I Never Expected To Become an Egg Donor – Here’s Why I Did

The following guest blog was written by a current egg donor at Fairfax EggBank.
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I first got turned on to the idea of donating my eggs after watching a Youtube video (of all things). The content creator said she was able to pay for college and simultaneously have a positive influence in people’s lives. With an introduction to egg donation like that, I was ready to sign up!
Honestly speaking, kids had not been part of my life plan, but once I had my first child just a couple years ago, I realized THIS is what all the fuss is about! I love being a Mom. It had finally dawned on me just how badly someone can want a child. And the ability to actually help someone else grow a family really appealed to me!
My Motivation
I personally know women who have struggled to conceive. It broke my heart to see my good friend try for years; I witnessed her struggles. What sealed the deal for me was understanding for the first time that there was actually a way to help people like her. People want to help their friends when they’re down, and infertility is something that can seem puzzling when you just want special people in your life to feel better. Donating my eggs would mean maybe someone just like her could have that little person to cherish, whom they wouldn’t be able to have otherwise.
Student debt was also hanging over my head around this time. I work full time and so does my husband, but with trying to get a house and needing to set aside our emergency fund on top of paying down debt and taking care of household necessities, cash flow wasn’t where we wanted. So when I learned that I could actually be reimbursed for my time and efforts to donate, that sealed the deal for me.
Learning About Me
Search engines helped me discover a little more about what was specifically involved in donating eggs and the best avenues to go about doing so. As I started looking into egg banks and applying, I did a little more research: all about my family tree.
The steps to applying for donation only had one real hurdle: me. I kept trying to talk myself out of it. I would say things like “I’ll never be accepted” or “this is taking too long.” But little by little, I’d answer questionnaires online for a few minutes one day, and call some relatives the next to find the missing puzzle pieces of my family’s genetic past that I needed to proceed. Happily, I learned more about where I came from, my genetic health, and my family than I ever thought I would.
Why Fairfax EggBank
Initial Googling brought me to the Fairfax EggBank website, among other results. I wanted to entrust my eggs somewhere that had a solid foundation of fertility experience; simply put, they were the best. They had a strong history and a large network of partnered clinics throughout the U.S., including one very close to my home. It was an easy choice!
When I was accepted into the donor program with Fairfax EggBank, I was given plenty of time to back out if I had second thoughts, or to simply wait until I was ready to proceed. I didn’t feel pressured in the least, and any follow-up questions they had for me were considerate and confidential. Fairfax EggBank really made me feel valued as an egg donor, and they responded promptly to any questions or concerns I had.
So let’s run through this honestly:

1. Somewhere a family may be able to grow because I helped them
2. Reimbursement really helped me pay down my student debt
3. I learned more about my family and my own genetic blueprints

Now that I’ve undergone one egg donation cycle, and am in the process of doing my second, I plan on doing it at least a couple more times. I feel so appreciated and cherished, and I can have pride in knowing that I helped someone who just wants to be “Mommy.”