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Donor eggs
I'm Muslim. How Should I Be Thinking About A Muslim Egg Donor?
Islam is a religion that places great emphasis on the preservation of life, health, and family values. As such, many Muslims who are struggling with infertility may consider egg donation as a possible solution to their problem. But what are Islam's views on egg donation? You may be wondering whether it’s important that your egg donor is also Muslim, or if donor eggs are even permitted to begin with. These are questions that really didn’t exist until recently, as modern medicine has allowed us new ways to build families. So let’s dive in.
Islam’s views on adoption
First, let’s discuss Islam’s views on adoption. Many Muslim intended parents, whether religiously observant or not, want to make sure that their children will be recognized as Muslim as well. When it comes to adoption, Islam is very supportive. However, many interpret the religion to not allow changing the adopted child’s given/family name.
According to a 2006 Cult Med Psychiatry study, there are various opinions on adopted girls needing to wear a hijab around male family members, but if the child was two years old or less when adopted and breastfed directly by the adoptive mother for at least a day or a night (or fifteen times, consequently), the child then becomes mahram to the new family — and a hijab is not necessary. There are also some parameters around estate inheritances among Muslim adopted children.
Islam’s view on donor eggs
Many believe that egg donation is allowed is Islam as long as the husband marries the egg donor temporarily. This isn’t a federally-registered marriage with tons of paperwork, but rather done in a Nikah ceremony (we have had intended parents do a Nikah ceremony with their egg donor virtually!). The egg donor does not have to be Muslim to donate to a family.
Donor embryos are also permissible in Islam to overcome both male and female infertility. This is because an embryo comes from a married couple and is given to another married couple, it is considered hallal, or religiously permissible.
Shia vs Sunni Islamic positions on donor eggs
The concepts of egg, sperm, and embryo donation in Islam have a long history of discussion and decisions and there is no simple answer. According to the same study mentioned above, Sunni and Shi’a Muslims have some varied interpretations of religious texts around these issues.
While supportive of IVF with a husband and wife’s sperm and egg, Sunni Islamic positions around donor eggs are more conservative. Sunni Islam places a massive importance on knowing genetic kinship and preservation of “nasab,” and, according to a Reproductive Biomedicine & Society Online article, considers genetic relation the constitution of legitimate personhood. The use of a third party is considered adultery and as a result, gamete donation is not legally practiced in the Sunni Muslim world. In those countries, clinics may refer patients to other European countries for treatment.
For Shi’ite Muslims, egg donation is not forbidden, but the donor-conceived child may have the right to an estate inheritance — a religiously-mandated fixed-heirship system among Islamic heirs — from the egg donor. How literally intended parents should take this directive, though, is up to them and their religious leader.
The same goes for children conceived via sperm donation. As such, all parties involved should be sure to consult proper legal representation, something we coordinate for all of our donors. But while gamete donation has become more commonplace among Shi’ite Muslims (as the sector places a high premium on “ijtihad,” or independent reasoning), there are still some parameters around the “how”:
- Couples should visit a Shi’ite religious court for their decision on permissibility of using a donor
- Decisions should be made in the presence of witnesses, including your reproductive endocrinologist
- The husband should participate in a “mutca” marriage with the egg donor for the period between retrieval and transfer to ensure no claims of adultery (notably, religious texts do not require the same of a woman with a sperm donor)
As you can see, there is a wide spectrum of spiritual input within Islam about third party reproduction, based largely in part to different local variants of perceptions of kinship. In some areas, such as Lebanon, there is even some Shia-to-Sunni gamete donation taking place!
We get it — this all probably sounds intimidating. But take into account this quote from the Qur'an, where Allah says: "O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer." (Qur'an 4:1).
Some may interpret this as Islam considering egg donation a permissible method of assisted reproduction, as it allows couples who are unable to conceive using their own eggs to have children and continue their lineage. All of that being said, how much you choose to observe the above guidance is entirely up to you. And many Muslim families successfully have children through egg donation. .
How we help Muslim families
The use of donor eggs is increasing globally, as medical advances have improved to enable egg donation to be a safe, successful procedure. Using donor eggs can increase your chances of a successful, healthy pregnancy. And at Cofertility, we’ve helped many intended parents match with egg donors to expand their families.
Our unique model has helped us attract a more diverse set of egg donors — and a highly educated group, with the vast majority of our donors having a graduate degree. Our donors aren’t doing it for the money; they instead freeze their eggs for free in exchange for donating half of the eggs to your family. This saves families tens of thousands of dollars on donor compensation. For Muslim intended parents in particular, along with their egg donors who are open to it, we have worked with both parties to coordinate a nikkah ceremony as a spiritual union out of respect for this symbolic tradition.
When you work with Cofertility, you’ll have access to view our donors for free. All women on our platform are incredibly impressive, if we do say so ourselves. With a matching platform like ours, you can evaluate various donor matches based on criteria you’ve set forth, including searching by race and heritage. Our goal is to be as human-centered, transparent, and ethical as possible — giving you a real glimpse into who all of our donors are as true humans, including their personalities, values, and backgrounds. Of course, this is in addition to their medical profile, genetic history, and more.
How to find a Muslim egg donor
We have hundreds of kind, smart egg donors that have been pre-qualified and are ready to match with your family. So how do you get started?
- Create a free account. Fill out our form to share about your family and what you’re looking for in a donor. It just takes a few minutes.
- Find your match. Learn about our pre-qualified donors — their values, personalities, and more. Once you’ve found the right match, we’ll make it official with your doctor’s approval.
- Get support for life. After you bring home your baby, continue to enjoy our resources — educational materials, support systems, and more — for life.
It’s important to know that our model is different. We empower women to take control of their own reproductive health while giving you the gift of a lifetime. Our donors aren’t doing it for cash – they keep half the eggs retrieved for their own future use, and donate half to your family. Because of this, we have been able to recruit and match truly amazing egg donors.
Where are Cofertility egg donors from?
Most of our egg donors are from the United States. When you log into your account, in their donor profiles, you can see both their mother’s heritage and the father’s heritage. It’s free to create an account and browse donor profiles.
How much does it cost to match with an egg donor?
We know IVF and egg donation are big expenses for families, and we want to help you financially plan for your donation journey. The expenses associated with a journey with Cofertility will vary based on if you match with a donor in our fresh or frozen program. However, in general, the cost of egg sharing is less than traditional egg donation, as there is no cash compensation to the donor.
For a more detailed breakdown of Cofertility's pricing, including estimates, you can visit our pricing page. All of our pricing also includes our Baby Guarantee, our promise that if for any reason outside your control your initial match does not lead to a live birth, we’ll re-match you for free until that happens.
Summing it up
If you’re Muslim and you’re seeking an egg donor, we know it can feel complicated and overwhelming, and the Cofertility team understands the unique challenges that come with finding a Muslim egg donor. With our extensive network of amazing egg donors, and partnerships with leading fertility clinics, we are able to provide a better egg donation experience.
Our recommendation? Talk to your family and your own spiritual leader to decide what feels right for you and your faith. We at Cofertility are here to provide guidance to make sure you feel supported every step of the way.
Join now for free to begin searching for an egg donor.
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Arielle Spiegel
Arielle Spiegel is a Cofertility Co-Founder and Advisor. She previously founded the original CoFertility, a community and content platform that aimed to answer every fertility question, inspired by her own experience trying to conceive. She is incredibly passionate about starting the fertility conversation at an earlier age. Before founding CoFertility, Arielle spent several years in digital marketing at Victoria’s Secret PINK. She also led global social media activations for Coach and spent years agency-side, building social media strategies for various consumer brands. Today, Arielle lives in the Boston area with her husband, dog, and two miracle babies. She currently engages as a marketing strategy consultant for brands across industries.
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