Is weight gain a side effect of egg donation?

Hello there,

I want to become an egg donor but I’ve read that among the many side effects associated with egg donation, there’s the risk of gaining weight. I’ve always suffered from overweight and I got to lose 15 lbs 2 years ago. Now that I’m at my healthy weight I’m terrified that I will gain it again, therefore I want to be sure before engaging in this process.

Thanks!

Dear Samantha,

Weight gain is not included within the side effects of any treatment involved in the egg donation medical procedure; however, you may experience some symptoms due to the hormone treatments you have to take.

Firstly, for egg retrieval, the donor has to undergo ovarian stimulation through an hormone treatment in which the hormone dosage is quite high. Among the common side effects of this treatment, you may notice bloating or swelling of your belly, but it does not mean that you will gain weight. Moreover, these symptoms will disappear once the treatment finishes.

Although is occurs rarely, there is a small percentage of women who develop Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) due to this hormone medications. In such cases, these women are likely to retain fluids and gain weight, but only during the treatment. This means that it will, again, disappear once the treatment is finished, because your body will return to normal hormone levels.