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3rd Egg Donation! January, 2006 My donation in January
was my third donation over
a period two years. Being,
by now, quite accustomed
to the “ins and outs” of
the medical side of egg donation,
I approached it quite differently
to the previous two. Not
worrying about injections,
hormones, and doctors appointments
left space for a perspective
change, not only about egg
donation, but about Renew
and my involvement with it.
For a while, I had been
lucky enough to help Robin
recruit donors for Renew.
Through this experience,
I came to know a number of
the donors who have been
involved in the donations
over the last couple of years.
Indirectly, I also came to
know quite a bit about the
couples, and each donation
experience. When I walked
into Dr Le Roux’s office
for my first appointment
of this donation, I was struck
by how many of the photos
on his “baby wall” were
from couples I knew of, and
involved donors that I knew.
Seeing the photos of babies
that were the “end
result” of so many
donations that I had known
about once again reminded
me of what an amazing and
special experience it has
been, being involved in Renew.
Each donation is special,
and a unique experience for
both couple and donor, and,
previously I had tended to
treat each donation (both
mine, and others) as isolated
events. Seeing the number
of photos on Dr Le Roux’s
wall emphasized to me how
limited this viewpoint was
and is. Seeing the proof
of the broad scope of its
influence in so many babies,
and knowing of so many lives
that have been changed made
me reemphasized something
I had tended to forget: that
Renew is so much more than
the sum of its donations
(to badly plagiarize philosophical
literature). It should be
impossible to think of Renew
without taking into account
the depth of its healing
powers, and lasting difference
it is making to so many people.
While each donation is, in
effect, the starting action,
the life changing potential
of each donation is amplified
and multiplied as donor,
couple, and (eventually)
the child talk, live and
express what they learned
from this unique experience.
If, as it is said, any one
person in the world is only
7 social circles away from
anyone else, then this thought
is put into perspective.
If I (as I have done) have
talked to many people, both
in South Africa and abroad,
about my experience as a
donor, and they have talked
about it to others, then
my donation ceases to be
an isolated event, but rather
a global experience and discussion.
Knowing that being a donor
has changed not only my views
on fertility and life, but
those of my friends as well,
leads me to credit Renew
with being more than a fertility
company (if one can say that
at all!). Instead, I tend
to think of Renew as a positive
force, which (over and above
all the other things) is
challenging many people to
rethink the value of life,
as well as examine their
attitude to fertility and
its associated issues.
Although I am not sure if
I will ever donate again,
I know that my experiences
through Renew will stay with
me for life, both in how
I approach my own fertility,
and how I view it in others.
I have enjoyed every step
of the learning curve that
has been egg donation, and
hope in the future to continue
to be involved, in some aspect
or another, in this global
phenomenon.
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