Egg donation requirements – why these 6 things matter, at TFP Fertility

What should we know about egg donation requirements in the UK?

Thinking about becoming an egg donor, or using donor eggs to build your family?

There are key criteria that donors need to meet in the UK, but why are they so important?

We went live with Stacey Rohling, Senior Fertility Nurse at TFP Fertility, to break down the six essential requirements, and what they mean for donation.

Watch as we cover:

1. Why age limits matter for egg donation success
2. The role of BMI and how it impacts treatment
3. Why being smoke-free (including vaping) is a requirement
4. The importance of a clean medical history
5. Why an infection-free status is a must-have
6. What’s involved in the fertility and genetic screening process

We’ll also cover whether any exceptions to these rules ever apply – watch now to find out when, and why.

Thinking about donating, or exploring treatment options with donor eggs (or sperm)? Connect with TFP Fertility for expert guidance.

Want to hear more from TFP Fertility? Read this next: Sperm & egg donation – where’s the UK at ahead of Pride 2025?

Transcript

Eloise Edington:

Good afternoon everyone, welcome to today’s live. We have the pleasure of going live today with TFP Fertility Stacy Rohling, who is the senior fertility nurse at TFP Fertility, the UK’s leading network of fertility clinics. She is here now, welcome everyone…. So how are egg donors screened? What is important? How does it help you as an intended parent? She’s very knowledgeable, and I’m looking forward to this. Hello, welcome Stacy!

Stacy Rohling:

Hi Eloise, how are you!

Eloise Edington:

I’m very well, thanks. How are you?

Stacy Rohling:

I’m very good, thank you. Thanks for having me! I am really, really excited!

Eloise Edington:

Absolutely, it’s always a pleasure chatting with you. I know we recently filmed together at the clinic, which is great, and you have wonderful expertise, which I’m so pleased that you’re sharing with our community today. So the topic we’re going to be discussing is egg donation requirements within the UK, and I think this is particularly important for people who are potentially looking into egg donation and wondering how egg donors are screened, what’s important, what the process is. So if you could start by introducing yourself and your role at TFP Fertility, then we can get talking.

Stacy Rohling:

Okay lovely, so I’m Stacy Rohling. I am a senior fertility nurse, but also the donation nurse lead at TFP Oxford Fertility. I’ve been in fertility for about 20 years and just have a real passion for, you know, helping create families. I’ve sort of moved on to the general services probably about three or four years ago, and again, it’s for those couples who have sort of reached the end of their own journey. So to be able to be a part of it and work with all these lovely egg donors who are altruistically wanting to donate and help others is a real privilege, and I really enjoy my job.

Eloise Edington:

That’s great to hear. As a parent to donor-conceived children, it’s always a conversation that’s close to my heart that I love to talk about because it helps people understand what options are available for them when seeking routes to parenthood. So first of all, I’d love to ask you, diving straight in, the first requirement for prospective egg donors is to fit into a certain age bracket. What are the specifics here around age and why is it so important for egg donation?

Stacy Rohling:

Yeah, so age is really important when donating eggs because it directly impacts the egg quality, quantity, and overall success rates in fertility treatment. We know with increasing age the quantity and quality of eggs decline, so there’s a higher chance of not achieving a successful pregnancy. We also know, that as women get older, the risk of chromosomal abnormalities in eggs increases also, so this can lead to conditions like Down syndrome or failed implantation failure. So it’s about getting the right donors coming forward to donate at the right age. Also, you know, younger women do have a higher ovarian reserve and they do respond really well to fertility medications. So, during that donor process, to put a donor through it, we want to make sure that it could be a good successful donation. And, older women may not respond as well, but also, think about the legal and ethical sort of side of things as well. Just because we can, doesn’t mean that we should in some cases. So it’s about making sure that the donor is safe, is well-informed, and everything’s ethical to hopefully create as many successful donations as possible.

Eloise Edington:

Wow, someone just said, “I’ve donated seven times now, my last one being last month.” How amazing.

Stacy Rohling:

A truly special person you really are.

Eloise Edington:

You must meet a lot of people who are coming to you where, you know, they’ve tried with their own eggs and this is something potentially daunting that they’re looking into and a new route to parenthood. So obviously with it comes questions and emotions and all kinds of things to navigate. So having these conversations is great to empower people with options and more knowledge about what egg donation involves and the screening process that you have at TFP Fertility. So the second requirement I wanted to touch on is BMI. Okay, I know that’s a sensitive topic, but what should we know here? And why do you ask prospective donors for this?

Stacy Rohling:

Yeah, so BMI is always a tricky one, especially when you ask our patients to jump on the scales. It’s important when donating eggs because it affects both the donor’s health and the success of obviously having the egg retrieval. Donors take courses of stimulation injections, and having a higher or a lower BMI can affect how the body metabolizes those medications, so it would affect stimulation and possibly then, having lots of maybe fewer eggs or mature eggs being collected. There’s also a theory as well,  that can be linked to someone having a high BMI, that it could impact egg quality and make a successful pregnancy in the future, less possible. But having a low BMI can also indicate nutritional deficiencies, so that could also then affect egg health. So it’s about getting that healthy balance.

Eloise Edington:

Right.

Stacy Rohling:

So increased risks of complications. I mean, egg retrieval is, it’s a sort of minor minimally invasive procedure, but anesthetics are used. So somebody who has a higher BMI can make administering those medications tricky, but also then it can have an effect on somebody’s body as well. So we do want to be safe once having that egg retrieval. Someone, again, who’s had a higher BMI might have an excessive response to fertility medication, so therefore, OHSS, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, which is something we want to reduce in all our patients. But somebody with a higher BMI potentially then is at higher risk of that. But also, due to the nature of the procedure of egg collection, bleeding, and infection risks are something that can happen, but somebody with a higher BMI might be more technically difficult to then carry safely. We have a duty of care to ensure our donors are safe throughout the whole of their cycle.

Eloise Edington:

That’s great to hear. If anyone has any questions for Stacy as we are talking, whether as an intended parent using or looking into egg donation or contemplating donating eggs, please do feel free to send us a private message or comment on here. Additionally, we’ve linked up in our bio the TFP Fertility website to find out more, where all the resources and expertise are there for the team to help you with your personalized plan. So I also wanted to ask about smoking. We know that smoking is not good. Why is being smoke-free so important and does this include vaping?

Stacy Rohling:

Yeah, so again, a very big topic and yet something that we would automatically decline a donor from coming forward if they were smoking or vaping at that time. It’s not allowed when donating eggs because we know it can negatively impact both the donor’s health and the quality of the eggs. So, it’s just something that you shouldn’t be doing. We know that toxins, obviously in cigarettes and vaping products, things like nicotine and tar, damage eggs at a cellular level, so this is then obviously going to at least lead to reduced egg quality and potentially the increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities. So, you know, I think they must have done research in the past that smokers and vapers have had fewer viable eggs, and then it just reduces the success rates. Smoking is also linked to diminished ovarian reserve, so even for our patients, if they were smoking, we would be advising them to stop because, hopefully, with the help they could increase their sort of egg quality. 

And obviously, nicotine has been known to interfere with fertility medications, so, people might need to then take more medications for the follicles to grow. And also, it’s going to make egg retrieval harder as well because smokers have poor circulation, recovery is harder, anesthetic risk. So smoking, and vaping can affect lung function, and again, this can increase complications. And then also, if a donor was smoking and we accepted them, then you think about the long-term health concerns for that, maybe a recipient or baby’s born from their donation. So we do know that smokers and vapers do have a high chance of implantation failure, miscarriage, or even sometimes birth defects. So, at TFP Fertility Oxford, we want our donors to be smoke or vape-free for at least three months, ideally six, but at least three months to ensure that everything is out of the system before they then donate.

Eloise Edington:

Fantastic, someone has just said, Becky has just said, “I’ve donated four times and hopefully going to donate again. I’ve always found the procedure and recovery to go well.” Again, amazing. So, the fourth requirement I wanted to touch on is to be free from serious illnesses or infections. Can you give us an idea of what this means in terms of illnesses or infections and why is this so important when donating eggs?

Stacy Rohling:

Yeah, so being free from serious illness or infection is crucial when donating eggs because it ensures both the donor’s health and the safety of the recipient and any potential baby that’s really key. So some illnesses can be transmitted through the egg or affect the embryo development, leading to birth defects, pregnancy complications, or miscarriage. So, we do have a duty of care to ensure that when a donor is donating, the recipient, that there is nothing there that then could be passed on and cause any problems. Things like sometimes viral infections, like Covid or CMV, may affect egg quality. But things also like chlamydia, gonorrhea, and especially things like HIV and hepatitis can be passed on through the embryos. So we want to ensure that when donors donate, they have not had any serious infections or STIs in the past. Some chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, and autoimmune conditions, can affect egg health, hormone balance, and again that fertility medication response. So we do want our donors to be safe during the donation process but also not to pass anything on to the recipient or potential child born of that donation.

Eloise Edington:

Yeah, so this is a really important fact for people to note in terms of intended parents, in terms of where these eggs have come from and everything we’ve been discussing today is a huge factor to the potential success and as you said, you know, the healthy child that you’re looking to have. So it’s great to know that all of this is screened so vigorously from the beginning to set people up for the best chance possible.

Stacy Rohling:

Absolutely, and again, it’s about the egg donors as well. It’s about ensuring that they’re well, that starting the course of fertility medications, they’re not going to become more unwell if they’re unwell at the beginning. So again, it’s about our duty of care to make sure that hopefully the cycle themselves, the egg retrieval, go seamlessly, they have a speedy recovery, and potentially then may want to donate again in the future.

Eloise Edington:

Absolutely, yeah, it’s incredible, and then in terms of a requirement being a willingness to share a full medical history and that of immediate relatives, what kind of things would you be looking for there with the egg donor?

Stacy Rohling:

Yeah, so it’s really important to share a full medical history and that of your family. It’s essential because donating eggs obviously to a recipient, we have a duty of care to them also. So, we want to make sure that there are no genetic conditions because many genetic conditions can be passed down through the eggs. So obviously, we like to assess the donor as well as her parents—mother, father, even grandparents, brothers, and sisters—to see if there’s anything there that potentially could be passed down, such as conditions like cystic fibrosis, thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, Tay-Sachs.

 So, we do have a very broad questionnaire that they go through, but also then at the medical consultation, it’s about deep diving into sort of family history just so we make sure that nothing can be passed down. If a donor’s got a strong history of genetic conditions, then obviously, unfortunately, they wouldn’t be able to donate. We also need to ensure a healthy pregnancy and baby for a recipient, so like I said, the intended parents, they’ve been on a long journey potentially themselves to then use donor eggs, you know, ethically. To use a donor who could potentially pass something down, it’s something we wouldn’t do. We do follow that code of practice, to the T to make sure this doesn’t happen.

Eloise Edington:

Yeah, that’s great to hear, yeah.

Stacy Rohling:

And again, it’s about protecting the donor’s health as well because, hormones and a minor surgical procedure, we need to know her medical history as well so that we’re not putting her at harm. So, if there was something there that potentially would cause a problem during anesthetics, or somebody had a blood clotting disorder, these are the things that we have a duty to ensure that the donor does not come to any harm whilst going through treatment and having egg retrieval. Yeah, it’s a big, important part of the cycle.

Eloise Edington:

And I presume for the egg donors involved, this is a way to find out more about their own reproductive health as well.

Stacy Rohling:

Absolutely, right from the beginning of having an AMH blood test to having a fertility scan to assess everything inside, that’s a good indicator for a donor, especially maybe a donor who hasn’t had their own children. So again, it’s a nice fertility assessment for them to know where they are on their own journey. Potentially, they might not want children in the future or they may, so it’s a good way of actually letting them know. But then also, through the screening, we do genetic screening, we do bacterial screening and lots of sexual health testing. Again, it’s good for them because some people don’t know their blood group. They will obviously if they have come through for donation. But also, we check their karyotype, we check for cystic fibrosis, and for some ethnic backgrounds, we’ll be checking things like sickle cell anemia. So again, it’s a really good assessment of them as a whole and any donor can have access to their blood test results, you know, anytime.

Eloise Edington:

Yeah, this is why I think these conversations are so important, and it’s great that you’re here today educating people on this because we’ve got egg donors on the conversation, we’ve also got potential intended parents on the conversation, so to be able to kind of join the dots so people know what to expect and know a bit more about what’s involved. I also wanted to ask you about another requirement that you just touched on in terms of the fertility assessment genetic screening. What does this entail for the donor?

Stacy Rohling: So genetic screening, yes, when they come to us to have their initial bloods taken, we run lots of blood tests as I said to you, including HIV, Hep B and C, as well as, things like chlamydia, gonorrhea. But also, yeah, the cystic fibrosis and the karyotype. So the karyotype does take a long time to come back, up to 42 days, I’ve got it ingrained in my brain. This is then going to show us if that donor carries the normal pairs of chromosomes, and that’s really important to know that somebody has a normal set of chromosomes moving forward into donation because then we know nothing is going to be passed down. 

So obviously, 46XX is a female, 46XY is a male, and if there was anything that came back and there was something that was not right, or there were any abnormalities, we have a duty of care again to speak to the donor, and then we would be helping provide some genetic counseling to, if there is an impact on the donor and the potential future fertility, then obviously we would support them on their journey in finding out any information that they can.

Eloise Edington:

And to be able to have that expertise to find out more is key so that people can be informed with whatever it is that you might be coming back with, whether it’s something that they were expecting or not expecting.

Stacy Rohling:

Exactly, you know, and I pride myself in that if a donor, at any stage on the journey, right at the beginning of inquiring, sort of passing that first inquiring section to then filling in the questionnaires about their history, sort of every step is sort of making sure that, they’re meeting the criteria. But you know, we support them if they don’t meet the criteria, we would offer counseling if there was anything that they would like to discuss or talk to me about. And it’s just because they might not meet a criteria of potentially the AMH, it doesn’t automatically mean that there’s an impact on their own future fertility. But obviously, we at TFP Oxford and TFP Fertility would go through anything to help them on their journey and thank them for even inquiring because that’s really important.

Eloise Edington:

Yeah, absolutely. It’s worth finding out more just to see whether it’s the right thing for you personally and if it’s the right fit. A question that’s come in: are donor egg cycles open ID? How much do people know about their donors?

Stacy Rohling:

Yeah, so in the UK, egg donation is anonymous up until the point that a donor-conceived child turns 18. So, all information—identifying information—is kept out, and the information that I’m allowed to share with the recipient couples is things like characteristics. So, non-identifying information such as height, weight, hair color, eye color, complexion. But also, on the donor information form, which is the form that the HFEA asks the donors to complete, they can add things like occupation, hobbies and interests, their religion, but also their reason for donating. Now, the reason for donating is vital because sometimes, you know, an intended parent-recipient couple looking at this can be the absolute game changer for them. 

Having that little connection with the donor just to have the feelings of why they’re choosing to donate can be a make or break, so really important form. Also, there’s a section on those forms as well about a goodwill message, but also telling a potential child who wants to read about it at 18 years old a little bit because that form can be shared with them once they reach 18, and obviously, then they request that from the HFEA. So, I’ve, sometimes, I’ve read these forms and it almost brings me to tears, how the generosity of an egg donor and their thoughts and feelings about why they potentially want to do this. And most are open to it, if you would like to contact me in the future, I’d love to hear from you, so that’s great too.

Eloise Edington:

What kind of reasons have you seen?

Stacy Rohling:

I think lots of donors I have seen, like, friends, and family members have gone through fertility struggles themselves. That is a real motive, and they then think, well actually, if I’ve had my children, or I don’t want children yet, then I want to help somebody out to create a family. And if people have had their own children, they also then say, well, I’m now done, I have eggs every month, and they’re going to waste. Let’s share them with other people so they can have what I have, and that is my family. So again, I’ve got goosebumps already.

Eloise Edington:

I know, I heard this from someone in our community the other day, who I was speaking to, saying exactly that: if my eggs are going to waste, I’d like to use them to help, you know, someone who is finding it a struggle to create their family or, you know, for a same-sex couple or whoever it might be. It’s just a really interesting and special way to give something really special back.

Stacy Rohling:

I have had a donor who I’ve worked with for quite a few years who donated five times, you know, was a fantastic donor. The buzz that she got from doing it and knowing how the outcome could be, and I think currently at the moment, with a few siblings in there, she’s helped create 10 families, and there are 12 live births at this moment, with lots of embryos in storage. So, that is just the best story. She absolutely adored what she did, and what may happen in the future if they contact her, she’s there with open arms to say, I did this to help your parents.

Eloise Edington:

That’s amazing, that’s giving me goosebumps, and I think also, yeah, I’d love to know: how much do the egg donors know about babies conceived from their eggs?

Stacy Rohling:

Yeah, so obviously, we don’t contact the donors to let them know if a live birth has happened. So what I say to them is check in maybe once a year, just if you want to know, and what I’m able to tell them is if a child has been born, the year it was born, and if it was a boy or a girl. So yeah, it’s very limited information, and that’s to protect everybody, you know.

Eloise Edington:

Of course, yeah, this is so helpful, Stacy, really interesting. Also, I wanted to ask you sort of finally, are there any special cases where you might accept a donor who doesn’t fulfill all of the criteria and requirements that we’ve mentioned above, and if so, why?

Stacy Rohling:

Yeah, so for altruistic donation, we do have to fulfill those criteria. So unfortunately, if there was any part of that eligibility criteria that wasn’t met, then unfortunately, they wouldn’t be able to donate. The only time that we potentially would accept a donation would be in known donation cases, so when you have a couple that maybe a friend wants to donate or a family member if they sort of fit outside of that remit. And I would say this is probably more for age, not BMI, because I think we’re quite strict on BMI, but for age and then AMH testing and infertility scan. So it’s about then, if we have the information and say the AMH is a little bit on the lower side, providing that the intended parents are aware of everything, they’re aware of what potential success rates could be, we’re ensuring the donor’s safety, and the donor and the intended parents themselves as a known donation have had the appropriate counseling and are informed, then obviously, that can move forward. So, that’d be the only time that we would accept anybody outside of that remit.

Eloise Edington:

Makes complete sense. Well, this has been really interesting. Thank you so much for your time. Is there anything that you think people should be aware of, whether they’re looking to use donor eggs or contemplating looking into becoming an egg donor?

Stacy Rohling:

Well, by all means, on our website, there is a section on there about egg donation. So for any of those people that potentially might want to inquire about donation, please just drop an email through. We’ll contact you and talk you through the process. You are just by inquiring does not mean you’re signing up, so please don’t be scared just to sort of have that conversation. Again, I work at TFP Oxford Fertility, so if anybody wants to have a call with me, please phone our clinic. I’m here Monday to Friday. Again, for those recipient couples who do not know what they want to do on their journey, please reach out to one of our local clinics. TFP has got clinics all over the UK, all the way up from Glasgow down to Southampton. So, we’ll be able to give you some advice, tell you about potential waiting times, or how the process works. So, please get in touch with us, and we’ll help.

Eloise Edington:

Absolutely, thank you for that. Echoing that, we’ve also linked up the website in our bio, so definitely speak to the team and work out what’s right for you. As you said, there’s no harm in just starting that conversation. So, yeah, agree, really appreciate your thoughts today. Thank you, everyone, for joining and those who are watching back. And yeah, it’s always lovely to speak to you, Stacey.

Stacy Rohling:

Thank you, Eloise, honestly, it’s been lovely and thank you again so much for having me!

Eloise Edington:

Thanks, everyone, have a good evening. Bye-bye.