In summary, 90 children were born with donor eggs in Norway, fresh figures show for the first full year in which egg donation was legal in this country. Senior doctor Camilla Kleveland at St. Olav’s hospital is concerned about the future of egg donation due to a lack of donors in the public sector. The vast majority who donate eggs do so to private clinics. There, they are pleasantly surprised and moved by the interest from possible donors. At private clinics, couples who need donor eggs to become pregnant can quickly start treatment. St. Olav has the only public clinic in Norway that deals with egg donation. There is a waiting list of around one year. Many who need donor eggs don’t even get in the queue. For egg donation in the public sector, the couple must pay a deductible of approximately NOK 9,000. In the private sector, the equivalent costs approximately NOK 100,000. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. The Norwegian Directorate of Health has just released completely new figures on assisted reproduction in Norway. Egg donation was allowed in Norway on 1 January 2021. A few months later, fertility clinics could start recruiting egg donors. This means that 2022 was the first full year of assisted fertilization with donor eggs in this country. While 10 children were born after treatment with donor eggs in the first year, 90 children were born after treatment in 2022. Hedda is one of those children. The girl was born in the spring of 2023, and with that Ingrid Brattgjerd (38) and William Sande (41) from Trondheim became parents. Finally. All the eggs had died – I think most girls have an idea that they want to become a mother. I had that too. I had envisioned becoming a mother in my early 20s, says Brattgjerd. It didn’t turn out that way. Instead, she became seriously ill with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Ingrid Brattgjerd was completely unrecognizable while she was receiving the powerful cancer treatment. She was completely dependent on bone marrow donation to survive. It happened, against all odds. However, her eggs, the very basis for becoming a mother, had died in the process. But the desire for children lived on. Some women choose to check how the eggs are doing. Professionals disagree on how wise it is: Brutal waiting time – We wanted money for eggs as a wedding present, laughs Brattgjerd. They received monetary gifts and an agreement for egg donation in Spain. But the corona pandemic put a sudden stop to that. Fortunately for them, the Norwegian authorities worked to make egg donation legal here at home. – The day it was allowed was a big day for us. Then we flew the flag, says Sande. In the egg donation queue at St. Olav’s hospital in Trondheim, they hoped every day for a phone call. They experienced the waiting time as brutal, and wanted to make an attempt privately. There they were able to get started immediately. The attempt cost NOK 100,000, but was unsuccessful. Almost at the same time, the phone they had been waiting for came. St. Olav had brought in eggs that the couple could have. Under the microscope in the lab, donor eggs were fertilized. The embryo was put back, and shortly afterwards the pregnancy test showed a positive result. – I still didn’t dare to hope too much, says Brattgjerd today. – I was filled with hope. But it wasn’t until we had an ultrasound at week six, when we saw that the heart was beating, that I really understood. It was the second best feeling I’ve ever had. First place was when she was born, says Sande. When Hedda turns 15, she can find out who the egg donor is. Photo: Kirsti Kringstad / news A senior physician at St. Olav’s hospital says that it is this feeling of happiness that they would so much like to give to many. But instead they have to reject more than they want. Donor shortage – The demand for egg donation is very high, and we have very few people who sign up as egg donors, says senior doctor Camilla Kleveland. St. Olav’s hospital in Trondheim has the country’s only public clinic that offers egg donation. Camilla Kleveland is a senior physician there. Photo: Kirsti Kringstad / news Fertility Section at St. Olav is the only public clinic in Norway that offers egg donation. Of the aforementioned 90 children, only eight were born after egg donation from them. Different forms of assisted fertilization IVF: One egg is exposed to a few thousand sperm cells. ICSI: A sperm cell is injected into each egg. PESA: Sperm cells are sucked out of the epididymis with a thin needle before it is injected into the egg. THESIS: Sperm cells are extracted from the testicles during a small operation. FET: Treatment with a fertilized egg that has been frozen, created using IVF, ICSI, PESA or TESE. Sources: The Directorate of Health, Medicus and Klinikk Hausken. Kleveland believes that the lack of donors will mean a decline in the future. Further down in the article you can read what an egg donor has to go through. In 2023, there were a total of 101 women who donated eggs in Norway. Here is a picture of what assisted fertilization looks like through a microscope. Photo: Truls Alnes Antonsen / news – We have to be very strict with who is included on the egg donation list so that the queue does not get too long. Nevertheless, the waiting time is approximately one year now, says the superior. At private clinics, however, it is different. There, the treatment can start quite quickly. The egg donors go to private clinics – If you want to get started with egg donation with us, there is no waiting period. But we take some time to find the right donor. It takes approximately one to three months, says Magnus Finset Sørdal, manager of the Medicus clinics. The vast majority donate their eggs privately. At Volvat Spiren, they are pleasantly surprised by the demand they have had since spring 2021 from potential egg donors. – More than 450 ladies have approached us with questions about whether they are suitable to donate their eggs. It is touching and very special, says gynecologist Liv Bente Romunstad, gynecologist at Volvat Spiren and researcher at the Romundstad Institute of Public Health, emphasizing that the criteria for becoming an egg donor are very strict. Around 100 of the stakeholders have now been approved. They have either donated eggs or are in the process. – This has resulted in us being able to establish an egg bank. Sørdal at Medicus says that 40-50 women who are interested in donating eggs have contacted them since August this year. – We think this is positive and good, although we would have liked to have seen more. In Norway, egg donors receive the same compensation regardless of whether they give their eggs to private or public organizations. About NOK 6,000. Senior doctor Camilla Kleveland at St. Olav believes that private clinics have some advantages in the recruitment process. – They take cell samples and insert IUDs in healthy, young patients. Perhaps these women see the poster that says “do you want to become an egg donor”, or are asked directly. In hospitals, we meet patients with ailments. And we don’t have the money to do marketing. This poster hangs in the waiting area of the fertility section at St. Olav. Senior doctor Camilla Kleveland says it doesn’t have much going for it, because those who sit there mostly struggle with infertility. The same poster also hangs where people give blood, hoping to capture the interest of potential egg and sperm donors. Photo: Kirsti Kringstad / news More and more single women choose to have children with donor sperm. Anne Lie-Hetland is one of them: But both Volvat Spiren and Medicus feel that the potential egg donors have come on their own. NOK 12,000 versus NOK 100,000 – I think there are some who actively search and thus find us. We have arranged for them to book a phone call very easily. They can pick a time to talk to a donor coordinator, says Sørdal. When asked why it is so important that donors choose public donation, Kleveland replies as follows: – It is about the patients’ finances. Camilla Kleveland Senior doctor at the fertility section at St. Olav’s hospital For egg donation in the public sector, the couple must pay a deductible of around NOK 12,000 in total for the entire package. In the private sector, the equivalent costs approximately NOK 100,000. This is something that Ingrid Brattgjerd and William Sande are concerned with. – We would like more people to have the opportunity, and that it should not be about whether you have a little or a lot of money, says Brattgjerd. I would like to say thank you Although women and men who donate eggs or sperm give up gametes in the same way, the process is not comparable. The woman has to put herself through a lot of discomfort. Nevertheless, there were 101 women who donated eggs in 2023, according to the Directorate of Health. – They have such incredibly good intentions. They are just so nice. They give others an incredibly large gift, and get almost nothing in return. These are typical volunteers, says Kleveland at St. Olav – No one has asked what they get paid for doing this, says Romundstad at Spiren. The egg donor must go through this. First, she must undergo a gynecological examination. She then has to inject herself every day for 10-12 days. During the stimulation, she has to undergo several ultrasound examinations. When the stimulation is finished, she must take an ovulation injection. Two days after that, the time has come for egg retrieval. The doctor uses a long, thin, hollow needle to suck out the fluid from the follicles in the ovary. Although she will benefit from anesthesia, this can be uncomfortable and even painful. Fertilization with the man’s sperm can then take place. After the process, the donor is completely out of the loop. She does not get to know about any conception, pregnancy or birth. – We should like to say thank you, says William Sande. Ingrid Brattgjerd agrees. – We probably don’t want to know who the donor is now. But if Hedda wants to know when she turns 15, that’s perfectly fine. She will of course be told that she is an egg donation child. But it’s probably still a bit early, the mother laughs. William Sande and Ingrid Brattgjerd would have liked to thank the egg donor. Photo: Kirsti Kringstad / news William Sande is employed by news and works daily in news Trafikk. Published 02.12.2024, at 10.35
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Lack of egg donors in the public sector. Most who donate eggs go privately – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
