If you’ve considered becoming an egg donor, you’ve likely been curious about whether donating your eggs will affect your future fertility. "If I donate my eggs, can I still have babies?" is a common question and it's an important question to ask! Even if you’re not ready to have children of your own now, you should still feel confident that the door will be open if and when you decide to embark on that journey in the future.

If I Donate My Eggs, Can I Still Have Babies?

Research does not show an increased chance of fertility issues for women who donate eggs. The medications you will take during your cycle are similar to those widely used for other fertility treatments and are typically considered low-risk. 

Since egg donation involves hormonal medications and a surgical egg retrieval procedure, it’s understandable to wonder, “Does donating eggs affect fertility?” or “Does donating eggs make you infertile?” However, research has not shown a correlation between donating eggs and infertility.

When You Donate Eggs, Is It All of Them?

If you’re concerned that egg donation will diminish your natural ovarian reserve (egg supply), you’re not alone. This is actually a common misconception. Did you know that a healthy reproductive woman has hundreds of thousands of eggs which will never be used? That means that when you donate eggs, it’s certainly not all of them!

At birth, there are approximately 1 to 2 million eggs; and by the time of puberty, only about 300,000 remain. Of these, only 300 to 400 will be ovulated during a woman's reproductive lifetime. During each cycle, it’s estimated as many as 1,000 eggs begin the maturation process, and usually only 1 egg makes it through to ovulation. The remaining eggs are unused and absorbed by the body. 

When eggs are donated, the eggs that are retrieved are the ones that the body would have naturally discarded. The medications egg donors are on only ensure that the eggs will grow equally and all eggs produced will be mature and viable. 

You will lose the same number of eggs in an egg donation cycle as you would have in a normal menstruation cycle. Therefore, egg donation does not deplete your egg supply. An egg donation simply makes use of all the maturing eggs, even the ones your body would have had absorbed. 

Does Egg Donation Affect Future Fertility?

Now, we’ll cover three scenarios: getting pregnant during an egg donation cycle, pregnancy after egg donation (within the first two months), and getting pregnant in the future. 

1. If you donate eggs, can you still have a child?

You can still have kids adter donating eggs. Actually, it’s important to know that you will have heightened fertility after egg retrieval; your chances of getting pregnant during the egg donation process are higher since your eggs are stimulated and ready for pregnancy. This is why egg donors are required to remain abstinent for approximately three to four weeks while taking stimulation medications. It is recommended that you remain abstinent until your withdrawal period following your egg retrieval.

2. How long after egg donation can you get pregnant?

Can you get pregnant after donating eggs? Yes. Due to the hormonal medications, you are actually more likely to get pregnant in the first month after your egg donation. That’s why it is recommended to be very cautious during and after your cycle. If you do get pregnant right after donating eggs, your pregnancy will be safe for both you and the baby. After the first month, your fertility level will become normal again.

3. Does donating eggs affect your fertility?

If you’re wondering, “if I donate my eggs, can I still have babies?” Studies show that women who choose to pursue pregnancies of their own after donating eggs do not have an increased risk of infertility. At Donor Nexus, we've seen many egg donors have successful pregnancies after donating eggs!