Donate Your Eggs And Get Paid At Cape Fertility In Cape Town
Information about the egg donation clinic
Cape Fertility has been around for the last 25 years. The clinic has created an extremely reputable name within the fertility and egg donation field. Situated in the Mother City, Cape Fertility has an impressive 76.4% rate of pregnancies that were a success thanks to egg donors and IVF procedures executed by their brilliant team of established doctors.
The clinic has created a rather impressive name and is an industry leader in South Africa.
Other services offered by Cape Fertility
Cape Fertility has a variety of other services and treatments offered, such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF), artificial insemination, assisted hatching, egg donation, egg freezing, Gamete Intra Fallopian Tube transfer (GIFT)/ Zygote Intra Fallopian Tube transfer (ZIFT), ovulation induction, Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, reproductive surgery, EmbryoScope and surrogacy.
All services offered by the clinic are personalised. Cape Fertility often refers to the top-of-the-range equipment they utilise, and judging by the type of services provided, we can see why.
Cape Fertility Donor Eligibility
The requirements of an egg donor
Cape Fertility has two components that make up the requirements of a legible egg donor: a medical assessment and the applicant’s profile.
Medical Assessment
Applicants must be between the ages of 21 and 32 years old, have an optimal body mass index (BMI) higher than 18.5 and lower than 24.9, and have a positive result after undergoing a psychological test.
The following lifestyle activities can disqualify an applicant: smoking, alcohol use and drug abuse.
Personal Profile
“Your donor profile contains general details about your physical characteristics, medical background, education and hobbies, as well as childhood photos.”
Egg donors will remain anonymous, and personal information like contact details, names and any recent pictures will not be shared with prospective recipients.
From there, Cape Fertility will keep your profile in its database, and recipients can view it at any time.
Note that the donor must undergo a medical evaluation to determine their suitability for the donor process in order to complete the personal profile.
How does it work?
Consultations and medical evaluations
At this stage, you have been selected by a family and will undergo a two-hour appointment with Cape Fertility. The staff and doctors will explain the entire procedure to you (this is not detailed on the website). Donors can expect a medical evaluation and psychological assessment as well.
These are what you will potentially be tested for (found on the website):
- HIV I and II, RPR (Syphilis), HepB s Ag, Hep C Ab, Cytomegalovirus IgM, Chlamydia PCR, Gonorrhea PCR, Blood group, Cystic Fibrosis dF508 and 3120+1G>A.
Self-administered medication
Before the retrieval procedure can take place, egg donors will need to be injected with fertility injections for 10 – 12 days. This is to grow the follicles and produce more than one egg at the retrieval time.
The egg retrieval process
Cape Fertility summarises the entire procedure in these sentences: “The egg retrieval is performed under ultrasound guidance. This is a 10-minute operation where the eggs are retrieved using a vaginal ultrasound and a fine needle. This is done using anaesthetic in theatre.”
No scars or incisions are made, and after an hour of rest at the clinic, donors are free to go home.
Payment for egg donation
How much do you get paid to donate your eggs?
Cape Fertility provides successful egg donors with a compensation of R8000. Thewebsite also mentions that they will cover travel and accommodation expenses for those who are from somewhere other than Cape Town.
How to apply?
Cape Fertility application process
Cape Fertility provides a 7-step egg donation wheel that describes the process. It is as follows:
- Apply to become a donor by submitting your application – which is just your name and contact information – afterwards, you will be contacted by the coordinator, who will outline the process in more detail.
- Complete a private medical questionnaire that will determine your legibility.
- If Cape Fertility determines that you are a suitable candidate, they will send
you an Egg Donor Profile that you must complete. - You will be added to the clinic’s database of egg donors.
- If a recipient selects your profile, you will need to do a blood test and
ultrasound. - The tests and procedures will occur (as outlined above), and once they are
completed, you will be compensated. - Decide whether you would like to become a donor again in the future.
Most asked questions
Will it affect my fertility in the future?
- It won’t affect your fertility in the future. Research has not found that egg donation results in infertility. Egg donors will be perfectly fine when the time comes for them to start their own family.
- To reassure donors further, Cape Fertility will conduct medical tests to conclude that the donor has enough eggs to donate and that they are healthy (of good quality) for future use.
Where will I donate?
Cape Fertility operates from one clinic based in Cape Town. Despite being based in Cape Town, Cape Fertility encourages egg donors from all over South Africa to apply. If a recipient chooses the donor’s profile, Cape Fertility covers all accommodation and travel costs. Expect to be in the mother city twice during the entire process.
How many times can I donate my eggs?
While the website doesn’t specify just how many times you can donate your eggs, considering the last step of the 7-step egg donation wheel is about deciding whether you would want to become a donor again, I think it’s safe to assume that you can donate more than once with Cape Fertility.
Reviews from Past Donors
Here is what previous donors had to say:
- Egg Donor – October 2022: “My donation has been such an amazing experience filled with memories I will forever cherish and look back on. We were the first priorities from beginning to end.”
- Egg Donor, August 2021: “This has been my 3rd egg donation with the Cape Fertility clinic and every time I donate, I always feel safe, understood and cared for.”
- Just from the website alone, one can see how professional Cape Fertility is. They are renowned for a reason. If you have any apprehension but want to proceed with this, look through the testimonials to put you at ease.