A woman who donated her eggs in her 20s now may need an egg donor to have a baby

• When Michelle was 22 and eager to make some extra money, she donated her eggs to couples struggling with infertility.
• At 33, Michelle is facing infertility and may need to rely on an egg donor, which initially disappointed her, she said in an interview on the podcast Pregnantish.
• After having time to consider her options, Michelle said she is willing to do whatever it takes to have a baby.

When she was a cash-strapped college student, Michelle decided to donate her eggs to help couples struggling with infertility. The benefit was twofold: She could earn a decent amount of money while also giving couples an invaluable gift, Michelle said in a recent interview on the podcast Pregnantish.

About a decade later, at 33, Michelle — who used just her first name to protect her privacy — is now facing infertility herself. She may need to turn to an egg donor in order to have a baby, a route that initially disappointed her.

"I thought this was my fault," Michelle told Pregnantish host Andrea Syrtash. "The reason I couldn't have a family: I used up all my good eggs, they're all gone. I kept blaming myself...which doesn't make any sense, but that's what I thought."

A woman who has poor-quality eggs may benefit from using donor eggs

Egg donation is a relatively new technology. In 1984, in Australia, the world's first baby was born using donor eggs.

A woman may use an egg donor for a number of reasons, including having poor-quality eggs or having been through multiple failed attempts at fertility treatment. The process also allows gay couples to have biological children.

Over the course of about five years, Michelle made six egg donations before "retiring" at 26. Michelle said she earned $5,500 for her first cycle, a figure that kept climbing with each subsequent retrieval. She made about $10,000 for her final retrieval.

Before donating eggs, a woman undergoes a psychological and medical screening. She then gets hormone injections to induce the ovulation of multiple eggs and undergoes in vitro fertilization, which is when eggs are retrieved through an ultrasound guided needle. The eggs are fertilized and the embryo is transferred to the recipient's uterus.

Studies have shown that donating eggs doesn't impair a woman's ability to get pregnant later in life.

Michelle and her husband started trying to get pregnant last May and she's had two miscarriages since. After having time to consider her options, Michelle said she's willing to do whatever it takes to carry a baby to term.

"The birth and pregnancy is such a small point, if you really think about it, in your child's life and your life," Michelle said. "The end game is to have a baby. However I have to get there is what I'll do."

• Read more:
• Cameron Diaz had a baby at 47, and she doesn't owe us an explanation of how she did it
• I had 4 miscarriages, saw 10 specialists, and nearly gave up on being a mother
• Male infertility is common, but remains a taboo issue
• Anti-abortion activists want to treat embryos like human beings. This could gut access to IVF for people who want kids.