Egg donation, genetic load and risk of developing a genetic disorder

Hii!!! I’m here to ask about the genes of our egg donor… How can we be sure she does not have any genetic disorder? We are very concerned of our baby’s genetic load and the possibility that he or she develops any genetic disorder, is it possible? We know half the genetic load would be from a donor and the other half from my husband. Please, share your thoughts on this, we are freaking out!!

Hello penelope,

Egg donors are always compatible with the recipient woman and are selected according to the parents’ physical characteristics.

As for the genetic material of the egg donor, you can be confident: each potential egg donor has to go through a selection process in which they have to meet a series of requirements, being the absence of family history of hereditary diseases one of them. Besides, they are done a karyotype test in order to detect potential chromosomal abnormalities, as well as a study to detect the most common genetic mutations to verify she is indeed not a carrier of diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF).

I hope I have clarified all your concerns,

Regards

Hello,

don’t worry. Egg donors do not transmit their genetic disorders to offspring because someone which a disorder wouldn’t be accepted in the first place. That’s why egg donors mustn’t be adopted, either in order to be able to trace back their familiy history.