A woman became an egg donor in her early 20s. Now in her mid-30s, she is trying to have children of her own but is unable to do so.

Tracy Kardys wasn’t sure if becoming a mother was in the cards for her, but she always knew she wanted to help others become parents after learning about egg donation, according to Kennedy News & Media.

“A lot of friends always knew they wanted to be parents, and I was never like that. I didn’t know if I wanted to have kids,” she said.

After doing “a bunch of research” about egg donation at age 19, Kardys said she “was really interested in it,” further explaining, “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?”

At age 21, Kardys was able to start donating her eggs after she underwent extensive testing and hormone injections.

Kardys made her first donation the following year, and between 2012 and 2015, she helped three sets of couples become parents through her egg donations. (Kardys opted for a closed donation, where she was told only basic details about the births.)

“When I first found out [my egg donation was successful], I was over the moon. It felt really good to know that I’d been able to help this family and be able to have this baby girl they’d wanted for so long,” she recalled.

“When the child turns 18, they do have the right to contact me through the agency, and I have the right to say yes or no,” continued the account manager. “I don’t view myself as their mom. I don’t deserve that title. I didn’t grow them, I didn’t raise them, I’m not there parenting them.”

Added Kardys, “If they do ever want that relationship, I would treat them just as if they were my child, but I don’t deserve the title of mom.”

Back in 2021, Kardys and her husband wed, and they tried for a child of their own. However, Kardys was unable to get pregnant.

Tests showed the couple was experiencing “unexplained infertility,” and Kardys then underwent two operations after being diagnosed with endometriosis in June 2024. (She later suffered a miscarriage the following year.)

Kardys, now 35, said, “It’s pretty difficult that I can get someone else pregnant, but I can’t get myself pregnant.”

“I never thought that would be the case when I made those donations,” she added, explaining, though, that she has no regrets about helping others start their own family. “I will never resent my decision,” Kardys said. “I think what I did was incredible, and I’m so happy to be able to help those families, so I will never regret my decision.”

“It does fill me with comfort that I do have biological children out there. 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,” she continued. “If I’m meant to be a mom, I will be. And if I’m not, I’m here to tell my story.”