sarahstarfish
16-04-2006, 09:40 AM
Hello
This is a huge list of questions for donors/recipients to ask each other - and important things that you read and say to yourself 'Oh yeah!' It's from the US Resolve site so ignore the stuff on agencies and money as they don't apply here...but some great things to think about..
http://www.resolvenc.org/articles/degdonor.html
Questions to Ask Ovum Donors
This article is divided into several sections:
General Questions for A Known Donor Whether Recruited, Friend or Family Member
Specific Questions When the Donor is a Friend or Relative
Specific Questions For a Recruited Donor
Genetic Screening of Donors
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General Questions for Either a Relative or a Recruited Donor:
Depending on whether the donor is a relative or friend, or a known recruited donor, there are a number of general questions that might be considered by a recipient couple.
Why do you want to participate in egg donation?
Why did you choose to be a known donor?
What are your feelings about being available in the future for the baby?
What are your expectations about how a child born would be raised?
Does it matter if the prospective parents are married?
Does it matter if I (as the recipient) am single or a lesbian?
What do you imagine how you will feel if the procedure does not succeed?
Are you aware excess eggs may be fertilized and may be frozen as embryos?
Do you expect any legal relationship with the baby?
What are your expectations, if any, around receiving a fee for your participation?
Are you willing to participate a second time if we desire siblings for our child, or if a pregnancy didn't result from the first transfer?
How do you feel about our decision to give embryos to another couple or make them available for scientific research?
Do you have any children of your own? How many do you have, and what are their ages?
Are you willing to participate in a counseling session with us to discuss relevant concerns? Are you willing to continue counseling indefinitely if the need arises?
Are you aware that you will need to sign a legal agreement detailing your willingness to sacrifice all parental claim or responsibility?
Do you have health insurance in the unlikely event of post-surgical complications?
Have you had the opportunity to thoroughly discuss the risks associated with the procedure and the medication?
If you have a husband/partner, how does he feel about your interest in donating eggs?
What is your understanding of the medical procedure that will be involved to stimulate your ovaries with medication and retrieve eggs?
Who will be your support person during the intensive weeks leading to the egg retrieval? Who will give you your injections?
Are you aware that we may have multiple pregnancies? How do you feel about this possibility?
Are there people with whom you have shared your interest to be an egg donor? If there were any, what were their reactions?
What are examples of intensive, complicated projects you have chosen to be involved in? What did you learn about yourself?
Why do you think you would be a good egg donor?
What do you believe your strengths and weaknesses are?
Do you have any ethical or religious viewpoints which might affect your decision to be an egg donor?
Can you accept the unlikely prospect that we might choose or need to abort a fetus?
Do you know anyone who has donated her eggs? Or who was a sperm donor? What was her or his experience?
Do you consider yourself to be a responsible person?
Where did you learn about this opportunity?
How do you feel about the possibility that embryos may be frozen for a long time, perhaps for years?
What are your feelings about selective termination or selective reduction?
Are you aware that the legal issues surrounding egg donor IVF and parental rights have never been established or challenged in court?
Are you aware that there is a possibility that a successful pregnancy from your donated eggs might be referenced in an article in the medical literature?
Do you want publicity about your decision to donate eggs if the possibility arises?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specific Questions When the Donor is a Relative or a Close Friend:
It is presumed that any donor who is a relative or a close friend will not be a real stranger to the recipient couple. Consequently, the questions do not need to be as expansive as with a recruited donor.
Is there anything significant about your relationship with your relative that contributed to your decision to donate eggs?
What do you imagine are the concerns associated with donating eggs to a relative?
How do you imagine your relationship will change by donating eggs?
How does your family feel about your decision to donate eggs to a relative?
Who will know about this decision and who will not?
If you have decided to keep this private, how do you expect to handle an unplanned disclosure?
If you have a husband or partner, how does he feel about the possibility of a baby born of this procedure? Will he participate in counseling if requested?
Have you discussed with your partner the risks associated with this procedure and with the medication you must take?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specific Questions for Recruited Donor Who is Willing to Meet with the Recipient Couple:
Does your family have a tendency towards any particular illnesses, i.e., allergies, intestinal problem, cancer, heart disease or psychological problems? Who had one or more of these illnesses, and at what age did the onset occur?
Are your blood relatives living, i.e., parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles? If not, how old were they when they died, and what did they die of?
Have you or any member of your immediate family ever smoked, drank or used illegal substances? To what extent are any of these, or have any of these ever been, a problem?
Have you ever been pregnant? What was the outcome?
Have you ever donated eggs before? If you have, how many follicles developed? How many eggs were retrieved? How many successfully fertilized? Was there a resulting pregnancy, multiple pregnancy, and live birth(s)?
What can you tell us about your family of origin? Who are they and what are their ages? What are their vocational and avocational interests, hobbies, talents and dispositions? What are their physical characteristics such as coloring, size, weight and height?
Do you have any children? If yes, how old are they now? When did they learn to sit up, walk and talk? Were there and are there any significant health issues we should know about? What are their sleeping and eating habits? What are their special abilities and interests? What was their birth weight and length?
If you don't have children, why do you want to help us have a baby using your egg(s)? Have you considered the unlikely circumstance where at a later date you might be unable to conceive?
What is your family's genealogical heritage or history? What country(s) did your ancestors come from, where did they settle here, and when?
Why do you want to be a donor? What do you think you will get out of it? If you have already donated, what did you get out of it?
If we get pregnant, will you tell your family members including your children? If so, how will you tell them, and when? Would you want your children to know that our child would share half of their genetic heritage? How will you handle their questions?
May we see or have pictures of your family, siblings and children? If we desire, may we meet with your immediate family, including your children?
Have you thought about how you'd feel if, after all this interaction and sharing, we don't get pregnant?
Have you thought about whether you would like any ongoing contact such as pictures, phone calls or meeting the child?
Is your job or school situation flexible enough to do this procedure? Do you have child care available, if you have children?
This is a huge list of questions for donors/recipients to ask each other - and important things that you read and say to yourself 'Oh yeah!' It's from the US Resolve site so ignore the stuff on agencies and money as they don't apply here...but some great things to think about..
http://www.resolvenc.org/articles/degdonor.html
Questions to Ask Ovum Donors
This article is divided into several sections:
General Questions for A Known Donor Whether Recruited, Friend or Family Member
Specific Questions When the Donor is a Friend or Relative
Specific Questions For a Recruited Donor
Genetic Screening of Donors
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General Questions for Either a Relative or a Recruited Donor:
Depending on whether the donor is a relative or friend, or a known recruited donor, there are a number of general questions that might be considered by a recipient couple.
Why do you want to participate in egg donation?
Why did you choose to be a known donor?
What are your feelings about being available in the future for the baby?
What are your expectations about how a child born would be raised?
Does it matter if the prospective parents are married?
Does it matter if I (as the recipient) am single or a lesbian?
What do you imagine how you will feel if the procedure does not succeed?
Are you aware excess eggs may be fertilized and may be frozen as embryos?
Do you expect any legal relationship with the baby?
What are your expectations, if any, around receiving a fee for your participation?
Are you willing to participate a second time if we desire siblings for our child, or if a pregnancy didn't result from the first transfer?
How do you feel about our decision to give embryos to another couple or make them available for scientific research?
Do you have any children of your own? How many do you have, and what are their ages?
Are you willing to participate in a counseling session with us to discuss relevant concerns? Are you willing to continue counseling indefinitely if the need arises?
Are you aware that you will need to sign a legal agreement detailing your willingness to sacrifice all parental claim or responsibility?
Do you have health insurance in the unlikely event of post-surgical complications?
Have you had the opportunity to thoroughly discuss the risks associated with the procedure and the medication?
If you have a husband/partner, how does he feel about your interest in donating eggs?
What is your understanding of the medical procedure that will be involved to stimulate your ovaries with medication and retrieve eggs?
Who will be your support person during the intensive weeks leading to the egg retrieval? Who will give you your injections?
Are you aware that we may have multiple pregnancies? How do you feel about this possibility?
Are there people with whom you have shared your interest to be an egg donor? If there were any, what were their reactions?
What are examples of intensive, complicated projects you have chosen to be involved in? What did you learn about yourself?
Why do you think you would be a good egg donor?
What do you believe your strengths and weaknesses are?
Do you have any ethical or religious viewpoints which might affect your decision to be an egg donor?
Can you accept the unlikely prospect that we might choose or need to abort a fetus?
Do you know anyone who has donated her eggs? Or who was a sperm donor? What was her or his experience?
Do you consider yourself to be a responsible person?
Where did you learn about this opportunity?
How do you feel about the possibility that embryos may be frozen for a long time, perhaps for years?
What are your feelings about selective termination or selective reduction?
Are you aware that the legal issues surrounding egg donor IVF and parental rights have never been established or challenged in court?
Are you aware that there is a possibility that a successful pregnancy from your donated eggs might be referenced in an article in the medical literature?
Do you want publicity about your decision to donate eggs if the possibility arises?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specific Questions When the Donor is a Relative or a Close Friend:
It is presumed that any donor who is a relative or a close friend will not be a real stranger to the recipient couple. Consequently, the questions do not need to be as expansive as with a recruited donor.
Is there anything significant about your relationship with your relative that contributed to your decision to donate eggs?
What do you imagine are the concerns associated with donating eggs to a relative?
How do you imagine your relationship will change by donating eggs?
How does your family feel about your decision to donate eggs to a relative?
Who will know about this decision and who will not?
If you have decided to keep this private, how do you expect to handle an unplanned disclosure?
If you have a husband or partner, how does he feel about the possibility of a baby born of this procedure? Will he participate in counseling if requested?
Have you discussed with your partner the risks associated with this procedure and with the medication you must take?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specific Questions for Recruited Donor Who is Willing to Meet with the Recipient Couple:
Does your family have a tendency towards any particular illnesses, i.e., allergies, intestinal problem, cancer, heart disease or psychological problems? Who had one or more of these illnesses, and at what age did the onset occur?
Are your blood relatives living, i.e., parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles? If not, how old were they when they died, and what did they die of?
Have you or any member of your immediate family ever smoked, drank or used illegal substances? To what extent are any of these, or have any of these ever been, a problem?
Have you ever been pregnant? What was the outcome?
Have you ever donated eggs before? If you have, how many follicles developed? How many eggs were retrieved? How many successfully fertilized? Was there a resulting pregnancy, multiple pregnancy, and live birth(s)?
What can you tell us about your family of origin? Who are they and what are their ages? What are their vocational and avocational interests, hobbies, talents and dispositions? What are their physical characteristics such as coloring, size, weight and height?
Do you have any children? If yes, how old are they now? When did they learn to sit up, walk and talk? Were there and are there any significant health issues we should know about? What are their sleeping and eating habits? What are their special abilities and interests? What was their birth weight and length?
If you don't have children, why do you want to help us have a baby using your egg(s)? Have you considered the unlikely circumstance where at a later date you might be unable to conceive?
What is your family's genealogical heritage or history? What country(s) did your ancestors come from, where did they settle here, and when?
Why do you want to be a donor? What do you think you will get out of it? If you have already donated, what did you get out of it?
If we get pregnant, will you tell your family members including your children? If so, how will you tell them, and when? Would you want your children to know that our child would share half of their genetic heritage? How will you handle their questions?
May we see or have pictures of your family, siblings and children? If we desire, may we meet with your immediate family, including your children?
Have you thought about how you'd feel if, after all this interaction and sharing, we don't get pregnant?
Have you thought about whether you would like any ongoing contact such as pictures, phone calls or meeting the child?
Is your job or school situation flexible enough to do this procedure? Do you have child care available, if you have children?