Egg Sharing Cuts Bristol's IVF Waiting List

A new "egg sharing" programme and an increase in the amount egg donors are compensated have significantly cut waiting times for couples needing donor eggs in the West.

The Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine (BCRM) at Southmead Hospital says it has seen a rise in women registering as donors since a change in the law on compensation.

In October the clinic began pairing up women who produce surplus eggs with those unable to produce them, increasing the chance of both couples becoming pregnant.

Those sharing half their eggs have their own IVF cycle subsidised in return.

The centre hopes the scheme will bring down the agonising wait for many couples embarking on the procedure.

While there is currently no waiting list for couples starting IVF with their own eggs in Bristol, those unable to produce them had been facing a three year wait for a suitable donor.

'Risk factors'

BCRM egg donation co-ordinator Judy Gosmore said that wait has already dropped to two years. The clinic hopes that as egg sharing takes off it can cut it further to just...