Egg donation process can be both, anonymous and non-anonymous in nature. An egg donor needs to choose either of these two. Generally, egg donation practice is mostly an anonymous process where the donor is known as "directed egg donor". The identity of the egg donor is kept confidential in the anonymous egg donation process. In this procedure, intended parents consult with egg donor agencies and collect the necessary information about the donor, such as age, medical history, education, ethnicity, family history, childhood, and recent photographs etc. But in case the intended parents are not satisfied with the provided list of the donors, then egg donor agencies search for a suitable match and contact the client after getting a suitable donor for them.
A rigorous screening process is followed before the egg donation, which includes fertility evaluation, genetic screening, blood tests, and psychological screening. The egg donation is only allowed after passing all these test reports. The donor agencies usually assist in legal documentation. A legal contract is signed between the intended parents and the egg donors. Intended parents clarify all the concern and legal questions with a lawyer. This legal contract addresses all the legal responsibilities of the donor and the intended parents along with the legal rights of the child, born through the process. All the necessary summits are mentioned in the legal contract. Every country has a certain specification in egg donation law. However, the legal right of the born child always belongs to the recipients. Therefore, egg donor has no parental right to the child born from the donated egg.
In anonymous egg donation process, the identity of the egg donor is kept confidential to ensure privacy. Intended parents cannot meet with their egg donor unless both the parties agree to meet each other. Egg donation agency arranges the meeting if the donor and recipients want to meet.
Donor's eggs can be cryopreserved, but no recipients can demand the discloser of the donor's identity in the anonymous egg donation process. Egg donation bank never reveals the donor's identity to intended parents, children, any relatives or authorities. However, according to the law and regulation, egg donation bank must keep a confidential record for all the egg donors identity for 30 years after the last egg donation.
Non-Anonymous Egg Donation
Non-anonymous is a choice for egg donors who do not want to keep their identity confidential. In this process, children born from the donor egg can get the identity of the donor after they reach 18 years of their age. Egg donation bank or cryopreserve service provider will provide necessary documentation and evidence for supporting the probability of the specific non-anonymous egg donor, whose egg donation gave the birth of the child. Similarly, non-anonymous egg donor can also contact with the child in the future who was born by using her eggs. However, intended parents or other relatives do not have the right to get access to this record. Some countries like Australia, the United Kingdom, and Finland generally allow only non-anonymous egg donation.
If the donor age is less than 25 years, then she needs to pass an emotional maturity evaluation before being a non-anonymous egg donor. This test is conducted to ensure the suitability of the candidate.
An egg donor has the right to decide if she will be an anonymous or a non-anonymous egg donor and her decision is kept as final and permanent. The decision cannot be changed.
There is always a scope to get identified, whether it is an anonymous or a non-anonymous egg donation. This can be possible through DNA analysis of the donor, recipient and the child. This can make privacy policy more questionable in future days.