ngdt.co.uk

Posted by on Oct 18, 2011 in DONATION, OTHER | 0 comments

Who we are

The National Gamete Donation Trust was set up in 1998 as a national government-funded charity to raise awareness of and seek ways to alleviate the national shortage of gamete (sperm, egg and embryo) donors.

We work with the press, clinics and patients to raise awareness of this need and to provide accurate and impartial information to potential donors, recipients and health professionals.

We carry out surveys to ensure that the information we provide is accurate and up to date. We can provide a list of all clinics in the UK which treat people with donated eggs or sperm.

We also provide lists of all clinics aiming to recruit egg or sperm donors, and clinics recruiting women into egg sharing agreements.

Goals of the Trust

  • Develop a strategy to raise public awareness about the need for more gamete and embryo donors in all sections of society
  • Work with fertility units to provide national and regional recruitment campaigns
  • Provide potential donors with information about the processes involved with gamete donation and details of how to become donors
  • Act as a clearing house for information about gamete donation and recruitment
  • Provide potential recipients with information about the process involved in treatment with donated gametes and details of treatment centres
  • Raise awareness among healthcare and other professionals about the need for gamete donors
  • Liase with the relevant professional bodies
  • Raise appropriate funds to support the Trust in maintaining a consistent long-term gamete donor recruitment campaign

To contact us call 0845 226 9193 or email: info@ngdt.co.uk
You could write to us at:

PO Box 2121
Gloucester
GL19 4WT

Registered Charity No: 1069222

 

Becoming a Donor

One in seven couples seek medical help at some stage in their lives in order to achieve a pregnancy. For some people treatment with sperm, eggs or embryos donated by others is their only hope of achieving a pregnancy and ultimately a family.

Unfortunately there is a shortage of egg and sperm donors in the UK.  Many of those who are unable to be treated because of a lack of donors face profound psychological and emotional strain.

Your donation of eggs or sperm to help a couple have a child is one of the most generous gifts anyone can give. Donors feel a sense of pride, knowing the joy they have brought to people who could not have otherwise become parents.

If you are a woman aged between 18-35 or a man aged between 18-40* and generally healthy, you can donate. (*Some clinics accept sperm donors over the age of 40.)

The decision to donate can have consequences for you, the people who receive your donation, any children that are born as a result and for your own family if you have one.  It is therefore important that you get as much advice as you can.  We can put you in touch with other donors.

Once you take the step of contacting a clinic you should make sure you have a chance to get your questions answered.  Ask people you trust what they think too – this can often be very helpful.  This may lead you to decide that donating is not for you.

If you are in any doubt, don’t do it.

However, the vast majority of those who have donated before you agree on one thing:

“It is one of the best things I have ever done in my life!”

 

How to find a Donor

Using donated eggs or sperm can help you create your family if you are not producing eggs or sperm, the egg or sperm is unlikely to result in a pregnancy or you have a high risk of passing on an inherited disease.

About 800 babies are born in the UK each year from donated eggs, sperm or embryos.

Waiting times

The waiting lists for egg and sperm donation vary widely between different UK clinics and it is always worth approaching other clinics if you feel that the wait at your local clinic is unacceptably long.

Thank a donor

Has your life changed through egg or sperm donation?

Would you like to have the opportunity to say thank you to donors?

Are you prepared to write a letter about what the donation meant to you?

The National Gamete Donation Trust (NGDT) is working on a publication with the working title ‘Letter to my Donor’ and we need your help.