If you are considering donating your eggs, you may be wondering, “Can you donate eggs with an IUD?”

While there certainly are many factors that may disqualify you from being an egg donor, you can rest assured that having an IUD does not mean you can’t donate your eggs. 

However, as a selected egg donor, you may have to remove your IUD if it’s hormonal. In this blog, we cover everything you need to know about donating eggs with an IUD.

Can You Donate Eggs with an IUD?

An intrauterine device (IUD), whether hormonal or non-hormonal, does not disqualify you from donating your eggs. 

An IUD is a small piece of plastic that is T-shaped, and it is physically inserted into the uterus to prevent pregnancy. IUDs function as birth control. An IUD can be of two types: copper-covered IUD (non-hormonal) or progestin-releasing IUD (hormonal). Either kind of IUD prevents sperm from fertilizing the egg. 

If your IUD insertion does not release hormones, at any level, then you will not have to remove it to donate your eggs. However, if you have a hormonal IUD, you most likely will have to have it removed to participate in an egg donation procedure. Usually, but not always, fertility specialists require the hormonal IUD to be removed prior to medical screening. 

Some doctors don’t think the small amount of hormones in the IUD makes a difference and will stimulate the donors as long as their AMH levels and other ovarian reserve testing look good. In our experience, approximately 80% of the time the doctors require hormonal IUDs to be removed. Ultimately, it depends on the doctor and the specific donor.

Which IUDs Are Not Compatible With Egg Donation?

A hormonal IUD may stop ovulation, the release of an egg from the ovary to fallopian tubes, which would negatively impact the egg donation procedure. Additionally, the IUD’s hormones can affect the egg donation medications. Moreover, hormones from the procedure along with hormones from the IUD can be excessive and unhealthy for your body.

Here are the common hormonal IUD brands, which are not compatible with egg donation:

• Mirena
• Skyla
• Kyleena
• Liletta

In most cases, hormonal IUDs must be removed for egg donation participation, especially if menstrual cycles are irregular. A hormonal IUD usually needs to be removed before the tests and procedures for egg donation.

So to the question of whether you can donate eggs with an IUD, the answer is yes! 

The selection process for egg donors is a specific process that looks into numerous factors. Thankfully, having an IUD does not disqualify you from becoming an egg donor. However, the egg donation process may require the removal of hormone-releasing IUDs. Copper, or non-hormonal, IUDs won’t affect the procedure or medications, so they can be left in place.