Alert – I donated my eggs for money in my 20s – what doctors did to me means I’ll never have kids of my own

Eager to help others conceive and constantly bombarded by adverts on the radio, Kaylene Breeding decided to become a serial egg donor in her 20s.

She did it twice for free – with just her medical and travel expenses covered – and when that went well, signed up for four more donations in return for payments, which varied between $7,500 and $9,000.

But now aged 37, she has no children of her own and likely never will.  

In a cruel twist of fate, doctors suspect that multiple egg retrievals and hormone injections during the egg donor process, have damaged her own reproductive system. 

She is now considering a hysterectomy to relieve pain, and eliminate the need for long-term medication. 

While it cannot be confirmed that her health problems are directly linked to the egg donations due to a lack of research, doctors think a connection is highly likely.

Now she is warning other egg donors about the potential long-term risks of the procedure before it is too late. 

She tells DailyMail.com: ‘My number one piece of advice if you’re considering being an egg donor is that if you’re set on having children, do that first.’ 

Eager to help others conceive and constantly bombarded by adverts, Kaylene Breeding decided to become a serial egg donor in her 20s and didn’t think anything of it

While it’s difficult to know the exact number of egg donation cycles each year, the Society for Reproductive Technology (SART) tracks data for nearly 400 US clinics annually to provide a good estimate.

In 2021 there were over 20,000 IVF transfers using donor eggs at SART-reporting clinics, which is a 19 percent increase from the previous year. 

Cofertility.com reveals that these transfers led to nearly 10,000 births, which means one in 373 births in the US in 2021 were the result of donor eggs.

And the numbers are set to grow further, driven by the increasing trend for women to delay motherhood to focus on education and careers.

The donor egg IVF services market size in the US was pegged at $398.15 million in 2024 and is projected to hit around $618.31 million by 2034.

But Ms Breeding is deeming it a ‘Wild West industry’, where women can easily be exploited by being lured in by big sums of money and not being properly informed about the process. 

The Vancouver-based entrepreneur found her life start to spiral after being diagnosed with endometriosis, which affects one in ten women and develops when tissue that lines the womb grows in other parts of the body.

Topping things off, she was inflicted by a similar womb condition known as adenomyosis,  where the lining of the womb (the endometrium) buries deep in the muscular wall of the uterus.

Now she is considering having her uterus removed to help remedy the chronic pain. 

Ms Breeding told DailyMail.com: ‘My doctor stated that there was a high probability the egg donations triggered my endometriosis and adenomyosis. 

‘This is due to the influx of estrogen I was given each time I was an egg donor. My symptoms started after I decided to be an egg donor.’

A paper from Stanford University on egg donation notes that ‘unlike most of Europe, US policy does not require infertility clinics to be licensed by law’

Egg donors take a variety of hormones to help stimulate egg production and maturation, including birth control pills (taken to synchronize the donor’s cycle with the recipient’s), follicle-stimulating hormones (injected to stimulate egg production) and human chorionic gonadotropin (a hormone injected to mature eggs).

Once the eggs are developed, they are retrieved from the donor who is sedated as a needle is guided into the ovaries as part of the process. 

The primary invasive risk associated with egg retrieval is Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS), a potentially serious complication that can occur when the ovaries swell and leak fluid into the abdomen.

While Ms Breeding did not develop OHSS, she saw the progression of endometriosis and adenomyosis and now she is in extreme pain on a daily basis and especially during any form of exercise, including sex.

Doctors say these conditions were likely causes by her fertility treatments, with the surgeries and hormones taking a toll on her body.

It is likely that she had a mild form of endometriosis and adenomyosis before donating, and that the hormones involved in the donation caused the conditions to become increasingly extreme. 

Egg Bank America and Egg Donor America highlights that ‘although research is limited, studies suggest that egg donation may exacerbate complications caused by endometriosis.’

Symptoms can include pelvic pain, difficulty getting pregnant, bleeding in between periods, diarrhea, pain during intercourse and fatigue. 

The exact cause of adenomyosis is unknown, but it presents similar symptoms to endometriosis with the only difference being that the pain is usually centered in the uterus and may radiate to the lower back and groin.

Ms Breeding said she did not realize the long-term impact donating could have and the adverts never warned her of the repercussions. 

The only state regulation specific to egg donor ads was passed in California in 2009. 

The California law requires ads that offer financial compensation for egg donation to also include potential risks. 

When it comes to financial reward, Ms Breeding also warns against donating for the money.

Many fertility clinics, such as Vancouver-based FairfaxEggBank and Allkind (a centralized platform based out of San Diego), post adverts on social media promoting compensation of more than $60,000 for egg donors. 

The figure can go up to $100,000 for the most in-demand donors, which include those of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean descent.

But Ms Breeding says that the quick cash return simply isn’t worth it. 

‘Frankly, you could end up like me where no amount of money could ever touch the amount of pain I’m in,’ she muses. 

Looking ahead, Ms Breeding’s aim is to help others while concentrating on getting her own health back on track. 

She is still undecided on getting a hysterectomy, as she is unsure if she would like her own children one day. 

In the meantime, she is experimenting with hormonal birth control to ease some of the pain she suffers.

While she thought she was doing a good deed at the time, with some cash on the side being an extra perk, Ms Breeding says she was not aware of the risks around egg donating

Along with her own fertility and physical health being affected, Ms Breeding says her mental health has also taken a toll from her experience as an egg donor. 

One thing that weighs on her mind is the first egg donation she did, where it was anonymous. 

At the time she said she was not aware of the anxiety this would bring. 

In the US, Donors may be considered either ‘anonymous’ or they may be a ‘known’ donor.

However, a donor child can potentially challenge the anonymity of their donor, especially as they reach adulthood, depending on the laws in their jurisdiction,

Women who decide to undergo the egg donation process as anonymous donors remain anonymous throughout the entire process, with their identity protected by confidentiality agreements and contact is forbidden with the intended parents. 

But now Ms Breeding says the thought of someone being out there in the world with her DNA is a distracting thought.

She says on the subject: ‘I regret that decision to be an anonymous donor and still look for ways to facilitate contact knowing someday any offspring may want access to me for whatever reason that might be.’ 

Of all the egg donations Ms Breeding did, she has only been informed of one success; twins born to a gay male couple in Israel. 

She is still hopeful of fostering a connection with the children and she has sent the clinic notes and gifts for them, but she has never heard back from the parents. 

With an open egg donation, it is up to the parents if they want the donor to be part of their lives moving forward. 

Children can request access to donor information at the age of eighteen, but contact is not guaranteed. 

Ms Breeding says the inability to learn more about her offspring ‘hurts more now knowing I’m facing a hysterectomy but I will continue to try.’

One of Ms Breeding’s biggest frustrations around the egg donor industry in the US is the lack of regulation. 

A paper from Stanford University on egg donation notes that ‘unlike most of Europe, US policy does not require infertility clinics to be licensed by law, and no uniform standards exist about proper methods for egg donor recruitment, care, and disclosure.’ 

It adds: ‘There is no US federal law regarding anonymity vs. disclosure in gamete donation, which has resulted in each state having its own regulation, if anything at all.’ 

The paper highlights that egg donation is also an ‘involved and invasive procedure with documented risks and long-term hazards.’

And ‘while sperm donation is relatively risk-free, egg donors must endure the side effects of altered hormone levels and surgery.’  

Ms Breeding is one of these casualties.

In a bid to inspire change within the multibillion dollar egg donor industry, Ms Breeding helps run We Are Egg Donors, a Facebook support and advocacy group that counts over 2,000 past and current members. 

She concludes: ‘All the evidence suggests that the egg donor industry needs to be regulated in major ways.

‘We Are Egg Donors, a donor only support group, and myself are actively helping to start important conversations and help pass bills that impact egg donors.

‘One thing I have worked on is helping to pass the ban of anonymous donations, giving donors the right to their donor medical records, capping the number of times a donor can donate, etc. Colorado has already passed much of this. New York is next for review.

‘Women are still going to continue to donate eggs; that is the reality of the situation. 

‘It is giving them the tools, knowledge, and accurate information that is critical to make an informed decision.

‘I would not have been an egg donor looking back. The risks were, and still are, incredibly downplayed.’