I am so lucky to be a mum, an egg donor and now an advocate for the most precious gift you can give. So here it is, my story about how I discovered egg donation and the amazing path it set me on. I had just had my first baby boy when a neighbour from down the road had popped in for a cuppa and a cuddle, we got chatting and I couldn’t help but notice the maternal warmth and longing she exuded. After a bit more chit chat, she told me that she was unable to have her own children due to a low egg count, that her and her partner had been trying for years. In that moment my heart broke for them. She told me they had now decided to look for an egg donor, something I had never heard of before. As my neighbour explained the process and how she was still able to have hope because somewhere out there a stranger was willing to give them this gift, I immediately knew that I wanted to donate my eggs.

Fast forward 3 years after I’d had my second baby boy and I felt ready to help someone/a couple finally become a parent. In the time between finding out about donation and calling Altrui, I had done a lot of research so felt ready to get the process started. The ladies at Altrui were amazing, so supportive and knowledgeable. I poured my heart and soul into my profile, hoping that any potential recipients would really get a feel for who I am as a person. I will never forget the call saying I had been matched, the wave of excitement and emotion I felt. However, one thing I didn’t expect to feel was the sudden onset of pressure and fear that I would let my couple down, who were out there somewhere pinning all their parenting hopes on me and my eggs.

I am so pleased that the treatment was completed without complication and my recipients received lots of high-quality eggs. Almost exactly a year later (on my birthday – the best present ever!) I received a message from Altrui to say my recipients had welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world and they were smitten. The happiness I feel for that family is so hard to put into words and I have no doubt that they will be the
most loving and doting parents. I regularly think about them and the many firsts and milestones they will be cherishing and find myself smiling. I also speak to my children about mummy helping another family to have a baby, how kindness is free and there can never be enough of it!

I would love to one day meet my recipients and more than anything, give the mummy a big cuddle. I have so much love for the family and feel so honoured that they picked me and I have been able to help their dreams become true. A lot of people ask me how I feel about having another child out there, I don’t feel like this is the case. I have two children, I grew them, birthed them and tuck them in every night, I am forever grateful for that, so to be able to help someone else to have that, is the greatest gift, for the recipient and for me. If anything, I feel that my emotional tie is to the mother, we have a very unique connection and she is regularly in my thoughts.

That being said, I would love to one day meet the child/children and answer any questions they may have about me and my family history. I completely respect that it will be the donor conceived child’s decision and it’s ok either way, I also hope that they will involve their parents in any decision they make.

I am now a huge advocate for egg donation and it is something I am incredibly passionate about. There are so many people out there waiting for a donor and they all deserve the chance to be parents and to feel the unconditional love that comes from it.

I want to say a huge thank you to Olivia for sharing her story, an amazing lady who quite literally brought me to tears during one of my joint webinars with @altruieggdonation and Apricity last year – I’ve linked it here if you would like to watch the recording.

To find out more about Altrui Egg Donation, as either a recipient or a donor, head to their website – https://www.altrui.co.uk/