Lemongrass09
Member
I’m looking for egg donor. I’m close to 40. Having failed iui and IVF in the past. Im losing faith. Looking for kind soul who is willing to give me and my hubby a chance to become parents. Pls contact me.
Any Egg Donor?
- Thread starter Lemongrass09
- Start date
Angelica Cheng
Active Member
Do take a look at this article for available options:
Angelica Cheng
Active Member
Since the beginning of 2020, the Singapore government had lifted previous age limits (45 years old) on women receiving IVF treatment. It is anticipated that there will be a steady increase in egg donation cases in this small city-state, as many older women nearing or past menopause are often unable to produce enough viable eggs for successful fertility treatment.
Due to social egg freezing being banned in Singapore, some women here do not have the option of freezing their own eggs when they were younger, leaving many of them with no choice but to resort to egg donation to conceive a child.
Under Singapore health regulations, egg donors must fulfil the following criteria:
- Her blood must be tested negative for HIV, Syphilis, Hepatitis B and Cytomegalovirus (CMV).
- Her donated eggs must not result in more than 3 children being born in Singapore.
- She must be between 21 to 35 years of age, at the time of donation. It is not necessary for the egg donor to be either a Singapore citizen or permanent resident.
As the old saying goes, it takes two hands to clap in a successful marriage. If one partner is reluctant, while the other is willing, the marriage will never be happy.
The same applies to child-rearing, except that this time, an innocent party in the form of a child may be adversely affected by the unwilling partner who is unhappily being coerced into the arrangement.
Another key issue to consider is whether she should eventually tell her child the truth of his/her conception through egg donation?
Most seasoned fertility counsellors would recommend that the child be told the truth when they reach school-going age. Numerous psychological studies and news reports have documented the emotional trauma and identity crisis that donor-conceived teenagers and adults go through when they suddenly and unexpectedly learn the truth about their conception, for example through a family spat.
Very often, this leads to strained and even estranged parent-child relationships.
Moreover, the recent popularisation of direct-to-consumer genetic testing kits and associated genealogy and ancestry websites have made it much harder to conceal from donor offspring, the truth about their conception.
There is a possibility of the offspring inadvertently learning the truth about his/her conception through contact with DNA-matched relatives in such websites.
As medical technology advances, it is envisioned that DNA testing will one day become a universal norm in healthcare.
Options Available To Women In Singapore
Here are the various options available to women in Singapore, who are considering egg donation. Each of these have their own advantages and disadvantages, which will be discussed in turn.
Please click on the following link:
Angelica Cheng
Active Member
Option 1: Seek out your own relatives or close friends as egg donors
The obvious advantage of using a blood relative such as a sibling or cousin as an egg donor, is that you have a genetic link to the conceived child. Additionally, you would also be familiar with any hereditary genetic diseases that run in the family.
However, it may be challenging to find a “young enough” donor among your own circle of friends and relatives, preferably below 30 years old, as recommended by most fertility clinics. Using older egg donors will obviously decrease your chances of success.
Here are the various fractions of DNA that you would share with your child, with different types of blood relatives as egg donor: full sister – 25%, half-sister or niece – 12.5%, first cousin – 6.25%, second cousin – 3.125%. Note that if you were using your own eggs, you would share 50% of DNA with your child.
The advantage of using a close friend is that you know her character and what she looks like, traits that may possibly be inherited by the conceived child.
The disadvantages are the lack of egg donor anonymity, and increased chances of the secret of the child’s conception being leaked out, either deliberately or inadvertently by a third party.
Egg donation from close relatives may possibly cause awkwardness and tension in future family relationships, particularly at family gatherings during major festivals such as Chinese New Year.
Option 2: Import frozen donor eggs from an overseas egg bank
Recently, IVF patients have been permitted to import frozen donor eggs into Singapore from foreign egg banks worldwide, which meet certain requirements, such as rigorous infectious disease and genetic testing of donors.
The advantages are that donor anonymity is maintained, and there is a wide choice of donors available, even Asian and Chinese ones. Increasing demand worldwide has led to egg banks in Western countries recruiting donors of such ethnicity. Closer to home, there are also egg banks in Malaysia that can service Singaporean patients.
The major advantages of utilising frozen versus fresh donor eggs include:
Option 3: Look for an egg donor who is paid secretly, or utilise a foreign agency to send an egg donor to Singapore
Strictly not recommended. Currently, there exists numerous internet websites that allow you to look for your own egg donor. However, it is very unlikely that they will help you free-of-charge, and you will probably have to secretly pay them ‘under-the-table’.
But after receiving some payment, there is no guarantee that they will fulfil their part of the bargain, in which case you have no legal recourse for recovering your money. Because payment for egg donation is illegal in Singapore, in the first place, you will only implicate yourself in an illegal transaction if you decide to sue the would-be donor.
Moreover, it may be difficult to ensure that the freelance egg donor faithfully follows the painful and tedious procedure of daily hormone injections to stimulate egg production within her ovaries.
Utilising a well-established foreign egg donor agency may be a ‘safer’ option, but will be much more expensive.
Besides the agency fees, there are also extra travelling and accommodation costs. Most reputable foreign agencies will insist on having a coordinator to accompany the donor to Singapore, to ensure that the donor punctiliously self-administers hormonal injections to stimulate her ovaries, as well as to make sure she fulfils her part of the contract. This would mean additional travelling and hotel costs for the coordinator.
Furthermore, there is also the issue of illicit payments to the egg donor via the foreign agency. It may be difficult for such secret transactions to leak out, but if it does leak out, one will definitely end up in big trouble. Several years ago, a Singaporean magnate was jailed and fined for paying an Indonesian man to donate his kidney.
Additionally, it must be noted that Singaporean IVF clinics would require both the recipient couple and egg donor to sign a declaration form stating that the donation is altruistic. Hence the crimes of perjury and bribery would be committed by signing a false declaration.
Option 4: Travel overseas for egg donation at a foreign fertility clinic
Currently, this appears to be the most popular option. The medical fees of foreign fertility clinics are often much cheaper compared to Singapore. The disadvantages are that there is no government co-funding and you cannot utilize your Central Provident Fund (pension scheme) for fertility treatment.
Moreover, there is also the hassle and costs of overseas travel and hotel stay. Some local clinics have collaborative ties with foreign clinics that carry out egg donation.
Hence, they would be able to advise you on egg donation overseas, as well as co-ordinate with foreign clinics in synchronising hormonal injections to prepare your womb to be receptive for the egg donation procedure overseas. Moreover, preimplantation genetic screening (PGS/PGT-A) of embryos, which is highly restricted in Singapore, is readily available overseas.
This might be an important consideration for patients receiving donated eggs, since it is unknown whether the anonymous egg donor is carrying any genetic defects.
Nevertheless, Singaporean patients should note that there are much cheaper alternative methods of genetic screening such as testing of the egg donor’s blood sample before starting IVF, or NIPT (Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing), which can be done after getting pregnant.
Singaporean patients should also beware that some foreign IVF clinics take an extra cut of profit when sourcing egg donors for their patients from external agencies. It may be cheaper for patients to directly contact foreign egg donor agencies, and undergo treatment at their affiliated IVF clinics.
Additionally, Singaporean patients should try their best to use egg donors that reside locally within the same city as the foreign IVF clinic. They should avoid using travelling egg donors from out-of-town or out-of-state, who reside far away from the IVF clinic.
It is much more difficult to control and monitor the ovarian stimulation cycle of travelling egg donors from out-of-town. If possible, they should insist that the egg donor regularly receives hormone injections (recorded) by a nurse at the IVF clinic itself.
Option 5: Utilise leftover frozen eggs from local fertility clinics
These are generally scarce, but can be obtained from three sources:
The obvious advantage of using a blood relative such as a sibling or cousin as an egg donor, is that you have a genetic link to the conceived child. Additionally, you would also be familiar with any hereditary genetic diseases that run in the family.
However, it may be challenging to find a “young enough” donor among your own circle of friends and relatives, preferably below 30 years old, as recommended by most fertility clinics. Using older egg donors will obviously decrease your chances of success.
Here are the various fractions of DNA that you would share with your child, with different types of blood relatives as egg donor: full sister – 25%, half-sister or niece – 12.5%, first cousin – 6.25%, second cousin – 3.125%. Note that if you were using your own eggs, you would share 50% of DNA with your child.
The advantage of using a close friend is that you know her character and what she looks like, traits that may possibly be inherited by the conceived child.
The disadvantages are the lack of egg donor anonymity, and increased chances of the secret of the child’s conception being leaked out, either deliberately or inadvertently by a third party.
Egg donation from close relatives may possibly cause awkwardness and tension in future family relationships, particularly at family gatherings during major festivals such as Chinese New Year.
Option 2: Import frozen donor eggs from an overseas egg bank
Recently, IVF patients have been permitted to import frozen donor eggs into Singapore from foreign egg banks worldwide, which meet certain requirements, such as rigorous infectious disease and genetic testing of donors.
The advantages are that donor anonymity is maintained, and there is a wide choice of donors available, even Asian and Chinese ones. Increasing demand worldwide has led to egg banks in Western countries recruiting donors of such ethnicity. Closer to home, there are also egg banks in Malaysia that can service Singaporean patients.
The major advantages of utilising frozen versus fresh donor eggs include:
- Greater convenience, as there is no need to synchronise the timing and hormonal stimulation cycles of egg donors and recipient patients.
- Cheaper costs due to negating the travel and hotel costs associated with fresh egg donation.
- Little or no waiting time as frozen eggs are readily available.
- More certainty, because the exact number of frozen donor eggs is known and guaranteed. By contrast, for fresh egg donation, the number of eggs that will be retrieved from the donor after hormonal stimulation is unknown and non-guaranteed.
- The costs of transporting frozen eggs into Singapore from abroad is very expensive, as it requires a special cryogenic container.
- The IVF success rates with frozen eggs are still significantly lower than fresh eggs, despite technological advances such as ice-free vitrification protocols.
- Because frozen donor eggs are highly delicate and fragile, the thawing protocol must be matching and compatible with the freezing (vitrification) protocol, similar to a lock and key. Only the same IVF lab that performs both the freezing and thawing processes, can ensure this. Hence for best results, patients should use the same fertility clinic or IVF lab that recruited the egg donor and freeze her eggs, rather than transferring frozen donor eggs from one medical facility to another.
- Asian/Chinese donors eggs may be more expensive to procure from Western egg banks, as compared to Caucasian ones, due to the scarcity of Asian/Chinese donors in Western countries. This problem may be overcome by sourcing from egg banks within Asia.
Option 3: Look for an egg donor who is paid secretly, or utilise a foreign agency to send an egg donor to Singapore
Strictly not recommended. Currently, there exists numerous internet websites that allow you to look for your own egg donor. However, it is very unlikely that they will help you free-of-charge, and you will probably have to secretly pay them ‘under-the-table’.
But after receiving some payment, there is no guarantee that they will fulfil their part of the bargain, in which case you have no legal recourse for recovering your money. Because payment for egg donation is illegal in Singapore, in the first place, you will only implicate yourself in an illegal transaction if you decide to sue the would-be donor.
Moreover, it may be difficult to ensure that the freelance egg donor faithfully follows the painful and tedious procedure of daily hormone injections to stimulate egg production within her ovaries.
Utilising a well-established foreign egg donor agency may be a ‘safer’ option, but will be much more expensive.
Besides the agency fees, there are also extra travelling and accommodation costs. Most reputable foreign agencies will insist on having a coordinator to accompany the donor to Singapore, to ensure that the donor punctiliously self-administers hormonal injections to stimulate her ovaries, as well as to make sure she fulfils her part of the contract. This would mean additional travelling and hotel costs for the coordinator.
Furthermore, there is also the issue of illicit payments to the egg donor via the foreign agency. It may be difficult for such secret transactions to leak out, but if it does leak out, one will definitely end up in big trouble. Several years ago, a Singaporean magnate was jailed and fined for paying an Indonesian man to donate his kidney.
Additionally, it must be noted that Singaporean IVF clinics would require both the recipient couple and egg donor to sign a declaration form stating that the donation is altruistic. Hence the crimes of perjury and bribery would be committed by signing a false declaration.
Option 4: Travel overseas for egg donation at a foreign fertility clinic
Currently, this appears to be the most popular option. The medical fees of foreign fertility clinics are often much cheaper compared to Singapore. The disadvantages are that there is no government co-funding and you cannot utilize your Central Provident Fund (pension scheme) for fertility treatment.
Moreover, there is also the hassle and costs of overseas travel and hotel stay. Some local clinics have collaborative ties with foreign clinics that carry out egg donation.
Hence, they would be able to advise you on egg donation overseas, as well as co-ordinate with foreign clinics in synchronising hormonal injections to prepare your womb to be receptive for the egg donation procedure overseas. Moreover, preimplantation genetic screening (PGS/PGT-A) of embryos, which is highly restricted in Singapore, is readily available overseas.
This might be an important consideration for patients receiving donated eggs, since it is unknown whether the anonymous egg donor is carrying any genetic defects.
Nevertheless, Singaporean patients should note that there are much cheaper alternative methods of genetic screening such as testing of the egg donor’s blood sample before starting IVF, or NIPT (Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing), which can be done after getting pregnant.
Singaporean patients should also beware that some foreign IVF clinics take an extra cut of profit when sourcing egg donors for their patients from external agencies. It may be cheaper for patients to directly contact foreign egg donor agencies, and undergo treatment at their affiliated IVF clinics.
Additionally, Singaporean patients should try their best to use egg donors that reside locally within the same city as the foreign IVF clinic. They should avoid using travelling egg donors from out-of-town or out-of-state, who reside far away from the IVF clinic.
It is much more difficult to control and monitor the ovarian stimulation cycle of travelling egg donors from out-of-town. If possible, they should insist that the egg donor regularly receives hormone injections (recorded) by a nurse at the IVF clinic itself.
Option 5: Utilise leftover frozen eggs from local fertility clinics
These are generally scarce, but can be obtained from three sources:
- Single women facing premature menopause or undergoing medical treatment that will damage their fertility such as chemotherapy are allowed to freeze their eggs.
- A few married couples undergoing IVF choose to freeze their excess unfertilised eggs instead of embryos for religious or personal reasons, as they view frozen embryos as ‘living entities’ that should not be culled through disposal.
- Contingency egg freezing is sometimes performed when the husband is unable to produce a usable sperm sample on the day of egg extraction surgery, for example ejaculation failure due to stress. As expected, patients would use their best quality eggs for their own treatment, so the few frozen leftovers would be of questionable quality.
Angelica Cheng
Active Member
Translated into English from Mandarin:
The risks and harms faced by Chinese infertile women seeking egg donation abroad
At present, the trend of late marriage and late pregnancy has become increasingly obvious, and the incidence of female infertility in China is on the rise. As a result, the demand for donated eggs for assisted reproductive treatment continues to increase. However, in China, commercial transaction for egg donation is strictly prohibited. According to the relevant legislation "Health Science Education [2006] No. 44" promulgated in 2006, donated eggs can only be obtained from patients receiving assisted reproductive treatment, and it is explicitly prohibited to seek egg donation from non-patients. In addition, out of the more than 20 mature eggs retrieved from the patient, at least 15 eggs must be reserved for the patient's own use, and the remaining eggs can be donated.
Such strict Chinese legislation on egg donation have led to a continuous shortage of donated eggs and a long waiting list for local patients. In addition, Chinese women are prohibited from freezing eggs when they were younger. It is also difficult to find egg donors in other parts of China, such as Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Commercial transactions of egg donation are prohibited in Hong Kong and Macau. In Taiwan, egg donors can receive payment, but the eggs they donate can only give rise to one baby. After that, they are no longer allowed to donate. Therefore, many older and infertile Chinese women have no choice but to resort to overseas egg donation to conceive children. In fact, many countries with large overseas Chinese populations, such as the United States and Malaysia, allow commercial transactions for egg donation. Although Thailand also has a large overseas Chinese population, commercialization of egg donation is prohibited. Therefore, overseas Chinese donors in Thailand often travel to assisted reproductive clinics in Cambodia and Laos for egg donation. These countries are popular destinations for Chinese infertile women seeking egg donations.
However, due to lax oversight of fertility treatment in some countries, Chinese patients may face various marketing tactics and misleading information about the egg donation procedure. Therefore, when Chinese patients go abroad to receive egg donations, it is important to emphasize what they should pay attention to and be wary of.
Chinese patients should be particularly careful not to be duped into performing unnecessary genetic testing on IVF embryos, such as preimplantation genetic screening (PGS/PGT-A). This procedure is very expensive and often increases the total medical expenses by 50%. Many foreign assisted reproductive clinics often exploit the fear of infertile patients about unknown genetic diseases carried by egg donors, to hard-sell genetic testing (PGS / PGT-A). They often hide from patients the fact that similar genetic tests on egg donor blood samples or oral swabs, are much cheaper than embryo genetic tests. A blood or oral swab sample contains hundreds to thousands of cells, from which a large amount of genetic material (DNA) can be extracted. In contrast, only a small amount of DNA can be extracted from the embryo. Therefore, compared with PGS (Genetic Testing of Embryos), genetic testing of blood samples from egg donors is technically simpler and more economical. The cost of screening for genetic diseases through WeGene oral swab samples is about a few hundred yuan, while the price of embryo genetic testing (PGS/PGT-A) is usually tens of thousands of yuan. In addition, patients should also consider more economical birth defect screening techniques after pregnancy, such as the new generation of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), which can screen fetal DNA extracted from pregnant women’s blood samples to detect genetic defects in the fetus.
Patients need to understand that more expensive testing methods are not necessarily better. Despite the high cost of PGS, it is not a foolproof screening method for genetic defects. This technology only detects common genetic diseases, not rare genetic disorders. It is also not used for detecting more complex genetic conditions caused by multiple interactions of multiple genes with the birth environment, for example, autism. In addition, if the egg donor is very young, there is no need to use PGS technology to screen embryos for Down syndrome, which usually stems from genetic abnormalities in older women’s eggs. Although many foreign fertility clinics claim that PGS can improve the success rate of IVF among elderly women, this only refers to elderly women who use their own eggs and will not increase the success rate of elderly women using young egg donors. It must also be pointed out that PGS is not completely risk-free. Because this process is very delicate and involves drilling the embryo's outer shell (Zona pellucida) and extracting cells for genetic testing, there is an inherent risk of damaging the embryo.
An important fact often concealed by foreign fertility clinics is that the age of the recipient of the egg donor is very important. Recent news reports about successful births by elderly women in their 60s and 70s lead to much hype and misunderstanding. In fact, as pregnant women get older, the risk of complications during pregnancy increases.
Patients must also beware of a marketing gimmick claiming that a woman receiving egg donation can pass some of her genetic material to the fetus. This misunderstanding arises from news reports a few years ago that the gene expression behavior of embryos is affected by the endometrium. This is because the embryo has absorbed a molecule called miRNA (originating in the endometrium), which is structurally similar to DNA. Because miRNA is closely related to DNA, it can be widely and loosely considered as a genetic material. However, miRNAs are extremely short-lived and fragile, and cannot stably transmit genetic information from parents to children.
The risks and harms faced by Chinese infertile women seeking egg donation abroad
At present, the trend of late marriage and late pregnancy has become increasingly obvious, and the incidence of female infertility in China is on the rise. As a result, the demand for donated eggs for assisted reproductive treatment continues to increase. However, in China, commercial transaction for egg donation is strictly prohibited. According to the relevant legislation "Health Science Education [2006] No. 44" promulgated in 2006, donated eggs can only be obtained from patients receiving assisted reproductive treatment, and it is explicitly prohibited to seek egg donation from non-patients. In addition, out of the more than 20 mature eggs retrieved from the patient, at least 15 eggs must be reserved for the patient's own use, and the remaining eggs can be donated.
Such strict Chinese legislation on egg donation have led to a continuous shortage of donated eggs and a long waiting list for local patients. In addition, Chinese women are prohibited from freezing eggs when they were younger. It is also difficult to find egg donors in other parts of China, such as Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Commercial transactions of egg donation are prohibited in Hong Kong and Macau. In Taiwan, egg donors can receive payment, but the eggs they donate can only give rise to one baby. After that, they are no longer allowed to donate. Therefore, many older and infertile Chinese women have no choice but to resort to overseas egg donation to conceive children. In fact, many countries with large overseas Chinese populations, such as the United States and Malaysia, allow commercial transactions for egg donation. Although Thailand also has a large overseas Chinese population, commercialization of egg donation is prohibited. Therefore, overseas Chinese donors in Thailand often travel to assisted reproductive clinics in Cambodia and Laos for egg donation. These countries are popular destinations for Chinese infertile women seeking egg donations.
However, due to lax oversight of fertility treatment in some countries, Chinese patients may face various marketing tactics and misleading information about the egg donation procedure. Therefore, when Chinese patients go abroad to receive egg donations, it is important to emphasize what they should pay attention to and be wary of.
Chinese patients should be particularly careful not to be duped into performing unnecessary genetic testing on IVF embryos, such as preimplantation genetic screening (PGS/PGT-A). This procedure is very expensive and often increases the total medical expenses by 50%. Many foreign assisted reproductive clinics often exploit the fear of infertile patients about unknown genetic diseases carried by egg donors, to hard-sell genetic testing (PGS / PGT-A). They often hide from patients the fact that similar genetic tests on egg donor blood samples or oral swabs, are much cheaper than embryo genetic tests. A blood or oral swab sample contains hundreds to thousands of cells, from which a large amount of genetic material (DNA) can be extracted. In contrast, only a small amount of DNA can be extracted from the embryo. Therefore, compared with PGS (Genetic Testing of Embryos), genetic testing of blood samples from egg donors is technically simpler and more economical. The cost of screening for genetic diseases through WeGene oral swab samples is about a few hundred yuan, while the price of embryo genetic testing (PGS/PGT-A) is usually tens of thousands of yuan. In addition, patients should also consider more economical birth defect screening techniques after pregnancy, such as the new generation of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), which can screen fetal DNA extracted from pregnant women’s blood samples to detect genetic defects in the fetus.
Patients need to understand that more expensive testing methods are not necessarily better. Despite the high cost of PGS, it is not a foolproof screening method for genetic defects. This technology only detects common genetic diseases, not rare genetic disorders. It is also not used for detecting more complex genetic conditions caused by multiple interactions of multiple genes with the birth environment, for example, autism. In addition, if the egg donor is very young, there is no need to use PGS technology to screen embryos for Down syndrome, which usually stems from genetic abnormalities in older women’s eggs. Although many foreign fertility clinics claim that PGS can improve the success rate of IVF among elderly women, this only refers to elderly women who use their own eggs and will not increase the success rate of elderly women using young egg donors. It must also be pointed out that PGS is not completely risk-free. Because this process is very delicate and involves drilling the embryo's outer shell (Zona pellucida) and extracting cells for genetic testing, there is an inherent risk of damaging the embryo.
An important fact often concealed by foreign fertility clinics is that the age of the recipient of the egg donor is very important. Recent news reports about successful births by elderly women in their 60s and 70s lead to much hype and misunderstanding. In fact, as pregnant women get older, the risk of complications during pregnancy increases.
Patients must also beware of a marketing gimmick claiming that a woman receiving egg donation can pass some of her genetic material to the fetus. This misunderstanding arises from news reports a few years ago that the gene expression behavior of embryos is affected by the endometrium. This is because the embryo has absorbed a molecule called miRNA (originating in the endometrium), which is structurally similar to DNA. Because miRNA is closely related to DNA, it can be widely and loosely considered as a genetic material. However, miRNAs are extremely short-lived and fragile, and cannot stably transmit genetic information from parents to children.
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Angelica Cheng
Active Member
Some foreign fertility clinics may offer frozen eggs as an alternative to fresh eggs. This has simpler logistics, as there is no need to synchronize the hormonal stimulation cycles of donors and recipients, and saves transportation and hotel accommodation costs required for fresh egg donation, so the cost is lower. However, the success rate of frozen eggs is significantly lower than that of fresh eggs, which is often overlooked. Patients should also avoid using frozen eggs transferred from the egg bank to the assisted reproduction clinic, and it is best to use the egg bank directly affiliated with the fertility clinic. Because human eggs are very sensitive, thawing technique needs to be compatible to the cryopreservation technique, which is similar to the relationship between a lock and a key. Only assisted reproduction laboratories that perform both freezing and thawing techniques can achieve this.
Some foreign assisted reproductive clinics often utilize eggs donated by egg donors outside the same city. This is not good for patients because it is very difficult to monitor the hormonal stimulation cycle of egg donors traveling to and from overseas. Some doctors may directly hand over expensive hormone drugs (requiring refrigeration) to overseas donors to inject themselves under the supervision of their agents. They will return to the clinic for an ultrasound scan of the ovaries at a designated time or perform the final egg retrieval operation. Without the direct supervision of the assisted reproductive clinic, the egg donor or surrogate may not strictly observe the injection time and be careless. Expensive hormone drugs can also deteriorate and lose their efficacy if they are not stored properly at low temperatures. In the absence of strict supervision of hormone injections, the quantity and quality of eggs extracted from donors will be severely impaired. Therefore, it is best for patients to use the eggs of egg donors who reside in the same city as the assisted reproductive clinic, and it is best to have the egg donor regularly receive hormone injections (recorded) from the fertility clinic nurse.
In addition, Chinese patients should be aware that it may be cheaper to directly contact foreign egg donation agencies and request treatment at their affiliated assisted reproductive clinics. If they are asked to source egg donors, some foreign assisted reproductive clinics will charge extra fees unscrupulously. Normally, when you ask a foreign assisted reproductive clinic to find an egg donor for you, they will contact many different agencies and obtain several matching egg donor files. You choose an egg donor, and the clinic will coordinate with a specific egg donor agency. You don’t pay directly to the egg donation agency. Instead, you give your money to the assisted reproductive clinic. They will pay the egg donation agency and keep a small portion of your payment to themselves as an additional profit.
Finally, Chinese patients should note that in developing countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, egg recipients lack the support of fertility conselors. In contrast, the laws of Western developed countries require that patients receiving egg donation must receive mandatory counseling. A strict counseling regimen will ensure that both spouses agree to egg donation, without any emotional blackmail from either spouses, without undue pressure by their parents and in-laws. In traditional Chinese culture, passing on the family line is considered the most important responsibility of the wife to the husband and his family. Therefore, childless women may be pressured by their husbands and in-laws to accept egg donations in order to conceive a child. As the old Chinese proverb says, twisted melons are not sweet. This also applies to raising children. Innocent children after birth may be adversely affected by the unwilling spouse.
In addition, egg recipients will miss valuable advice on whether to tell their children the truth in the future. Most experienced fertility consultants will advise them to tell the truth to the child when they are at school-going age. Many psychological studies and news reports have reported the emotional trauma and identity crisis experienced by teenagers and adults born from egg donation when they accidentally learned the truth about their conception. For example, children often accidentally learn the truth when a family quarrel occurred. In many cases, this situation will lead to strains in family relations and even estrangement of parent-child relationships. In addition, recently, convenient, easy-to-obtain and low-cost DNA home testing kits and related genealogy and genetic relationship websites (such as WeGene) have made it more difficult to conceal the truth of conception from the offspring of donors. It is possible that offspring may come into contact with relatives who match their DNA through these websites and unwittingly learn the truth about his/her conception. And with the advancement of medical technology, DNA testing will become a routine practice in the field of healthcare. Ultimately, it is up to egg recipients to decide whether or not tell their children the truth. Telling the truth will reduce their psychological burden and make them happy and at ease forever.
Some foreign assisted reproductive clinics often utilize eggs donated by egg donors outside the same city. This is not good for patients because it is very difficult to monitor the hormonal stimulation cycle of egg donors traveling to and from overseas. Some doctors may directly hand over expensive hormone drugs (requiring refrigeration) to overseas donors to inject themselves under the supervision of their agents. They will return to the clinic for an ultrasound scan of the ovaries at a designated time or perform the final egg retrieval operation. Without the direct supervision of the assisted reproductive clinic, the egg donor or surrogate may not strictly observe the injection time and be careless. Expensive hormone drugs can also deteriorate and lose their efficacy if they are not stored properly at low temperatures. In the absence of strict supervision of hormone injections, the quantity and quality of eggs extracted from donors will be severely impaired. Therefore, it is best for patients to use the eggs of egg donors who reside in the same city as the assisted reproductive clinic, and it is best to have the egg donor regularly receive hormone injections (recorded) from the fertility clinic nurse.
In addition, Chinese patients should be aware that it may be cheaper to directly contact foreign egg donation agencies and request treatment at their affiliated assisted reproductive clinics. If they are asked to source egg donors, some foreign assisted reproductive clinics will charge extra fees unscrupulously. Normally, when you ask a foreign assisted reproductive clinic to find an egg donor for you, they will contact many different agencies and obtain several matching egg donor files. You choose an egg donor, and the clinic will coordinate with a specific egg donor agency. You don’t pay directly to the egg donation agency. Instead, you give your money to the assisted reproductive clinic. They will pay the egg donation agency and keep a small portion of your payment to themselves as an additional profit.
Finally, Chinese patients should note that in developing countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, egg recipients lack the support of fertility conselors. In contrast, the laws of Western developed countries require that patients receiving egg donation must receive mandatory counseling. A strict counseling regimen will ensure that both spouses agree to egg donation, without any emotional blackmail from either spouses, without undue pressure by their parents and in-laws. In traditional Chinese culture, passing on the family line is considered the most important responsibility of the wife to the husband and his family. Therefore, childless women may be pressured by their husbands and in-laws to accept egg donations in order to conceive a child. As the old Chinese proverb says, twisted melons are not sweet. This also applies to raising children. Innocent children after birth may be adversely affected by the unwilling spouse.
In addition, egg recipients will miss valuable advice on whether to tell their children the truth in the future. Most experienced fertility consultants will advise them to tell the truth to the child when they are at school-going age. Many psychological studies and news reports have reported the emotional trauma and identity crisis experienced by teenagers and adults born from egg donation when they accidentally learned the truth about their conception. For example, children often accidentally learn the truth when a family quarrel occurred. In many cases, this situation will lead to strains in family relations and even estrangement of parent-child relationships. In addition, recently, convenient, easy-to-obtain and low-cost DNA home testing kits and related genealogy and genetic relationship websites (such as WeGene) have made it more difficult to conceal the truth of conception from the offspring of donors. It is possible that offspring may come into contact with relatives who match their DNA through these websites and unwittingly learn the truth about his/her conception. And with the advancement of medical technology, DNA testing will become a routine practice in the field of healthcare. Ultimately, it is up to egg recipients to decide whether or not tell their children the truth. Telling the truth will reduce their psychological burden and make them happy and at ease forever.
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@Lemongrass09 Do you have a race preference?
Do you have race preference?
Angelica Cheng
Active Member
Advice and tips for Singaporean patients seeking egg donation in Malaysia - The New Savvy
With the increasing trend of late marriages and delayed motherhood in Singapore, coupled with the lifting of age limits in IVF treatment in Singapore since 2020, there is anticipated to be increasing demand for egg donation by older female IVF patients nearing or past menopause. Women with...
thenewsavvy.com
Advice and tips for Singaporean patients seeking egg donation in Malaysia
With the increasing trend of late marriages and delayed motherhood in Singapore, coupled with the lifting of age limits in IVF treatment since 2020, there is anticipated to be increasing demand for egg donation by older female IVF patients nearing or past menopause. Such women with diminished ovarian reserves often consider the egg donor option, after having failed IVF due to the reduced number and low quality of their retrieved eggs. In recently years, neighbouring Malaysia has emerged as a popular destination for Singaporean IVF patients seeking egg donation, due to close proximity and cost-competitive medical fees. Nevertheless, there are various pitfalls that patients have to navigate through, as highlighted by the Q & A below. Cumbersome travel and quarantine restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic are economically unsustainable in the long-term, and it is only a matter of time before borders reopen, and Singaporeans are once again free to travel to Malaysia for IVF treatment.
Is it difficult to find a local egg donor in Singapore?
Yes, because Singapore health regulations require egg donation to be altruistic, and payment can only be made to reimburse direct expenses such as traveling costs. The egg donation process is lengthy, tedious and painful, involving a few weeks of regular hormone injections, frequent blood tests and ultrasound scans, finally culminating in day surgery for egg retrieval. Additionally, there is also the hassle and inconvenience of commuting to and fro for numerous medical appointments. Understandably, without any financial incentives, very few local young women are willing to donate their eggs.
Why go for egg donation in Malaysia?
A large pool of egg donors of varying ethnicity and educational backgrounds are readily available in Malaysia because of generous financial inducements. Additionally, Malaysia has numerous IVF clinics and donor agencies that offer cost-competitive egg donation programs, which are much cheaper than other foreign countries such as USA, Australia and Taiwan. It is also much easier to source Asian egg donors in Malaysia, compared to Western countries such as USA and Australia. Moreover, Singaporean patients prefer to undergo IVF treatment at a destination close to home like Malaysia.
Are there any legal restrictions on egg donation in Malaysia?
Yes, only non-Muslim patients are allowed to receive egg donation. Shariah laws in Malaysia forbid Muslim patients from receiving egg or sperm donation.
What are the typical costs of egg donation in Malaysia (excluding medical fees)?
At the beginning of 2020, before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, egg donor agencies in Malaysia typically charge between 20k to 25K Malaysian ringgits, if you approach them directly. Egg donors are typically compensated between 5K to 8K Malaysian ringgits. Hence the gross profit margin of these agencies are typically between 12K to 20K Malaysian ringgits.
Which cities in Malaysia are good for egg donation?
Greater Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Most of the egg donor agencies are located here, and virtually all IVF clinics in Malaysia, even those from other cities and states, depend on these agencies to source egg donors for their patients.
What about egg donation in Johor that is much closer to Singapore?
Singaporean patients must beware that most egg donors in Johor come from out-of-town or out-of-state. As mentioned earlier, the overwhelming majority of egg donor agencies and agents in Malaysia are based in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, and IVF clinics in Johor rely on such agencies and agents to source egg donors for their patients. It is much more difficult to control and monitor the ovarian stimulation cycle of traveling egg donors from out-of-town or out-of-state, who reside far away from the IVF clinic. Such traveling egg donors may commute to the clinic for medical appointments, receive the hormone medications and then return to their hometowns where they are expected to self-inject for several days. Because supervision from the IVF clinic is not near at hand, the egg donor may not be bothered to strictly comply with such a painful and tedious routine of self-injections. If they are extra careless, the expensive hormone medications may not be kept properly refrigerated leading to spoilage and reduced potency. Without strict adherence to the injection protocol and proper refrigeration of hormone medications, the number and quality of eggs obtained from the donor will be severely compromised. Additionally, Singaporean patients must also take note that there are usually additional traveling and hotel costs associated with getting an out-of-town egg donor and her accompanying agency coordinator to travel to Johor.
Is it better to contact egg donor agencies directly, or get your selected IVF clinic to source egg donors from such agencies?
It is cheaper for you to contact egg donor agencies directly, and for them to arrange IVF treatment for you at their affiliated clinics, rather than getting an unaffliated IVF clinic to source egg donors for you from these agencies. Many egg donors agencies in Kuala Lumpur and Penang partner with their affiliated IVF clinic to offer special package deals that include egg donor costs plus medical fees. If you get an unaffiliated IVF clinic in Malaysia (particularly in Johor) to source egg donors for you, the clinic usually takes an extra cut of profit. For example, if the egg donor agency charges RM 25,000, the IVF clinic will charge you RM 30,0000, thereby taking a cut of RM 5,000 as additional profit.
Last edited:
Angelica Cheng
Active Member
Is embryo genetic testing necessary for egg donation?
Because it is unknown whether the egg donor is carrying any genetic defect, most Malaysian IVF clinics often recommend patients to do highly-expensive genetic testing of IVF embryos (PGS / PGT-A). This is completely unnecessary and a waste of money, if the egg donor is young and healthy, because chromosome abnormalities such as Down syndrome usually appear only in the eggs of older women. To evaluate whether the egg donor is carrying any unknown genetic defect, it is much cheaper to do genetic testing of the egg donor’s blood sample before starting IVF treatment. Moreover, you can also use NIPT (Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing) to screen for genetic defects in your unborn child after getting pregnant, which is also much cheaper than PGS (PGT-A). Although many fertility clinics claim that embryo genetic screening can improve the IVF success rates of older women, this usually refers to older women using their own eggs, which have a high incidence of chromosome abnormalities. PGS (PGT-A) will not improve the success rates of older women using a young egg donor. Patients must also beware of the risks of damaging the embryo during the ‘highly-delicate’ PGS (PGT-A) procedure, which involves extracting cells from the embryo after drilling a hole through the embryo shell (Zona pellucida).The smooth performance of this technique is often highly dependent on the skill and training of the laboratory staff (Embryologist). Even with high levels of training and accreditation, there is still a possibility of human error, particularly in a very busy laboratory that handles several such cases a day. Lastly, one must also beware that Malaysian IVF clinics often manipulate and play on the patient’s biased preference for either a boy or girl child, to persuade them to undertake embryo genetic testing for sex selection.
Should I choose fresh or frozen egg donation?
Some IVF clinics and egg donor agencies in Malaysia offer frozen egg donation as an alternative to fresh egg donation. The advantages of frozen versus fresh egg donation are greater convenience due to simpler logistics, as there is no need to coordinate and synchronize the treatment cycle of both donor and recipient; as well as lower costs due to negating the travel and hotel stay required for fresh egg donation. Another advantage is the greater certainty of the number and quality of frozen eggs available, which are unknown and non-guaranteed for fresh egg donation. Nevertheless, patients should use the same fertility clinic or IVF lab that recruited the egg donor and freeze her eggs. Avoid transferring frozen donor eggs from one medical facility to another. For best results, the thawing protocol must be matching and compatible with the freezing (vitrification) protocol, and only the same IVF lab that performs both the freezing and thawing processes, can ensure this. Patients should also beware that IVF success rates with frozen donor eggs are significantly lower than with fresh donor eggs.
What else should Singaporean patients be wary of when doing egg donation in Malaysia?
A critical piece of information that is often downplayed by Malaysian IVF clinics is the risk of accidental incest between half-siblings conceived by the same egg donor. Although such risks may be minimized in Singapore through safeguards that limit the number of children conceived per egg donor to three, it must be noted that there is no mandatory limit to the number of recipients that a single egg donor can donate to in Malaysia. Additionally, Singaporean patients should also be aware of the lack of appropriate counseling for egg donation in Malaysia. Rigorous counseling will ensure that both husband and wife are agreeable to egg donation, without any misgivings or emotional blackmail from either spouse, and without undue pressure from parents and in-laws. Additionally, they would also miss valuable advice on whether or not to tell their child the truth about his/her conception in the future.
Because it is unknown whether the egg donor is carrying any genetic defect, most Malaysian IVF clinics often recommend patients to do highly-expensive genetic testing of IVF embryos (PGS / PGT-A). This is completely unnecessary and a waste of money, if the egg donor is young and healthy, because chromosome abnormalities such as Down syndrome usually appear only in the eggs of older women. To evaluate whether the egg donor is carrying any unknown genetic defect, it is much cheaper to do genetic testing of the egg donor’s blood sample before starting IVF treatment. Moreover, you can also use NIPT (Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing) to screen for genetic defects in your unborn child after getting pregnant, which is also much cheaper than PGS (PGT-A). Although many fertility clinics claim that embryo genetic screening can improve the IVF success rates of older women, this usually refers to older women using their own eggs, which have a high incidence of chromosome abnormalities. PGS (PGT-A) will not improve the success rates of older women using a young egg donor. Patients must also beware of the risks of damaging the embryo during the ‘highly-delicate’ PGS (PGT-A) procedure, which involves extracting cells from the embryo after drilling a hole through the embryo shell (Zona pellucida).The smooth performance of this technique is often highly dependent on the skill and training of the laboratory staff (Embryologist). Even with high levels of training and accreditation, there is still a possibility of human error, particularly in a very busy laboratory that handles several such cases a day. Lastly, one must also beware that Malaysian IVF clinics often manipulate and play on the patient’s biased preference for either a boy or girl child, to persuade them to undertake embryo genetic testing for sex selection.
Should I choose fresh or frozen egg donation?
Some IVF clinics and egg donor agencies in Malaysia offer frozen egg donation as an alternative to fresh egg donation. The advantages of frozen versus fresh egg donation are greater convenience due to simpler logistics, as there is no need to coordinate and synchronize the treatment cycle of both donor and recipient; as well as lower costs due to negating the travel and hotel stay required for fresh egg donation. Another advantage is the greater certainty of the number and quality of frozen eggs available, which are unknown and non-guaranteed for fresh egg donation. Nevertheless, patients should use the same fertility clinic or IVF lab that recruited the egg donor and freeze her eggs. Avoid transferring frozen donor eggs from one medical facility to another. For best results, the thawing protocol must be matching and compatible with the freezing (vitrification) protocol, and only the same IVF lab that performs both the freezing and thawing processes, can ensure this. Patients should also beware that IVF success rates with frozen donor eggs are significantly lower than with fresh donor eggs.
What else should Singaporean patients be wary of when doing egg donation in Malaysia?
A critical piece of information that is often downplayed by Malaysian IVF clinics is the risk of accidental incest between half-siblings conceived by the same egg donor. Although such risks may be minimized in Singapore through safeguards that limit the number of children conceived per egg donor to three, it must be noted that there is no mandatory limit to the number of recipients that a single egg donor can donate to in Malaysia. Additionally, Singaporean patients should also be aware of the lack of appropriate counseling for egg donation in Malaysia. Rigorous counseling will ensure that both husband and wife are agreeable to egg donation, without any misgivings or emotional blackmail from either spouse, and without undue pressure from parents and in-laws. Additionally, they would also miss valuable advice on whether or not to tell their child the truth about his/her conception in the future.
Angelica Cheng
Active Member
Singaporean patients undergoing egg donation should beware of Malaysian IVF clinics trying to hard-sell highly expensive embryo genetic testing (PGS / PGT-A) to them. Some of these hard-selling tactics include:
(i) Playing on their fears of unknown genetic defects being carried by the egg donor. Singaporean patient should note that there are much cheaper alternative methods of genetic screening such as testing of the egg donor's blood sample before starting IVF, or NIPT (Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing), which can be done after getting pregnant. A blood sample contains thousands of white blood cells, from which an abundant amount of DNA genetic material can be extracted. By contrast, only a few cells and tiny amount of DNA are extracted from the embryo during PGS (biopsy procedure). This makes it technically simpler and much cheaper to do genetic testing of the Egg Donor's blood sample, as compared to genetic screening of embryos with PGS / PGT-A.
(ii) Playing on their fears of Down syndrome. In reality, the chances of Down Syndrome with young donor eggs is extremely low. As seen in the attached tables and charts, the chances of Down Syndrome for a 20 year-old donor is 0.05% (1 in 2,000), while that for a 25 year-old donor is 0.083% (1 in 1,200). If patients are really worried about the possibility of Down syndrome, they can always do NIPT (Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing) after getting pregnant, which is very much cheaper than PGS (PGT-A).
(iii) Claiming that PGS (PGT-A) can improve the IVF success rates with donor eggs. This maybe true only for older women undergoing IVF with their own eggs, because of spontaneous genetic abnormalities that occur more frequently in the eggs of older women. Egg donors are typically very young, aged between 20 to 25 years of age, with very healthy eggs. Hence, PGS (PGT-A) will not further improve the already high IVF success rates of older women using donor eggs.
(iv) Playing on their biased preference for either a son or daughter. It is true that PGS (PGT-A) is the most effective method of sex-selection. But the question is whether it is moral and ethical for Malaysian IVF clinics to hard-sell such an expensive technique to Singaporean patients?
singaporemotherhood.com
(v) Downplaying the risks of damaging the embryo during genetic testing with PGS (PGT-A). This is a highly delicate procedure that involves drilling a hole through the embryo shell (Zona Pellucidae), and extracting a few cells for genetic testing. No matter how well-trained is the lab staff (embryologist) doing the procedure, there is still a risk of human error. The more busy the IVF lab is, the greater the risk of human error, as lab staff are under pressure to complete procedures as fast as possible.
www.cnyfertility.com
Interesting videos which inform patients that PGS (Preimplantation Genetic Screening), also known as PGT-A (Preimplantation Genetic Testing - Aneuploidy) is absolutely unnecessary for egg donation cycles:
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View attachment 732388
(i) Playing on their fears of unknown genetic defects being carried by the egg donor. Singaporean patient should note that there are much cheaper alternative methods of genetic screening such as testing of the egg donor's blood sample before starting IVF, or NIPT (Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing), which can be done after getting pregnant. A blood sample contains thousands of white blood cells, from which an abundant amount of DNA genetic material can be extracted. By contrast, only a few cells and tiny amount of DNA are extracted from the embryo during PGS (biopsy procedure). This makes it technically simpler and much cheaper to do genetic testing of the Egg Donor's blood sample, as compared to genetic screening of embryos with PGS / PGT-A.
(ii) Playing on their fears of Down syndrome. In reality, the chances of Down Syndrome with young donor eggs is extremely low. As seen in the attached tables and charts, the chances of Down Syndrome for a 20 year-old donor is 0.05% (1 in 2,000), while that for a 25 year-old donor is 0.083% (1 in 1,200). If patients are really worried about the possibility of Down syndrome, they can always do NIPT (Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing) after getting pregnant, which is very much cheaper than PGS (PGT-A).
(iii) Claiming that PGS (PGT-A) can improve the IVF success rates with donor eggs. This maybe true only for older women undergoing IVF with their own eggs, because of spontaneous genetic abnormalities that occur more frequently in the eggs of older women. Egg donors are typically very young, aged between 20 to 25 years of age, with very healthy eggs. Hence, PGS (PGT-A) will not further improve the already high IVF success rates of older women using donor eggs.
(iv) Playing on their biased preference for either a son or daughter. It is true that PGS (PGT-A) is the most effective method of sex-selection. But the question is whether it is moral and ethical for Malaysian IVF clinics to hard-sell such an expensive technique to Singaporean patients?
Controversial and unethical use of PGS / PGT-A for sex selection overseas by Singapore patients
Several years ago, the Straits Times reported on Singaporean couples traveling overseas for embryo sex selection by preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) via IVF treatment, due to the procedure being banned here. It was reported that most Singaporean Chinese couples doing PGS preferred a son...
singaporemotherhood.com
(v) Downplaying the risks of damaging the embryo during genetic testing with PGS (PGT-A). This is a highly delicate procedure that involves drilling a hole through the embryo shell (Zona Pellucidae), and extracting a few cells for genetic testing. No matter how well-trained is the lab staff (embryologist) doing the procedure, there is still a risk of human error. The more busy the IVF lab is, the greater the risk of human error, as lab staff are under pressure to complete procedures as fast as possible.
PGS Testing Risks
PGS testing (aka PGT-A) is not without risk. It's a common selection tool for choosing the best embryo to transfer during In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Using a laser, a small biopsy of the embryo is taken and the DNA inside the sample is analyzed. Does this biopsy harm the embryo? Does PGS...
www.cnyfertility.com
Interesting videos which inform patients that PGS (Preimplantation Genetic Screening), also known as PGT-A (Preimplantation Genetic Testing - Aneuploidy) is absolutely unnecessary for egg donation cycles:
View attachment 732387
View attachment 732388
