At Ovatures, we have worked with hundreds of egg donors, and we’ve learned that there are as many reasons to donate as there are donors themselves. Some donors are excited by the financial rewards of donation, while others are purely interested in helping to create a family.
But there’s a newer motivation we’re seeing in some of our donors, one tied to a feeling of allyship. Historically, LGBTQ+ community members have often been left out of, or denied access to, many aspects of life that others can take for granted. Over the years, these lost opportunities have included not having the freedom to get married, or facing discrimination when trying to start a family through adoption.
Despite research showing their children are healthy and well adjusted, transgender individuals are often faced with the reality that many people believe they should not be given the option to become parents. Most non-trans couples find that their journey to parenthood is relatively straightforward, but for transgender individuals or couples, the vision of parenthood can be much harder to realize.
Some facts:
- Many aspects of transition, such as hormone therapy and surgery, can impact the fertility of both transgender men and transgender women temporarily or permanently.
- While some transgender people can, or choose to, postpone their transitions in order to become parents, many find that transition is critical to their well-being and have to forgo their fertility journey to live fully and authentically as themselves.
Therefore, when transgender people transition, they often give up the possibility of becoming parents. It’s a gut-wrenching decision for many, and this is where egg donors can help.
How egg donation helps transgender individuals
There are many ways that an egg donor can help transgender individuals achieve their dream of parenthood.
As you may know, transgender women are born without eggs, and their bodies are unable to produce eggs regardless of what transition steps they take. Your egg donation means that a transgender woman can become a mother, building a lasting legacy of love and inclusion.
Many transgender men take transition steps that can negatively affect their fertility, or perhaps they find that fertility processes aren’t in alignment with their identities as men. When you contribute eggs to a transgender man, you make it possible for him to become a father without compelling him to undergo medical procedures that could cause him distress.
Whether a transgender individual needs an egg donor because of transition or happenstance of birth biology, your donation can fill in the gaps for individuals who would otherwise be unable to conceive on their own. And for some donors, it can also be a meaningful and powerful way to promote inclusion and express your allyship for the LGBTQ+ community.
