Choices and options available for patients considering egg donation in Singapore. What are the disadvantages and pitfalls of using an egg donor?

[Angelica Cheng]

Please click on the following website links:

Egg Donation Options And Choices Of IVF Patients In Singapore

What are the available options and choices for women considering egg donation in Singapore?

Answer: In Singapore, it is mandated by law that egg donation should be altruistic (Human Cloning and Other Prohibited Practices Act, 2004). Egg donors are allowed to receive only minimal compensation for costs incurred such as traveling expenses. Here are 5 options for Singaporean IVF patients r...

www.quora.com

In Singapore, it is mandated by law that egg donation should be altruistic (Human Cloning and Other Prohibited Practices Act). Egg donors are allowed to receive only minimal compensation for costs incurred such as traveling expenses. Here are 5 options or choices of women considering Egg Donation in Singapore:

(1) Seek out your close friends, relatives or family members as egg donors. In such cases, it is difficult to maintain secrecy of the child's conception. Such a secret may be deliberately or accidentally leaked-out to the child by friends, relatives or family members, in the future.

MOH | News Highlights

Find speeches, press releases, forum replies and parliamentary Q&A.

www.moh.gov.sg

.

Using a Known Egg Donor: What to Discuss

The counselor can give guidance about resources for support and education, and can also raise issues about the short and long-term implications of the donation.

www.shadygrovefertility.com

Is It a Good Idea to Use a Relative as a Sperm or Egg Donor?

What you need to know before you approach a family member.

www.psychologytoday.com

(2) Some patients secretly pay freelance egg donors that they find over the internet, or discreetly pay a foreign egg donor agency (under-the-table) to send a foreign egg donor to Singapore. This is against the law. Local fertility clinics will require both patients and egg donors to sign an official form declaring that the donation is altruistic. Such a signed declaration form absolves fertility doctors and IVF clinics from legal liability for any secret under-the-table payments. All criminal liability (perjury and bribery) rests solely on the recipient patient and egg donor.

Foreign egg donor / donation agencies and individual freelance egg donors

Please share your experiences with foreign egg donor / donation agencies and individual freelance egg donors. At a local private fertility clinic that I consulted, a nurse hinted to me that I can secretly use a Malaysian, Thai or International egg donor agency to discreetly send an egg donor...

singaporemotherhood.com

The Straits Times - Breaking News, Lifestyle & Multimedia News

The Straits Times - Get breaking news, exclusive stories, in-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content about Singapore, Asia and the world.

www.straitstimes.com

The Straits Times - Breaking News, Lifestyle & Multimedia News

The Straits Times - Get breaking news, exclusive stories, in-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content about Singapore, Asia and the world.

www.straitstimes.com

The Straits Times - Breaking News, Lifestyle & Multimedia News

The Straits Times - Get breaking news, exclusive stories, in-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content about Singapore, Asia and the world.

www.straitstimes.com

(3) The Ministry of Health of Singapore permits patients to import frozen donor eggs from foreign egg banks.

Experience with importing frozen donor eggs into Singapore

https://www.msn.com/en-sg/lifestyle/other/egg-donation-options-and-choices-of-ivf-patients-in-singapore/ar-AAKcvtC The Ministry of Health in Singapore has recently permitted the import of frozen donor eggs into Singapore, from "Ovogenebank" in Europe, which was formerly known as "First Egg...

singaporemotherhood.com

Egg Donation in Singapore - Good News !!! Singapore allows import of frozen donor eggs from Egg Bank in Penang Malaysia

Good News for all Singaporean IVF patients requiring Egg Donation !!! Singapore has permitted import of frozen donor eggs from Egg Bank Asia, based in Penang, Malaysia. This Egg Bank has a wide and excellent choice of Chinese race egg donors. Currently there are 3 clinics in Singapore, which...

singaporemotherhood.com

The Straits Times - Breaking News, Lifestyle & Multimedia News

The Straits Times - Get breaking news, exclusive stories, in-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content about Singapore, Asia and the world.

www.straitstimes.com

(4) Travel overseas (usually Malaysia) for commercialized egg donation. Local fertility clinics in Singapore may facilitate this process by administering hormones to prime the patient's womb to be receptive for embryo transfer, prior to overseas travel.

Overseas egg donors — what Singaporean women should be wary of

Recent news media reports suggest that most Singaporean women requiring egg donation travel abroad for the procedure. However, due to the less stringent regulation of fertility treatment in other countries, Singaporean patients may face a variety of marketing gimmicks and misleading information...

www.todayonline.com

Singaporeans head to Malaysia, elsewhere to find IVF egg donors

Singaporeans have travelled as far as the United States and Australia to find an egg donor to help them have a baby, but many have also gone to Malaysia, checks by The Straits Times showed. Read more at straitstimes.com.

www.straitstimes.com

Many Malaysian IVF-egg donors are young, well-educated

Singapore—In-vitro fertilization (IVF) has been in the news lately since the recent announcement that the age limit has been lifted for women who wish to purs

theindependent.sg

(5) Receive donated spare frozen eggs from other patients at local IVF clinics in Singapore. Although altruistic donation is required, be wary of being overcharged for medical fees which could in fact "mask" covert sale of the donated eggs by the fertility clinic. Additionally, beware that leftover frozen eggs donated by other patients may not be of good quality.

MOH | News Highlights

Find speeches, press releases, forum replies and parliamentary Q&A.

www.moh.gov.sg

.

The Straits Times - Breaking News, Lifestyle & Multimedia News

The Straits Times - Get breaking news, exclusive stories, in-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content about Singapore, Asia and the world.

www.straitstimes.com

 

[Angelica Cheng]

Please click on the Quora website link:

Egg donation in Singapore: What are the disadvantages, drawbacks, downsides and pitfalls of using an egg donor?

Answer: Here are the various disadvantages, pitfalls and downsides of using an egg donor : (1) In most traditional Asian cultures, the primary duty of a wife is to bear sons for her husband and his family, so at to continue the family lineage. Hence, a childless woman may be subjected to emotion...

www.quora.com

Here are the various disadvantages, pitfalls and downsides of using an egg donor :

(1) You may be subjected to emotional blackmail and psychological pressure from your husband and in-laws to undergo egg donation to conceive a child :

Coercion by husband and in-laws to continue family bloodline through egg donation

Me and my husband have been trying for a child for a few years. Last year, while I was undergoing IVF treatment, I was diagnosed with low ovarian reserves and poor egg quality. My doctor advised that my chances of conceiving a child with my own eggs are close to zero, and strongly recommended...

singaporemotherhood.com

Emotional blackmail from husband and in-laws to conceive a child through egg donation

Me and my husband have been trying for a child for a few years. Last year, while I was undergoing IVF treatment, I was diagnosed with low ovarian reserves and poor egg quality. My doctor advised that my chances of conceiving a child with my own eggs are close to zero, and strongly recommended...

singaporemotherhood.com

(2) Identity confusion and emotional distress of the child, if he/she suddenly and unexpectedly find out the truth about his/her conception :

Love is not enough for children / offspring conceived and born of egg donation - identity confusion and donor anonymity

There is increasing evidence that love is not enough for children / offspring conceived and born of egg donation. Instead, it has been reported that donor conceived adults feel an overwhelming psychological need to learn more about the genetic heritage of their egg donor . Please see the...

singaporemotherhood.com

Egg Donation and Sperm Donation - Should I tell my child the truth?

Hi, me and my husband are thinking very hard about using an egg donation to conceive a child. One of the key issues we have to consider is to tell our future child the truth about his or her conception through an egg donor. This is to prevent the child from being hurt if he or she suddenly find...

singaporemotherhood.com

(3) Risk of accidental incest between half-siblings conceived by the same egg donor - Genetic Sexual Attraction :

The Straits Times - Breaking News, Lifestyle & Multimedia News

The Straits Times - Get breaking news, exclusive stories, in-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content about Singapore, Asia and the world.

www.straitstimes.com

Fertility treatment: Take steps to avoid accidental incest

AS CLINICAL assisted reproduction becomes more common in Singapore, there is a pressing need to confront ethics and health risks associated with this medical technology ("Court says 'no' to upkeep claim for IVF mix-up baby"; Jan 17 and "New private fertility centre opens in Singapore"; ST...

www.asiaone.com

(4) Difficulty of maintaining secrecy even with anonymous egg donors, due to widespread availability of DNA home-testing kits and associated Genealogy / Ancestry websites :

The Straits Times - Breaking News, Lifestyle & Multimedia News

The Straits Times - Get breaking news, exclusive stories, in-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content about Singapore, Asia and the world.

www.straitstimes.com

(5) Possible transmission of genetic defects from anonymous egg donor to child. Foreign IVF clinics often exploit patients' fears of unknown genetic defects, to push them to do expensive genetic testing of embryos - PGS / PGT-A; instead of recommending cheaper alternatives such as genetic testing of the donor's blood sample or NIPT (Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing) :

Is PGS / PGT-A really necessary for an egg donation cycle? Why not do Genetic Testing on the egg donor's blood sample?

A couple of months ago, before all the coronavirus lockdowns, me and my husband visited and inquired about egg donation at three Malaysian IVF clinics. All 3 clinics strongly advocated that we should use PGS / PGT-A with egg donation. They told us that because it is difficult to verify whether...

singaporemotherhood.com

(6) Don't believe claims that a woman receiving egg donation can pass some of her genes to the child. This is just a deceptive marketing gimmick :

Can donor egg recipients 'pass on DNA' to their children? - BioNews

www.bionews.org.uk

 

[Angelica Cheng]

Advice and tips for Singaporean patients seeking egg donation in Malaysia - The New Savvy

With the increasing trend of late marriages and delayed motherhood in Singapore, coupled with the lifting of age limits in IVF treatment in Singapore since 2020, there is anticipated to be increasing demand for egg donation by older female IVF patients nearing or past menopause. Women with...

thenewsavvy.com

Advice and tips for Singaporean patients seeking egg donation in Malaysia

With the increasing trend of late marriages and delayed motherhood in Singapore, coupled with the lifting of age limits in IVF treatment since 2020, there is anticipated to be increasing demand for egg donation by older female IVF patients nearing or past menopause. Such women with diminished ovarian reserves often consider the egg donor option, after having failed IVF due to the reduced number and low quality of their retrieved eggs. In recently years, neighbouring Malaysia has emerged as a popular destination for Singaporean IVF patients seeking egg donation, due to close proximity and cost-competitive medical fees. Nevertheless, there are various pitfalls that patients have to navigate through, as highlighted by the Q & A below. Cumbersome travel and quarantine restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic are economically unsustainable in the long-term, and it is only a matter of time before borders reopen, and Singaporeans are once again free to travel to Malaysia for IVF treatment.

Is it difficult to find a local egg donor in Singapore?

Yes, because Singapore health regulations require egg donation to be altruistic, and payment can only be made to reimburse direct expenses such as traveling costs. The egg donation process is lengthy, tedious and painful, involving a few weeks of regular hormone injections, frequent blood tests and ultrasound scans, finally culminating in day surgery for egg retrieval. Additionally, there is also the hassle and inconvenience of commuting to and fro for numerous medical appointments. Understandably, without any financial incentives, very few local young women are willing to donate their eggs.

Why go for egg donation in Malaysia?

A large pool of egg donors of varying ethnicity and educational backgrounds are readily available in Malaysia because of generous financial inducements. Additionally, Malaysia has numerous IVF clinics and donor agencies that offer cost-competitive egg donation programs, which are much cheaper than other foreign countries such as USA, Australia and Taiwan. It is also much easier to source Asian egg donors in Malaysia, compared to Western countries such as USA and Australia. Moreover, Singaporean patients prefer to undergo IVF treatment at a destination close to home like Malaysia.

Are there any legal restrictions on egg donation in Malaysia?

Yes, only non-Muslim patients are allowed to receive egg donation. Shariah laws in Malaysia forbid Muslim patients from receiving egg or sperm donation.

What are the typical costs of egg donation in Malaysia (excluding medical fees)?

At the beginning of 2020, before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, egg donor agencies in Malaysia typically charge between 20k to 25K Malaysian ringgits, if you approach them directly. Egg donors are typically compensated between 5K to 8K Malaysian ringgits. Hence the gross profit margin of these agencies are typically between 12K to 20K Malaysian ringgits.

Which cities in Malaysia are good for egg donation?

Greater Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Most of the egg donor agencies are located here, and virtually all IVF clinics in Malaysia, even those from other cities and states, depend on these agencies to source egg donors for their patients.

What about egg donation in Johor that is much closer to Singapore?

Singaporean patients must beware that most egg donors in Johor come from out-of-town or out-of-state. As mentioned earlier, the overwhelming majority of egg donor agencies and agents in Malaysia are based in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, and IVF clinics in Johor rely on such agencies and agents to source egg donors for their patients. It is much more difficult to control and monitor the ovarian stimulation cycle of traveling egg donors from out-of-town or out-of-state, who reside far away from the IVF clinic. Such traveling egg donors may commute to the clinic for medical appointments, receive the hormone medications and then return to their hometowns where they are expected to self-inject for several days. Because supervision from the IVF clinic is not near at hand, the egg donor may not be bothered to strictly comply with such a painful and tedious routine of self-injections. If they are extra careless, the expensive hormone medications may not be kept properly refrigerated leading to spoilage and reduced potency. Without strict adherence to the injection protocol and proper refrigeration of hormone medications, the number and quality of eggs obtained from the donor will be severely compromised. Additionally, Singaporean patients must also take note that there are usually additional traveling and hotel costs associated with getting an out-of-town egg donor and her accompanying agency coordinator to travel to Johor.

Is it better to contact egg donor agencies directly, or get your selected IVF clinic to source egg donors from such agencies?

It is cheaper for you to contact egg donor agencies directly, and for them to arrange IVF treatment for you at their affiliated clinics, rather than getting an unaffliated IVF clinic to source egg donors for you from these agencies. Many egg donors agencies in Kuala Lumpur and Penang partner with their affiliated IVF clinic to offer special package deals that include egg donor costs plus medical fees. If you get an unaffiliated IVF clinic in Malaysia (particularly in Johor) to source egg donors for you, the clinic usually takes an extra cut of profit. For example, if the egg donor agency charges RM 25,000, the IVF clinic will charge you RM 30,0000, thereby taking a cut of RM 5,000 as additional profit.

Is embryo genetic testing necessary for egg donation?

Because it is unknown whether the egg donor is carrying any genetic defect, most Malaysian IVF clinics often recommend patients to do highly-expensive genetic testing of IVF embryos (PGS / PGT-A). This is completely unnecessary and a waste of money, if the egg donor is young and healthy, because chromosome abnormalities such as Down syndrome usually appear only in the eggs of older women. To evaluate whether the egg donor is carrying any unknown genetic defect, it is much cheaper to do genetic testing of the egg donor’s blood sample before starting IVF treatment. Moreover, you can also use NIPT (Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing) to screen for genetic defects in your unborn child after getting pregnant, which is also much cheaper than PGS (PGT-A). Although many fertility clinics claim that embryo genetic screening can improve the IVF success rates of older women, this usually refers to older women using their own eggs, which have a high incidence of chromosome abnormalities. PGS (PGT-A) will not improve the success rates of older women using a young egg donor. Patients must also beware of the risks of damaging the embryo during the ‘highly-delicate’ PGS (PGT-A) procedure, which involves extracting cells from the embryo after drilling a hole through the embryo shell (Zona pellucida).The smooth performance of this technique is often highly dependent on the skill and training of the laboratory staff (Embryologist). Even with high levels of training and accreditation, there is still a possibility of human error, particularly in a very busy laboratory that handles several such cases a day. Lastly, one must also beware that Malaysian IVF clinics often manipulate and play on the patient’s biased preference for either a boy or girl child, to persuade them to undertake embryo genetic testing for sex selection.

Should I choose fresh or frozen egg donation?

Some IVF clinics and egg donor agencies in Malaysia offer frozen egg donation as an alternative to fresh egg donation. The advantages of frozen versus fresh egg donation are greater convenience due to simpler logistics, as there is no need to coordinate and synchronize the treatment cycle of both donor and recipient; as well as lower costs due to negating the travel and hotel stay required for fresh egg donation. Another advantage is the greater certainty of the number and quality of frozen eggs available, which are unknown and non-guaranteed for fresh egg donation. Nevertheless, patients should use the same fertility clinic or IVF lab that recruited the egg donor and freeze her eggs. Avoid transferring frozen donor eggs from one medical facility to another. For best results, the thawing protocol must be matching and compatible with the freezing (vitrification) protocol, and only the same IVF lab that performs both the freezing and thawing processes, can ensure this. Patients should also beware that IVF success rates with frozen donor eggs are significantly lower than with fresh donor eggs.

What else should Singaporean patients be wary of when doing egg donation in Malaysia?

A critical piece of information that is often downplayed by Malaysian IVF clinics is the risk of accidental incest between half-siblings conceived by the same egg donor. Although such risks may be minimized in Singapore through safeguards that limit the number of children conceived per egg donor to three, it must be noted that there is no mandatory limit to the number of recipients that a single egg donor can donate to in Malaysia. Additionally, Singaporean patients should also be aware of the lack of appropriate counseling for egg donation in Malaysia. Rigorous counseling will ensure that both husband and wife are agreeable to egg donation, without any misgivings or emotional blackmail from either spouse, and without undue pressure from parents and in-laws. Additionally, they would also miss valuable advice on whether or not to tell their child the truth about his/her conception in the future.

 

[Angelica Cheng]

Hi everyone,
I need the help of people searching for sperm donors or those that have had kids through this process. I am working on a fertility project and I need your help to answer some questions as the result of this research will help create easier and improved experiences.
please help a sister answer some questions.

If there is any question that feels too personal you can please avoid them. Please note that no personal information such as your user ID or name is not included in the final report.

1. What are the eligibility criteria for becoming a sperm donor?
2. What is the screening process for sperm donors?
3. What is the compensation for sperm donors?
4. What is the frequency of sperm donation and the length of time a donor is required to donate?
5. What kind of medical tests are required for sperm donors?
6. How is sperm quality evaluated and what is the success rate for sperm donor programs?
7. What is the process for sperm storage and how long is it stored?
8. What is the confidentiality and privacy policy for sperm donors?
9. What are the legal and ethical considerations for sperm donors and recipients?
10. What support is available for sperm donors, both during the donation process and after it is complete?

Please see the following websites:

https://www.moh.gov.sg/docs/librariesprovider5/licensing-terms-and-conditions/guidelines-on-sperm-banking.pdf

Singapore faces legal and ethical challenges with sperm and egg donation

In recent year, Singapore has seen increasing utilization of IVF...

bioedge.org