NHS Tayside has launched a campaign to recruit egg and sperm donors to help people achieve their dreams of having a child. A Fife couple who are supporting the campaign say they are pinning their hopes on an egg donor coming forward as they live with the grief of the death of their first child.

There are around 50 couples on the waiting list for an egg or sperm donor at the Assisted Conception Unit (ACU) at Ninewells Hospital – roughly one quarter of the number across Scotland – each desperate for their treatment to begin.

How long each person waits is determined by how many donors come forward and currently there are not enough donors to meet demand.

NHS Tayside says a successful donor recruitment campaign in 2024 and 2025 saw waiting times at the Ninewells ACU reduce from three years to 12 months.

The ACU opened in 1983 and was the first place in Scotland to offer IVF to couples struggling to conceive.

Ninewells was also the first unit in Scotland to offer NHS-funded IVF treatment. It supports people from Tayside, Fife, Forth Valley and the Western Isles.

Now the ACU is advertising on and inside buses and hosting an information stand in Dundee’s Overgate Centre where staff will be on hand to answer questions from the public.

Senior Clinical Nurse Specialist for Fertility Preservation, and Donor Coordinator, Sara Beveridge says donation brings joy to others:

“Donating eggs or sperm is something that requires careful consideration, but if it’s right for you then you have the potential to give the joy of starting a family to those who need help becoming parents.

“This campaign aims to get people talking about the issue of infertility and, even if you can’t be a donor yourself, we hope that it will prompt conversations that help spread awareness to those who are eligible and willing to seek more information.

“Year after year, we see first-hand the impact of infertility on our patients, but we also see the joy when their dreams of having a child are realised. You could potentially be the missing piece in someone’s jigsaw.”

Of those who contact the ACU considering donating their eggs or sperm, only around 10% successfully complete the process.

NHS Tayside says donating eggs and sperm is a “truly altruistic act”, which requires both time and commitment, with only around one in 10 people who initially come forward meeting all the requirements and going on to donate.

Meanwhile, changes to UK law in 2005 removed the anonymity of donors. Donor-conceived people from the age of 18 can now access identifying information which would allow them to make contact with their donor or donor-conceived siblings.

Sara added:

“We don't think this has reduced the numbers of potential donors contacting us, but it is a requirement that all donors complete implications counselling, so they are fully aware that people conceived using their eggs or sperm will be able to find out who they are and may choose to reach out later in life.”

Maeve’s mum and dad

Natasha and Callum Ferguson, from Rosyth, are on the waiting list for an egg donor after Natasha was diagnosed with Primary Ovarian Insufficiency.

Following an earlier success with a donor, Natasha conceived.

However, their baby girl, Maeve, developed without kidneys and passed away shortly after birth.

“When we saw the positive pregnancy test, we were so excited and phoned the unit” says Natasha. “We had a scan at 13 weeks and there were concerns that she might need surgery when she was born.”

“At 16 weeks, they said it looked as though she hadn’t developed kidneys. We were advised at that time to terminate the pregnancy. But we said, ‘the little one isn’t giving up, so neither are we’.

“We got weekly scans and at 19 weeks it was confirmed she didn’t have kidneys. They said there was nothing that could be done and they planned for her delivery.

“I was induced and Maeve was born alive five days later. We got a birth certificate and a death certificate, which helped us a lot... it felt like she was a real person. We held a funeral but got two days to spend with her when we got lovely mementos like hand and footprints, digital photographs, printed photo albums and a baby box. The unit at Kirkcaldy was fantastic and the bereavement nurse still checks in on us.”

Desperate for the call

Natasha and Callum have chosen to back the NHS Tayside campaign, saying they are eager to tell their story to help boost donor numbers.

Natasha adds:

“We’ve spent the last five or six years on a waiting list. We’re desperate for the call. We just want a donor and will do anything to raise awareness. People always say they didn’t know there was a shortage or that they could be a donor.

“To any potential donors, thank you for even looking into it. It’s not easy but it’s a hugely selfless act that can help a couple become a family, which is just amazing. You’re not just giving a couple a child, you’re giving someone a grandchild, someone a cousin… there’s so many people an amazing gift like this can impact.”

Thanking her original egg donor, Natasha said:

“We would love her to know that the donation was successful but it’s just that Maeve was really poorly.

“We still have Maeve’s pram on order; we just keep putting the delivery back. We really want a little person to go into it now... a sibling for Maeve. We’re not ready to give up on finding an egg donor yet.”

If you would like to find out more about becoming an egg or sperm donor, go to https://www.acudundee.org/ or contact TAY.acudonor@nhs.scot

 

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