‘Why donating my eggs is the right thing’

Mrs Hamilton is donating her eggs to infertile couples and Mr Hamilton is willing to donate his sperm. "I just think it is a really worthwhile thing to do," Mrs Hamilton explains.

The couple from Stirlingshire had both independently considered the possibility of assisting childless couples before they married, which made the conversation easier when Mrs Hamilton broached the subject last year.

"I said that I had always harboured a desire to donate," she recalls. "Marc said he would quite like to do that as well It was just a case of picking up the phone."

They found out about the Glasgow Centre for Reproductive Medicine, a private fertility clinic which had just opened in the city, by searching the internet and they put their inclinations into action.

Mrs Hamilton, 33, had blood tests to check her health and fertility levels and the couple attended counselling sessions - something GCRM strongly recommends to potential donors.

It gave the couple new issues to consider, such as the potential impact of their decision on their own children.

Mrs Hamilton says: "That was one thing I had not thought through. It was an opportunity to think about that and decide as a couple what we were going to do if there was a pregnancy."

Agreeing they would explain what they had done when the time was right, the pair decided to proceed with egg donation.

Mrs Hamilton explains: "As far as I am concerned, I do not need my eggs any more. It just seemed such a waste. While they are still in good shape, they could be useful to someone else."

Before her eggs were collected from the ovaries she had to inject herself daily with a drug that encourages the follicles containing them to grow. Mrs Hamilton says she did not find this difficult although she did experience twinging and bloating towards the end of the 12-day period.

During the collection itself she was heavily sedated and remembers little about the procedure, but she says the GCRM staff treated her like royalty.

Her friends and family were also supportive. "People have been quite surprised that someone they knew has done it," she says. "People do believe in it, they just wouldn't do it themselves."

Recipients and donors are not identified to each other, but Mrs Hamilton was later informed her initial donation had not resulted in a pregnancy. Although she describes this as "really sad" she is planning to attend GCRM next month to donate again and says she would like to do so until the process is successful.

She does not feel an emotional attachment to her eggs as though they are part of her family, agreeing she regards the situation more like donating blood.

"Being a parent, that's the job," she says, with the feeling of a mother 10 minutes before bath time. I do not have any ties to the eggs or the genetic material. I do not believe that that's parenting.

"It is about allowing the recipient couple to start what they have been trying to do for some time."

Professor Kenyon Mason, who teaches medical ethics at Edinburgh University, also prioritises the role of bringing-up a child over a biological connection.

He says: "There is no real evidence that genetic parenthood is an important thing from the point of view of parenting."

In fact he expresses reservations about the legal changes that allowed donor children to discover the identity of their genetic mother or father at the age of 18. "I am not happy about anything that would make people begin to have a cult of questioning parenthood," he explains.

The names of both egg and sperm donors have been recorded since April 2005 and fertility doctors say this has had an impact on sperm donations in particular. There are 55 couples on the GCRM waiting list for eggs but Professor Richard Fleming, director, says they are working through the queue, performing two or three procedures a month.

Meanwhile, people who ring about sperm donations are told they do not have any supplies and they cannot say when some might become available.

Around 2% of men of reproductive age - some 100,000 in Scotland - are estimated to suffer fertility problems. Low sperm count, abnormally shaped sperm and poor sperm motility are among the conditions and often patients suffer all three.

GCRM was initially able to buy sperm from Manchester. However, since this ran out no spare has been available for sale and in addition it was sold in batches that cost £2000 per patient.

Professor Fleming said: "If we could have our own donors it would be a lot cheaper for patients. Instead of £2000 we would probably be talking about £200. We would not have to sell it in straws (batches) of 10." He admits patients have to jump through a lot of hoops to confirm their sperm is suitable for donation. As well as health issues some semen does not freeze well and cannot be used. Donors may have to attend the clinic eight times and will only get their expenses back in recompense.

Professor Fleming also accepts loss of anonymity is a deterrent, saying: "The donors themselves have to consider the concept that in perhaps 20 years time when they might have their own family, someone could suddenly come and say we are related'." However, asked why, in this context, anyone would take the step he is unequivocal: "You can make someone else very happy. That's the truth.

"We had one just the other day. There is a woman there who has made a big step forward in her life because of it."

He describes the battle some couples face to conceive as a "desperate situation" and added: "You should see the pain that comes in and out of here.

"It is a highly charged emotional place. The staff get to feel for the patients very much."

By placing adverts at train stations in Edinburgh and Glasgow for sperm and egg donors he hopes not only to find more but to encourage discussion of fertility issues, concerned at the moment the subject is still taboo.

He says: "One of the problems is that I think Anglo-Saxon, northern European people do not talk much about sex or reproduction."

Donation data

What does the law say about donation? Until recently, people who donated sperm, eggs or embryos could choose to remain anonymous. Under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, people could apply to find out if they were conceived using donated sperm, eggs or embryos. Since April 2005, people conceived through donation can find out who the donor was once they reach 18.

What does the change in law mean?
Because the law gives donor-conceived people the right find out the donor's identity, they could contact the donor. Not all donor-conceived people would want to do this, but the implications have deterred many men in particular from donating.

Does a donor have any say about how sperm, eggs or embryos are used?
Yes. A person can say who they want to receive their donation. For example, some people may want to donate to a friend or a relative.

Does a donor have any responsibilities towards a child created from their eggs or sperm?
No, there are no legal obligations. Those responsibilities lie with the person who received the donation.

A donor is not named on the birth certificate and has has no rights over how the child is brought up. A donor will not have to make any financial contribution. However, donors may feel they have emotional and psychological responsibilities.

Could a donor be sued for any reason?
A donor-conceived person born with an abnormality could sue a donor if it could be proved that the donor had deliberately withheld relevant facts about their medical history which were known when the donation was made.

What details will a donor have to give about themselves?
A typical form asks for the name (the name a donor was born with if this is different to the current name), date and place of birth, NHS or passport number, whether a donor has children of their own, appearance (height, hair colour etc) profession and religion.