Watch the eight films from the EDNA Project, in which egg donors share their motivations, experiences, and advice. Produced by the team at De Montfort University, the films offer unique insight into the realities and complexities of egg donation today.
“Welcome to the EDNA Films – a thought provoking film series bringing real voices and lived experience of past egg donors to the forefront of discussions around egg donation. Each short clip focuses on a different topic: their motivations to become a donor; the physical aspects of donation; the compensation they received for donating; how they talk to others about being a donor; writing letters and pen portraits to donor-conceived individuals; and the advice they would give to others thinking about donation. Through compelling stories and expert insight, the EDNA Films aim to deepen understandings, challenge assumptions and inspire conversation about reproduction. Available to watch now, these films are ideal for anyone interested in the complexities of egg donation, anyone thinking about becoming an egg donor, anyone interested in conceiving using donated eggs, anyone who is a donor conceived person as well as educators, students and professionals.
The films were made as part of the EDNA Study, a large-scale research project about egg donation in the UK and other countries in Europe, led by researchers from The Centre for Reproduction Research at De Montfort University. Special thanks is given to the women who took part in the production of the films, along with Mutual Shoots, SEED Trust, Fertility Network UK, Donor Conception Network, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).”
In this film donors share their motivations to donate their eggs, including wanting to help others once their own family was complete, being aware of the shortage of egg donors, and knowing others who had donated their eggs.
In this film donors talk about the side effects of the egg donation process, such as how it felt to inject, the physical and emotional challenges (including bloating, tenderness, hot flushes, lethargy, nausea and mood swings) and how they were managed.
In this film donors discuss how it felt to inject in more detail, describing their initial anxiety and hesitation, how the thought of injecting was actually worse then the act of injecting itself, and the commitment required to build daily injections into everyday life.
In this film donors share their views on why writing a letter to the donor conceived child is an important part of the egg donation process, putting themselves in the position of the donor conceived child and their want/need/right to know, feeling connected and making the experience more personal.
In this film donors discuss levels of compensation and what is was used for, including basic expenses such as travel, bills and time off work, as well as savings and leisure.
In this film donors discuss the possibility of being contacted by the donor conceived child once they reach the age of 18 via I.D. release and the different routes to donation (anonymous/known), donors felt that the option to make contact was positive for both the donor conceived child and themselves.
In this film, donors talk about their experiences of sharing their decision to donate with others, feeling supported, the importance of considering the implications of their own children and the opportunity to raise awareness and educate others.
In this film donors reflected on their experience of egg donation including the practicalities and physical and emotional challenges, and offered advice to anyone interested in finding out more about the egg donation process.
