Kieffer-Andrews says she's noticed a change in the donors sent to her office for evaluations. It's certainly changing. After passing the screening for inheritable diseases, adverse lifestyles, and mental illness, I undergo a physical examination and a series of blood tests to document my general health, hormone levels, and lack of sexually transmitted diseases. A clean bill of health announces me as prime donor material. The doctor and I discuss the procedures and possible complications before I sign away my rights to the eggs produced from the process.
Pregnancy tops the list of complications related to ovum donation.
Because fertility drugs increase the likelihood of pregnancy, donors are encouraged to abstain from intercourse during the donation cycle. Sent home with a large bag of drugs, needles and instructions, I wait for the day to begin my Lupron shots. After eight days of Lupron injections, I quit wearing shorts because of the bruising on my legs. I also notice that I feel fatigued most of the time. Four days later, the practitioner reduces my Lupron injections, and I start taking gonadotropin, the hormone that signals the ovaries to mature a number of eggs, injecting it into my hip or thigh.