscious sedation, which means you’ll be asleep and completely comfortable during the 15–20 minute procedure. You won’t feel a thing.

Most donors feel absolutely fine afterwards and recover quickly. As one of our donors shared:

“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’ll be well taken care of every step of the way, and if you have any questions or concerns, our team is always here for you.

After the egg retrieval, you’ll need someone to drive you home, as you will have received sedation and won’t be allowed to drive yourself—regardless of how mild the sedation was.

You may feel a bit tired or tender for the rest of the day, so we recommend taking it easy. Most donors feel back to normal by the next day and are able to return to their usual activities, whether that’s work, studies, or even cartwheels! There’s no extended recovery time or downtime needed.

You might be wondering who pays all of the medical bills?

Not you! As an egg donor, you won’t have to pay for any part of the donation process. All costs related to your doctor visits, medical tests, fertility medication, and the egg retrieval procedure are fully covered by the recipient parents-to-be.

For most donors, donating eggs is not about the money; they are doing this out of the goodness of their heart. But of course, even they are wondering "How much do I get paid for donating eggs?"

Egg donor compensation in South Africa is guided by ethical and medical regulations set by organisations such as SASREG and the South African Medical Ethics Committee. The current compensation is between R8,000 and R10,000, depending on the fertility clinic where you donate.

This fee is not a payment for your eggs, and you are not selling them. Instead, it is a regulated amount that compensates you for your time, effort, and commitment throughout the donation process.

For more details, visit our Donor Compensation page: https://www.nurture.co.za/donor-compensation/

Is the donation anonymous?

If you’re donating in South Africa to South African recipient parents, your donation will be completely anonymous. Neither you nor the recipient parents will know each other’s identities. They will only see your anonymous donor profile, which includes details like your physical characteristics, personality, academic background, and childhood photos—with all identifying information removed.

If you’re donating to an international recipient, you may be asked whether you’re willing to donate as an Identity Release donor. This means your identity could be shared with the donor-conceived child once they turn 18, but only if they request it. You will never be contacted by the recipient parents themselves, and this information is shared only with the child, if and when they ask.

The decision to donate anonymously or as an Identity Release donor is entirely yours. You have full control over how you choose to donate.

To learn more about Identity Release donation, visit: 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’ll need to take just one full day off—on the day of your egg retrieval. If needed, the doctor will provide a medical certificate for this.

In addition to that, you’ll need to attend between 4 and 5 short appointments at the fertility clinic over a 2–3 month period. These appointments usually take 30 to 60 minutes and are scheduled during normal office hours (Monday to Friday). They can’t be done after hours or on weekends.

The good news is that all your appointments will be planned in advance, so you’ll have time to organise your schedule around them. While you may need to step out for a few hours on some days, the time commitment is very manageable—and you’re never on your own. We’ll help guide and support you through it all.

If you’re considering becoming an egg donor, it’s completely natural to wonder about the possible side effects of egg donation. The good news is that most egg donors experience only mild, short-term effects—if any at all.

During an egg donation cycle, you’ll take hormone medication for about 10 to 12 days. This medication is part of a gentle stimulation protocol, designed to safely encourage your ovaries to produce more eggs. The process is closely monitored by fertility specialists who follow strict medical guidelines to ensure your safety and wellbeing.

Some egg donors report mild symptoms similar to PMS, such as bloating, breast tenderness, mild headaches, mood swings or emotional sensitivity. These side effects are temporary and usually disappear shortly after the egg retrieval.

A small amount of temporary weight gain—typically one or two kilograms—is possible due to fluid retention, not fat gain. This usually resolves on its own after the donation.

As with any medical procedure, there is a very small risk of infection or a reaction to the sedation used during the egg retrieval. To minimise this risk, a preventative antibiotic is given during the procedure, and all egg retrievals are performed in top fertility clinics under the care of experienced professionals.

Egg donation is a safe and well-established medical process. However, if you have any questions or feel uncertain at any stage, our team is here to support you. Your safety, comfort, and peace of mind are always our top priority.

While egg donation is a very safe and carefully managed process, it is still a medical procedure—and with any medical procedure, there are potential risks. The clinics we partner with follow strict safety protocols to minimise these risks, because prevention is always better than cure.

The primary medical risk is a condition known as Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS). OHSS occurs when the ovaries respond too strongly to the fertility medication and produce too many eggs. This can lead to bloating, discomfort, and in rare cases, more serious symptoms like nausea and abdominal pain. Fortunately, OHSS is rare, affecting less than 1% of egg donation cycles in South Africa.

To reduce the chance of OHSS, your response to the medication will be closely monitored with regular check-ups and ultrasounds. If your ovaries are showing signs of over-response, the doctor will adjust your medication to reduce the stimulation. If OHSS does occur, it typically shows up a day or two after the egg retrieval and is usually managed with rest, fluids, and time for your ovaries to return to normal. In rare cases, you may need a short stay in the clinic for observation and treatment.

It’s also important to know that most clinics in South Africa now use an advanced protocol known as the “Lupron trigger” (or GnRH agonist trigger), which significantly reduces the risk of OHSS developing in the first place.

A second, very rare, risk is infection. As with any procedure that involves the skin or internal access—like wisdom tooth removal, mole excision, or even ear piercing—there is a very small chance of infection. To guard against this, the clinic will usually administer a preventative antibiotic during the egg retrieval procedure.

If you do experience any unusual symptoms or need care after the retrieval, the fertility clinic will be there to provide follow-up support and medical treatment at no cost to you.

Our goal is to ensure you feel informed, supported, and safe every step of the way. You’ll have direct access to your Nurture support person and the fertility team, so if you have any concerns at any point, help is always just a phone call away.

Egg donation is a very safe and carefully managed medical process. Serious complications are extremely rare. The most significant risk is a condition called Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS), which occurs in less than 1% of egg donation cases. In very rare instances, OHSS can become serious, and even more rarely, life-threatening.

However, fertility clinics follow strict safety protocols and monitor donors closely to catch any early signs of OHSS or other concerns. The majority of donors go through the process without any complications and recover quickly after egg retrieval.

Your health and safety are our top priority, and you’ll be supported and monitored every step of the way.

While we would love for you to only be signed up with us (because, let’s be honest—we’re pretty fabulous!), we understand that some donors do register with more than one agency. If you decide to do this, it’s really important that you keep us informed.

Most importantly, if you are selected to donate—whether through Nurture or another agency—you must let the other agency know right away. You cannot go through two donation cycles at the same time, and double-booking could cause disappointment for the recipient parents who are counting on you.

This process involves real people with real hopes and emotions, so clear communication and consideration are key. Just keep us in the loop, and everything will run smoothly.

According to South African guidelines, an egg donor may donate a maximum of six times or until six babies have been born from her donations—whichever comes first. Some fertility clinics may have slightly different internal policies, but six is the general limit.

When you’re matched for a donation, we temporarily remove your profile from our website. Once your donation is complete—and the fertility doctor confirms you’re medically cleared to donate again—you can decide if you’d like to do another cycle with us.

We’ll put your profile back on the site about one month after your donation, so that if you’re chosen quickly again, you’ll still have had a full three-month break between donation cycles.

It’s completely okay to feel uncertain—egg donation is a deeply personal decision, and it’s important that you feel fully comfortable before moving forward. If your application is successful and you’re chosen to donate, you’ll have the opportunity to talk through any thoughts or concerns with one of our experienced counselling psychologists before proceeding.

That said, we do ask that you are 100% sure you are ready, willing and able to donate before we make your profile available for selection. Once a recipient parent chooses you, they begin to invest emotionally in the possibility of you helping them become a family. Having to disappoint a hopeful parent because a donor has changed their mind can be incredibly painful for everyone involved.

So please take a moment to ask yourself:

• Can I commit to attending all the clinic appointments as scheduled?

• Will I be able to take time off work or studies when needed?

• Do I have the support of my partner, family, or the important people in my life?

  If you’re not completely sure, that’s okay. It’s far better to wait until the time is right for you—when you know you are both willing and able to donate.

We’re here to support you through the decision-making process, and we will respect whatever you decide.

Being a virgin does not prevent you from becoming an egg donor. However, it’s important to know that the donation process includes several internal vaginal scans to monitor your ovaries, and there is a chance that your hymen may be stretched or ruptured during the egg retrieval procedure.

We’ve had many virgins donate successfully, and our team will guide and support you through every step. If you have any concerns or questions about this part of the process, you’ll have the opportunity to discuss them with the fertility doctor or counsellor before proceeding.

No, there is no cutting, scarring, or surgery involved in egg donation. There is no 'operation'. The eggs are retrieved using a fine needle that is guided by ultrasound and inserted vaginally while you are under sedation. The entire procedure takes about 20 minutes and is painless.

To read more about What Happens on Egg Retrieval Day, read our blog post: https://www.nurture.co.za/egg-retrieval/what-happens-on-egg-retrieval-day/  

To see how the process works, you can watch this short video which, while not exactly the same, is very similar to the egg retrieval process used in South Africa: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV5lA_0i4S4 

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 do not want to risk transmitting HIV to either the recipient mother or the unborn baby.

Read this article for more information about why HIV positive women aren't eligible to become an egg donor: Can I Donate Eggs If I Am HIV Positive?

No problem at all! Nurture has many amazing donors who travel from all over South Africa to donate. We work with fertility clinics based in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, and Port Elizabeth, and you can let us know if you’re open to travelling to donate in one of these cities.

If you’re chosen for a donation in a city far from home—and you’re able and willing to travel—the process involves two trips:

1. A day trip for your initial medical and psychological assessments (usually flying in the morning and returning the same day).

2. A second trip about two months later, where you’ll stay in that city for around 10 days while you complete the donation process.

All travel, accommodation, local transport, and a daily meal allowance will be arranged and paid for on your behalf. There is no cost to you at any stage.

If you’d like to see where our partner clinics are located, visit this page: Fertility Clinics

No, you will need to have completely finished breastfeeding and have had at least two consecutive periods before you can be considered for egg donation. This ensures that your natural cycle has returned to normal and that your body is ready for the donation process.

Once you’ve been chosen by a recipient, the entire egg donation process typically takes around 2 to 3 months. Here’s a breakdown of what to expect:

• Initial screening happens shortly after you’re selected and includes two appointments—one with the fertility doctor and one with a psychologist.

• About two months later, the medication phase begins. You’ll have an appointment to collect your medication and instructions on how to use it.

• Once you start the fertility injections, you’ll need to attend 3 to 4 monitoring appointments at the clinic for internal scans, spaced out over about 10 days.

• Finally, you’ll go in for the egg retrieval, which is the only day you’ll need to take a full day off.

In total, you can expect around 7 appointments spread over 2 to 3 months. If needed, the clinic can provide a doctor’s note for work or studies. The note will be a general gynaecological letter and won’t mention egg donation.

You can, but you need to be extremely careful. During the donation process, you are highly fertile—especially in the days leading up to and following the egg retrieval. This means your chances of falling pregnant are much higher than usual.

To avoid an unplanned pregnancy, you’ll need to either abstain from sex or use condoms throughout the process. Other methods, like the rhythm method, are not reliable and should be avoided.

Once your period returns after the egg retrieval, you can safely go back to your usual form of contraception.

Remember—the goal is for the recipient to fall pregnant, not you. Be wise, condomise!

This depends on the type of donation you choose—anonymous or identity release.

If you are donating to South African recipient parents, the donation will be anonymous. This means the child will not be able to access your identity, and you will not know who the child is. The recipient parents only receive your anonymous donor profile, which includes non-identifying details like your physical characteristics, personality, achievements, and childhood photos. Your name and contact information are never shared.

If you are donating to international recipient parents, you may be asked if you’re willing to donate as an Identity Release Donor. This means that if the child, once they turn 18, chooses to request information about their genetic background, your full name and last known contact details may be shared with them.

It’s important to know that:

• This information will only be shared with the donor-conceived child, not with the recipient parents.

• The child may or may not choose to reach out, and if they do, the contact will be handled gently and respectfully.

• You have no obligation —financial, emotional, or otherwise—towards the child.

The choice between anonymous and identity release donation is completely up to you. To learn more about identity release, visit: www.nurture.co.za/id-release

Our recipient parents are some of the most compassionate, determined, and loving people you could ever hope to help. Many of them have spent years going through emotionally and physically exhausting fertility treatments before reaching the point of needing an egg donor. The decision to take this path is never taken lightly.

Each recipient has been under the care of a qualified Fertility Specialist and has made a significant emotional and financial investment in their journey to parenthood. They come to this process with deep respect and gratitude for the incredible gift that donors like you offer.

At Nurture, we support our recipients every step of the way—from helping them choose the right donor to guiding them through the entire donation process. You can be confident that the people receiving your donated eggs are ready and committed to becoming loving, nurturing parents.

BMI, or Body Mass Index, is a measure that uses your weight and height to estimate whether your body size falls within a healthy range. It’s often used as a general guide to assess whether someone is underweight, at a healthy weight, or overweight.

For egg donation, it’s a medical requirement that your BMI is between 18 and 28. This is not about appearance—it’s about ensuring your safety and wellbeing during the donation process. A BMI outside this range can increase health risks during treatment and may also affect how your body responds to the fertility medication.

If you’d like to check whether you meet the requirement, you can calculate your BMI here: https://www.nurture.co.za/egg-donors/egg-donor-criteria/

For a deeper understanding of why BMI matters in egg donation, read our blog post:

https://www.nurture.co.za/egg-donor/the-weight-of-bmi-body-mass-index-in-the-egg-donation-process/

No, it doesn’t. Having had a miscarriage or a termination in the past does not disqualify you from becoming an egg donor. Each donor is assessed individually, and your past reproductive history will be taken into account with care and sensitivity by the medical team.

The fertility clinic and doctor are determined by the recipient parent you are matched with. Your donation will take place at the clinic where their fertility specialist is based. We’ll only be able to confirm which clinic you’ll be donating at once you’ve been selected by a recipient.

To see the list of clinics we work with across South Africa, visit: https://www.nurture.co.za/intended-parents/fertility-clinics/ 

The number of eggs retrieved during a donation cycle varies from person to person, as everyone responds differently to the medication—and every cycle is unique.

To give you some context: each month, your body naturally matures a group of eggs, but usually only one is released during ovulation. The others are not used and are naturally flushed away during your period.

When you donate, medication is used to gently stimulate your ovaries so that more of those eggs mature at the same time. These are the eggs that are collected during the donation—they’re not extra eggs from your lifetime supply, but ones that would have gone unused that month.

On average, around 15 eggs are retrieved per cycle, but the actual number may be slightly higher or lower.