"They were my eggs; they were her babies": known oocyte donors' conceptualizations of their reproductive material.

OBJECTIVE

We sought the views of women who took part in an altruistic known oocyte donation program to provide insights into the dynamics of known oocyte donation in Canada.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face or by telephone with 15 Canadian women who had donated oocytes to a friend or a relative for family-building and 18 women who had received oocytes donated by a friend or a relative in the eight years prior to the interview.

RESULTS

Donors and recipients recounted few problems with their experiences of oocyte donation. Donors' positive experiences were contingent on their desire to facilitate the family-building aspirations of a friend or relative and the trusting relationship they had with their recipient. These dynamics subsequently affected their perceptions regarding the embryos created using their oocytes and their relationship with any child born as a result of their donation. Most donors would not donate their oocytes to an anonymous recipient and would not support donating unused embryos created with their oocytes to an unknown recipient.

CONCLUSION

Altruistic known donation is an important feature of oocyte donation programs in Canada, where commercial procurement of gametes is forbidden. Legal clarity, information, and psychosocial counselling are essential to minimize relationship problems in known oocyte donation.