Awareness, acceptance and practice of egg donation among female Nigerian population

Introduction: Providing options for couples who are having difficulty conceiving represent an important part of solution to the rising rate of infertility. Objective: to access the awareness, acceptance and practice of egg donation among female Nigerian population. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study which involved 200 females that attended Eke-Akiyi Market in Umulokpa, Uzo-Uwani LGA of Enugu State, Nigeria. A minimum sample size of 200 was calculated for the study and a structured self-administered questionnaire employed in gathering information on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude, and willingness to participate in egg donation. Simple random sampling was employed in selecting participants from different wings of the Market. Data was analyzed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize the results which were presented with the aid of charts and frequency tables. The level of significance was set at 95% probability level (p < 0.05). Result: Most of the research participants were within the age group 18 – 27 years (34.0%), with mean age of 24.2+ 1yrs. The study population comprised mainly of people who had formal education (93.0%). There was high level of awareness of egg donation in the studied Nigerian population (81%). However, the willingness and practice of egg donation was generally poor. Only 16% of the participants have donated egg in their life-time and only about 33%of the research participants agreed to donate egg incase of need. Financial benefit was mainly the reason for accepting to donate egg as noted in 68.8% of research participants. Religious inclination, cultural factors, and fear of pain constituted the bulk of the reason for refusal to be involved in egg donation. On perception of the respondents concerning egg donation, they were more in support of widows and divorcees donating egg than they were of singles and the married. Conclusion: The low level of acceptance and practice of egg donation observed in this study in the phase of rising rate of infertility calls for heath education of the populace, especially the prospective donors.