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Latest Surrogacy News
Donors grant baby wishes
Jen Kelly
medical reporter
January 24, 2004
Herald Sun
A FEW selfless Victorian women are donating eggs up to
12 times each so desperate childless couples can have
babies.
Melbourne mum Joy (not her real name) has been told by
IVF clinics she is Australia's most prolific donor after
donating eggs an astonishing 15 times.
But Joy is one of only
a handful of Victorian women willing to donate eggs,
figures collated by the Herald Sun reveal.
While 179 couples are
on waiting lists for up to four years for an egg at the
two main IVF clinics, only 22 women anonymously donated
eggs last year.
Some of Joy's egg
donations have been anonymous, arranged through clinics.
Others were in response to desperate ads in newspapers
from couples pleading for a baby.
Joy said she was
thrilled to help couples battling infertility achieve
their long-held dream to have babies, many of whom she
had later met.
"If I could donate 'til
I was 80 I would, but donation limits prevent me from
doing so," said Joy, also the mother of a teenage
daughter.
"I've seen children
that are biologically mine.
"In no way did I feel
that it was my child I was looking at, and the thing
that made me cry was looking at the parents' faces."
The Infertility
Treatment Authority has begun collecting figures on the
number of anonymous and known egg donors for the first
time.
Its latest annual
report reveals only 16 women donated eggs anonymously in
2002.
The report reveals
another 129 women gave up eggs in 2002 so someone they
knew could have a baby.
Thornbury mother of two
Miriana Monroe has donated eggs three times to one
couple and plans to keep donating to up to 10 families.
"I know what it's like
to be a parent and it's such a beautiful thing to have a
child in your life," Ms Monroe said.
"If I can help one
couple or five couples or 10 couples, that's a blessing
for me and most importantly for them.
"Why allow your eggs to
go to waste each month? Why not give them to someone
who's in so much need ofthem and allow them to feel as
blessed as youas parents?"
Joy said most of the
babies born from her donor eggs had been girls.
She has spoken out to
urge other women to consider donating eggs.
"We are a nation of
people that infertility, for whatever reason, is on the
rise," she said.
"I would love to be
able to educate and give my experiences as a donor in
the hope of encouraging others to donate."
Melbourne IVF has a two
to three-year waiting list, with 82 couples needing an
egg donor. Monash IVF has a four-year wait, with 97
couples on the list.
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