Rachel's home page - Egg donation - Egg collection
It's a short procedure and you can normally go home the same day. The collection itself is carried out under what they call 'heavy sedation' and seems to be a case of poking a probe into the vagina and using a very fine needle to extract the eggs from the ovaries. Following the clinic recommendation I took the whole day off work and brought someone with me to see me home afterwards. By then I was no longer single and my boyfriend Tony chose to come with me. He was able to come with me into the operating theatre and stay with me during the preparation right until I was sedated.
The operation lasted about 15 minutes. I remember seeing the doctor depress a syringe and the next thing is a hazy waking up in a recovery room, and a short time later Tony being there. It took about an hour to get myself back together, and I could feel my personality reintegrate together as though I were watching it from the outside. Tony described it as watching my IQ rise visibly.
Once I was mostly recovered, the doctor came in and went over the possible post-collection side-effects with me and gave me a folder with written details. I was considered at higher risk of developing OHSS because I had produced a larger than average number of eggs. My folder included a letter for A&E in case I got OHSS seriously and needed help. I was instructed to eat a high-protein diet, take plenty of fluids and rest. Shortly after that we went home, less than 2 hours after the start of the collection. I slept a lot of the afternoon and went back to work the next day.
Rachel's home page - Egg donation - Egg collection