We’ve already written about what sperm donors want, but what do egg donors think would improve their donation experience?
Ongoing support during the donation itself
Clinics are good at offering counselling for egg donors but the nature of the treatment means that donors would often like ongoing support during the donation too. (This is one reason the NGDT runs the donor mailing list.)
Clear information on aftercare
Donors need clear advice on what after-effects they might experience and an idea of what is normal. The relationship between the clinic and the donor needs to be good enough that a donor can contact them with what may seem like a minor concern to an expert, but which can cause unnecessary worry and distress.
A review of pain relief offered after egg collection
Although most egg donors described their donation as ‘problem-free’, most experienced some pain after the collection. Because donors generally viewed it as part of the process, they didn’t always say when they wanted more pain relief and clinics didn’t always tell them they could ask.
…and some things in common…
Egg and sperm donors have some common needs: counselling and clinic appointments at times that are easier to arrange around working hours, advice on ways of discussing donation with friends and family and a much clearer understanding of contact arrangements about the outcome of the donation.
We’re running this satisfaction survey to find out from donors themselves what would improve things for donors. The more people fill in the survey, the more impact it will make. We’re already looking at ways we can work with clinics to change things based on these results, so your contribution is important.
If you’ve been a donor (or thought about it and decided not to) then please take ten minutes to let us know how things went.