Egg donation in Islam, Is it Haram to Donate Eggs in Islam?

Nearly 15 to 20 percent of couples are suffering from infertility all around the world. Meanwhile using assisted reproductive technologies (ART) is getting more common. These technologies include egg donation, sperm donation, and embryo donations.

 These days, gamete donation or embryo donation is an extremely acceptable infertility treatment technique in western countries however in many countries because of ethical issues using donor gametes is very debatable.

What is Egg Donation?

Egg donation is a part of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) process in which a woman who has infertile eggs receives healthy eggs from another woman (usually less than 33 years old) to be fertilized with her partner’s sperm by the use of IVF or ICSI method in a laboratory environment and form an embryo. Then this embryo will be implanted into her uterus to grow into a pregnancy.

Who might Consider Using Donor eggs?

Oocyte donation is used for helping women conceive and have children. The reason behind using donor eggs could be:

• Not having ovaries
• Menopause
• Improper response to ovaries stimulation
• Poor quality of eggs
• The existence of a genetic disease that you do not want to pass it on to your child

Is Egg Donation Safe?

The answer to this question would be yes. The oocyte donation is safe and does not cause long-term risks or fertility issues in the egg donor if it is carried out under the supervision of a medical expert. According to a study, most young females own about 400 thousand eggs. Therefore, if 24 eggs are retrieved on an egg donation cycle, many other eggs are left in ovaries for the future. Nevertheless, some short-term complications can occur after the egg donation process.

Egg Donation Process

The egg donation process can have several steps. The first step is usually physical and psychological consultation to discuss what they need to do in order to get ready for the process and what kind of challenges they can have through this period.

After consultation and getting prepared for the egg donation process, you have to select a donor with the help of a surrogacy agency, reproductive health centers, or by choosing a donor independently. Potential donors are all screened through physical exams, ultrasound, blood tests, urine tests, and also psychological evaluations before they are accepted as donors.

Then it is time for the synchronization step. The donor and the recipient’s menstrual cycles need to be synchronized to get the best results.

 After synchronization, it is time for egg retrieval procedure using a probe under the ultrasound’s guidance. On the same day of the egg retrieval, the father gives the sperm sample to be used for insemination.

Due to the use of anesthetics, the egg donor may need to rest at the hospital until she is fully awakened. Your doctor will instruct you what to do and what food diet you should follow in order to empower your body.

The embryos are usually ready to be transferred into the recipient’s womb after three days. Finally, after about two weeks, if the pregnancy test result is positive, then the IVF + egg donation process has worked successfully.

Islamic Attitude towards Egg Donation

Among Muslim countries, using assisted reproductive technologies (ART) is getting more common. There is no religious limitation to an infertile married couple to pursue their needed fertility treatments. However, gamete donation is still a controversial topic in Islam religion. There are remarkable differences between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims’ beliefs toward this issue. While the Sunni school of thought bans the use of a third party in the reproductive structure, the gamete rules in the Shi’a school of thought are more flexible. However, there are still serious debates especially about sperm donation so it is forbidden in all schools of Islamic law.

In the Sunni school of thought, there is nothing wrong with performing fertility treatments such as IVF and sperm and egg retrieval but there must be strict control to make sure these gametes belong to the husband and wife. If this is the case, it will be considered Halal (allowed). But any combination of the gametes belonging to a man and woman who are not married is considered Haraam (forbidden) and it would be compared to adultery. Because the woman is carrying a fertilized egg of somebody who is not her legal husband. Also in the case of egg donation, they argue that since the egg donor is the biological mother of the child, there can be a high risk of emotional conflicts between her and the birthmother.

Any other situation out of a marriage relationship is also Haraam, for instance, fertilization of any frozen sperm after a couple’s divorce or death of the husband would be extremely forbidden. As a result, in Sunni-majority countries, any third-party donation and any fertilization outside the marital condition is completely banned and illegal. However, the advent of egg donation and surrogacy caused few religious authorities to allow these procedures between co-wives.

The situation for Shite Muslims is somehow different. There are some religious jurists who have the same attitude toward third-party donation just like Sunni jurists. However, in 1999 Ayatollah Khamenei the leader of Iran declared that surrogacy and egg or embryo donations are allowed under certain terms. Transferring the fetus to the uterus of the woman is not banned in any case, but touching and looking at the Haraam must be avoided”, he ruled.

Egg donation can be allowed as long as the husband marries the egg donor even temporarily so that the gametes come from a married couple. Embryo donation is also Halal because the embryo comes from a married couple and it will be offered to another married couple and it does not contain any sexual act to be called adultery. It is important to know that the word in Shia adultery is referred to as sexual and physical contact and transferring the gamete cannot be considered adultery while in Sunni attitude there is a strict view towards this issue.

In Shia’s point of view, adultery is despicable because it can make the family structure fall apart, while egg donation and embryo donation can save the family and the dignity of the couple which is an important purpose of Sharia.

Iran as a Shia-majority country is one of the important bases in Muslim countries for infertility treatments like surrogacy and egg donation because these procedures are completely supported by the laws of the country and religious authorities. Our professional experts at TebMedTourism Co. are here to host you in beautiful Iran and be with you all through the way till you hold your baby in your arms.

In conclusion, it is fair to say that reproductive technologies are becoming more popular all around the world as well as in Islamic countries. The Islamic authorities have welcomed the new treatment technologies and are reconfiguring them in accordance with their own local religious moralities. Although Islam can have its different forms as it was discussed in this article.

If you need more information on this topic and want to consult, contact us NOW.

The consultant medical doctors of TebMedTourism Co. are at your service for free.

About TebMedTourism company

TebMedTourism Company is an International healthcare facilitator based in Tehran, Iran.

We start our professional activity in medical tourism industry regarding the profound capability of Iran in both healthcare & touristic fields.

We are ready with open arms to provide desirable services to our dear patients & guests from all over the world to enjoy world-class treatment quality and highly skilled doctors in Iran.

TebMedTourism company is cooperating with more than 40 internationally certified hospitals, 140 selected local hospitals, 300 specialized medical centers, 430 doctors, 112 hotels, domestic and international airlines in Tehran, Shiraz, Mashhad, Tabriz, Qom and other cities in Iran.

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