Donated eggs will be used to treat infertility patients who require donor eggs to conceive a child. The donated eggs collected by Egg Donors Australia will only be used by patients attending City Fertility Centre.

Fertility treatments using an egg donor are available to single women, same sex couples as well as heterosexual couples. Fertility units are required by law not to discriminate on the grounds of marital or sexual preference.

The recipients will be given non-identifying information about the natural characteristics of the donors to help them choose a suitable donor.

Donors are described by basic physical characteristics, social traits and medical history on her and her family.

Each donor is given a code number and the non-identifying information available includes:

• ethnic origin,
• blood group and CMV status,
• physical characteristics – height, build, eye colour, hair colour, skin tone,
• social traits – level of education, occupation, hobbies, special interests and skills,
• medical history of the donor and her family

The welfare of the person born as a result of assisted reproductive treatment is paramount. This means that the donor conceived person is entitled to know who their genetic parents are, should they want this information. Therefore, donors must consent to their identifying information being held by the City Fertility Centre and the Victorian / New South Wales Central Register.

In Victoria and New South Wales, a State Register is held of all pregnancies and births from donated eggs.

In Queensland and South Australia, there is no legislation at this time to keep a register. However, Egg Donors Australia – City Fertility Centre keep identifying (name, date of birth, address) and non-identifying information which may be cross referenced through a code.

The donor conceived person can request access to your identity once he/she has either reached the age of 18 or has acquired sufficient maturity to appreciate the significance of the request.

City Fertility Centre allows the following information to be supplied to the offspring through a medical practitioner or an appropriately qualified health professional:

• all medical and family history information,
• identifying information about the donor,
• the number and sex of the children conceived from the same donor; the number of families involved, and any identifying information that these siblings have consented to release.

The egg donor has no legal responsibilities or rights to the child.

Under Australian legislation, the woman giving birth is the legal mother of any child born. The recipient couple is financially and legally responsible for the child no matter what. Additionally, the recipient couple shall have full custodial and parental rights to the child (NHMRC – Ethical guidelines on the use of Assisted Reproductive Technology in clinical practice and research 2007).

Donors can withdraw their consent to be a donor at any time as long as embryos have not been created (before insemination or fertilisation takes place).

In Australia, the donation of reproductive tissue must be altruistic. It is an offence for someone to intentionally give or offer valuable consideration to another person for the supply of a human egg, human sperm or a human embryo. It is also an offence for a person to intentionally receive, or offer to receive, valuable consideration from another person for the supply of a human egg, human sperm or a human embryo. However, this does not include the payment of reasonable expenses incurred by a person in connection with the supply of a human egg, human sperm or a human embryo. Therefore, you will be reimbursed for each suitable egg donation to cover your reasonable expenses

Egg Donors Australia needs to know:

• If you contract a cold, the flu or a more serious illness
• If you start taking medication of any kind
• If you and/or your sexual partner(s) contract an infectious disease such as HIV, hepatitis, syphilis, herpes, gonorrhoea or Chlamydia, either while you are an active donor or after you stop donating
• If you, your children or anyone in your family is diagnosed with a congenital or hereditary disease or illness, either while you are an active donor or after your donation