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Authors: Sarah Rayner
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wouldn’t that make me redundant? He’s finding it hard to keep pace already.
‘Yet these two women will never meet each other. At our clinic, we go to great lengths to ensure that. Though whilst they will never come face to face, they will arguably make more of a
difference to one another’s lives than any other single individual.’
What about me? protests Rich inwardly. I hope I make a difference to Cath. He can feel her beside him listening intently. I must get a handle on this for her sake, he says to himself.
The doctor says, ‘We will synchronize these two women’s cycles, and their pregnancies may well happen simultaneously. Their children will even be genetically linked.’
Another slide flicks up: two flowers, heads bent together, bloom in unison.
He leans in to the microphone. ‘As many of you will doubtless already know, for some women there is a shortage of ova – or eggs as we think of them – for use in IVF. And yet
many women undergoing treatment produce a surplus. So we’ve devised a programme designed to bring these two sets of women together. The name of this programme is egg
sharing .’
Aah, thinks Rich, catching up at last. So that’s why Cath was so keen on coming to this particular talk.
8
Slowly, Sofia opens the door to the auditorium. She winces as it squeaks – the presentation she recalls Lou wished to attend has already begun.
‘If you are under thirty-six and able to produce healthy eggs, you can donate some to a potential mother in need of them,’ the speaker is saying.
She tiptoes inside, feels people turn to stare and leans against the wall to make herself as thin as possible. She scans the rows of seats in front of her, but the lights are dimmed and
it’s hard to make out people’s faces.
The speaker continues, ‘In return, the clinic will provide basic IVF treatment, for free. You’ll also have the satisfaction of helping another woman become a mother.’
A woman with a clipboard swiftly pads over to Sofia, puts a finger to her lips and mouths, ‘Wait here.’
Sofia does as she is told. Given how bad she feels already, it seems fitting to be treated like a naughty child.
A diagram flashes up, illustrating connections between egg sharers, and the speaker continues. ‘But there are many other advantages to sharing eggs. Because of the shortage of eggs in this
country, many women and couples are forced to travel abroad to find donors. This can be expensive, time-consuming and stressful. Even though recent legislation means increased financial
compensation is now available to donors here in the UK, it’s only designed to cover expenses; you can’t pay a woman specifically to donate. And whilst many clinics overseas offering
donor eggs are perfectly reputable, some aren’t. Donors are often less thoroughly vetted, and because they have been paid large sums for their eggs, their motivations are compromised. They
may be less suited psychologically to dealing with the long-term implications.
‘I should also point out that since 2005, every child conceived by egg or sperm donation has the legal right to find out who his or her donor parent is when he or she hits eighteen years
of age. Clearly, this can have a big impact on a donor’s life, not to mention the young adult involved. But you can rest assured that on our egg-sharing programme, our donors are thoroughly
checked out. They also undergo counselling to ensure they are fully aware of this risk and are prepared – insofar as is humanly possible – to take full responsibility should a child
come knocking on their door in two decades’ time.’
Sofia’s eyes are growing accustomed to the dark. The auditorium is nearly full, but even so she thinks she can make out the familiar spikes of Lou’s crop silhouetted several rows in
front of her, and, unless Sofia is mistaken, the smooth, sleek bob of the woman she is leaning towards looks like Anna. Of course, Lou wouldn’t have been able to get
‘Yet these two women will never meet each other. At our clinic, we go to great lengths to ensure that. Though whilst they will never come face to face, they will arguably make more of a
difference to one another’s lives than any other single individual.’
What about me? protests Rich inwardly. I hope I make a difference to Cath. He can feel her beside him listening intently. I must get a handle on this for her sake, he says to himself.
The doctor says, ‘We will synchronize these two women’s cycles, and their pregnancies may well happen simultaneously. Their children will even be genetically linked.’
Another slide flicks up: two flowers, heads bent together, bloom in unison.
He leans in to the microphone. ‘As many of you will doubtless already know, for some women there is a shortage of ova – or eggs as we think of them – for use in IVF. And yet
many women undergoing treatment produce a surplus. So we’ve devised a programme designed to bring these two sets of women together. The name of this programme is egg
sharing .’
Aah, thinks Rich, catching up at last. So that’s why Cath was so keen on coming to this particular talk.
8
Slowly, Sofia opens the door to the auditorium. She winces as it squeaks – the presentation she recalls Lou wished to attend has already begun.
‘If you are under thirty-six and able to produce healthy eggs, you can donate some to a potential mother in need of them,’ the speaker is saying.
She tiptoes inside, feels people turn to stare and leans against the wall to make herself as thin as possible. She scans the rows of seats in front of her, but the lights are dimmed and
it’s hard to make out people’s faces.
The speaker continues, ‘In return, the clinic will provide basic IVF treatment, for free. You’ll also have the satisfaction of helping another woman become a mother.’
A woman with a clipboard swiftly pads over to Sofia, puts a finger to her lips and mouths, ‘Wait here.’
Sofia does as she is told. Given how bad she feels already, it seems fitting to be treated like a naughty child.
A diagram flashes up, illustrating connections between egg sharers, and the speaker continues. ‘But there are many other advantages to sharing eggs. Because of the shortage of eggs in this
country, many women and couples are forced to travel abroad to find donors. This can be expensive, time-consuming and stressful. Even though recent legislation means increased financial
compensation is now available to donors here in the UK, it’s only designed to cover expenses; you can’t pay a woman specifically to donate. And whilst many clinics overseas offering
donor eggs are perfectly reputable, some aren’t. Donors are often less thoroughly vetted, and because they have been paid large sums for their eggs, their motivations are compromised. They
may be less suited psychologically to dealing with the long-term implications.
‘I should also point out that since 2005, every child conceived by egg or sperm donation has the legal right to find out who his or her donor parent is when he or she hits eighteen years
of age. Clearly, this can have a big impact on a donor’s life, not to mention the young adult involved. But you can rest assured that on our egg-sharing programme, our donors are thoroughly
checked out. They also undergo counselling to ensure they are fully aware of this risk and are prepared – insofar as is humanly possible – to take full responsibility should a child
come knocking on their door in two decades’ time.’
Sofia’s eyes are growing accustomed to the dark. The auditorium is nearly full, but even so she thinks she can make out the familiar spikes of Lou’s crop silhouetted several rows in
front of her, and, unless Sofia is mistaken, the smooth, sleek bob of the woman she is leaning towards looks like Anna. Of course, Lou wouldn’t have been able to get
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