Press Releases

Friday 11th July, 2008

ONE IN SIX COUPLES HAVE TROUBLE CONCEIVING

Birmingham Couples in Need of Egg Donors

There are currently over 200 couples in the Birmingham region who need the help of an egg donor to start a family, but the current waiting list is two-and-a-half years long.
Birmingham Women's Hospital's Give Hope, Give Life appeal launches in Birmingham today and aims to raise awareness of egg donation and address the major shortage of available eggs.  Research reveals that Birmingham women are in the dark about the need for donors.  Over two thirds (68%) of women aged 18-35 in the region underestimate the number of couples (1 in 6) who have fertility problems and over half (56%) do not realise the extent of the waiting time for eggs.

Commenting on the launch of the campaign, Dr Jackson Kirkman-Brown of the Assisted Conception Unit at Birmingham Womens NHS Foundation Trust: Unfortunately, due to a shortage of donors, the average wait for a donor egg across the West Midlands region is approximately two-and-a half years with the length of wait increasing year on year. Like many areas, in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands theres lack of awareness that there is a donor shortage.  Many women simply don't realise that donors are needed or that they themselves could become a donor. The Give Hope, Give Life appeal aims to address this problem and hopefully boost the number of donors in the Birmingham region.