A social media creator has opened up about her struggle with infertility in her 30s, after donating her eggs at 21.

Key Takeaways:

• Tracy Kardys creates content on TikTok and Instagram under the name "Tracy Tells It All."

• She donated some of her eggs at the age of 21, which were used to create three children.

• Now in her 30s, Kardys is struggling with endometriosis and infertility, and has had at least one miscarriage.

• Many women choose to become egg 'donors' to 'help' infertile individuals, but they also may be drawn by the large amounts of money they can be paid for their eggs.

• Egg donation carries multiple risks and women are not always told of these risks.

• Donation can create issues for donors and the biological children conceived in this manner, who may be deprived of their history, heritage, and medical background.

The Backstory:

TikTok and Instagram creator Tracy Kardys has spoken openly about her history with egg donation, in which she participated at age 21. She went through four egg donation cycles, and as far as she is aware, this resulted in the successful births of three baby girls.

In one video, she explained:

"My kids have no idea that I exist.

Now, let me rephrase that. My biological children that aren't actually my children and are just my genetics have no idea that I exist. At least I'm pretty sure that they have no idea that I exist. 

That's because when I was 21, I was an egg donor. Yep. I have three baby girls, that I know about, that exist in this world that have my genetics. I'd like to say lucky them, but I also have stage 3 endometriosis, so... 

Anyway, at the time I wasn't sure if I wanted to have children, so I thought, why not? Great way to make sure that my genetics make it in this world, and who knows, maybe when they turn 18, they might want to contact me or have something to do with me, and at least I have my life and my genetics out in this world. I will totally toot my own horn. I'm pretty awesome. 

So anyways, probably about eight years went by where, like, I didn't think about them at all, and all of a sudden, I was like, 'I think I want to have my own kids.' Now it's been five years of trying to do that, and, well, now I can't stop thinking about them. Mainly because I wonder if they look like me, and I wonder if there's more than just three of them. And also, how did I make all girls? All right, all right, I know. I don't actually determine that, but the male genetics do.

Anyway, it's just wild to think about the fact that at 21, I could make the decision to put my genetics out into this world and not think about the ramifications. 

I will never, ever, ever regret that decision, because I helped three incredible families, four incredible families, have their own children and life and achieve dreams that they probably couldn't have achieved on their own. But still, so wild to think about."

In another video, she said it was "kind of weird," but that she hoped she would have the opportunity to meet her biological children one day:

"When I chose to donate my eggs in my contract, for all of my contracts, I put that when the child turns 18, they have the right to contact me through the agency should they want to, that then at the time have the right to say yes or no, which, that was all before like 23andMe existed or Ancestry.com and those genetic testing.

So realistically now, if I were to do one of those databases and they were to do one of the databases, I could pretty easily find them, but that wasn't the case at the time.

I do hope that one day they contact me, because it would just be really cool to know them, and if I do get to have children of my own, it would be really cool for them to know that they do have half-siblings out there, or at least half genetics, and let them have a relationship if they want to. And if they don't want to, that's fine too."

Kardys has also gone viral for her frank discussion about experiencing a miscarriage at 10 weeks. She reportedly kept her daughter's tiny body and buried it in a potted plant.

“No one tells you what to do, especially if you miscarry at home. For the next few days all I wanted to do was dig her up to hold her again,” she told PEOPLE, but added that she eventually was able to find peace. “I get to keep her close and honor her memory.” 

The Details:

In another interview with PEOPLE, Kardys spoke about her decision to become an egg donor, and about struggling to have children now. She said the idea originally came about because at 21, she wasn't sure if she would ever want to have children.

“My thought process was that your body makes eggs every month, and you lose those eggs if you don’t end up getting pregnant, so why waste them when there are other families out there that could use them?” she said.

In 2021, Kardys married, and she and her husband began trying for children. After unexplained infertility, she found out she had endometriosis, and underwent two surgeries.

“It’s pretty difficult that I can get someone else pregnant, but I can’t get myself pregnant," she said. “I never thought that would be the case when I made those donations."

She reiterated that she doesn't regret her decision to donate her eggs, even though she continues to struggle with infertility.

“It does fill me with comfort that I do have biological children out there," she said. "I feel like miscarriage and fertility are not really talked about. It almost feels like the woman is a failure because it’s so put on us. [But] being able to share my story and let them know that they’re not alone has been amazing. If I’m meant to be a mom, I will be. And if I’m not, I’m here to tell my story.”

The Bottom Line:

Many women choose to become egg donors for the same reason Kardys did: to help other couples have children. They also are often attracted to the large amounts of money they can get paid, which is likely why young college students are targeted by the fertility industry.

Yet egg donation carries multiple risks and can be dangerous, and women may not be told what they risk by donating — let alone the reality of having biological children who are deprived of their history, heritage, and medical background.