By Marjory Inglis, health reporter

AFTER YEARS of trying to start a family, a childless Tayside couple have pinned their hopes on a total stranger by advertising for a woman to donate her eggs to them.

Their desperate plea comes at a time when there is such a shortage of donors that Ninewells Hospital in Dundee is reporting some couples are having to wait six years for treatment.

The advert stated, “Do you know how it feels to have your own child? For us there is only one way we could share that feeling—If another woman donates her eggs. Could you help us by donating such a gift?

“My husband and I love children and have been trying to have a family for many years.

“However, we have been advised that the only way forward is to use donor eggs.

“There is a severe shortage of donor eggs and we may have to wait several years for treatment.”

The Dundee hospital’s assisted conception unit currently has 45 couples on its waiting list. Many have no chance of trying for a baby unless they can persuade someone to help.

The unit’s business manager Anne McConnell said women have simply stopped coming forward to donate eggs since the introduction of legislation allowing children to trace their genetic parents once those children reach the age of 18.

Last year eight couples went through treatment at Ninewells using donated eggs.

In each case the donor was known to the would-be parents—either a family member or a close friend who was persuaded to help.

Mrs McConnell said it would be the same this year.

At one time couples seeking help were put on the waiting list and given an estimated time they would have to wait. In the year 2000 women were told they could have to wait up to two years before treatment could start.

“We can’t even tell them now,” said Mrs McConnell. “There are no egg donors coming along at all. We have people who have been on the waiting list for five or six years.

“The only way most people get treatment now is if they recruit their own donor, that is if they know someone who will be an egg donor for them. Most of the egg donor treatment we do here now is with a known donor, due to the shortage.”

She said that in the past treatment mostly involved donors unknown to the recipients of the donated eggs. That changed after the anonymity of donors was abolished.

Persuading someone to go through the considerable demands of egg donation offers no guarantee of a baby. The treatment has a success rate of between 35 and 40%.

Not every couple is comfortable going through the process with a known donor. That is the situation that has prompted the newspaper advertisement.

Mrs McConnell said it was rare, but not unique, and such a measure had been used locally in the past.

Women below the age of 36, who have completed their own family and feel they could help, can contact the unit at Ninewells by calling 01382 632111 or Emailing anne.mcconnell @nhs.net.