Egg Donation Process

Application, Initial Screening & Matching Process

• Donor Profiles - Women interested in becoming an egg donor with the Center for Surrogacy & Egg Donation begin the process by completing an extensive application. Each donor’s profile will have detailed information on the donor’s background, including specific ethnic and educational background, physical features of the donor and her extended family, the donor’s and her extended family’s medical and genetic background, and her prior egg donor experience and pregnancy history. You will also learn about each donor’s interests and any special talents she may have.
• Initial Screening & Education - If a woman meets the requirements to be a donor, we will obtain a recent physical and pap smear. It is also important that the donor understands the egg donation process and has all of her questions answered to ensure she is committed to the process.
• Donor Database - Once you sign up to get access to our donor database you will be able to search among all of our available donors. You will be able to view photos, as well as detailed information about the donor's traits and accomplishments. Our database will allow you to search and filter potential donors by the criteria that is most important to you.
• Matching - You can place any donor you may be interested in on hold for a period of 3 days. Once you have decided on the donor you would like to match with, we will provide some non-identifying information about you to the donor. We believe it is important for the donor to feel comfortable about the intended parent(s) she works with. It will also make her more committed to the donation process.

Clinic Screening

After you have matched with your donor, we will coordinate the screening process with your IVF Clinic. Although the screening process can vary slightly from clinic to clinic, the typical IVF Clinic screening process will consist of:

• Consultation with the IVF physician and nurses
• Discussion of the IVF process, including the medications that will be prescribed
• Antral Follicle Scan (an ultrasound) of the donor’s ovaries and AMH (Anti-Mullerian Hormone) blood test to help predict her fertility
• Bloodwork and urinalysis for sexually transmitted diseases and drug use for the donor and her partner, if any
• Bloodwork for genetic carrier screening for genetic disorders
• Medical & Mental health evaluation, screening and consultation

Legal Work

Although the law on egg donation is becoming more and more developed, laws vary widely from state to state. For this reason, we have partnered with Nichols, DeLisle & Lightholder, P.C., a leading reproductive law firm. Nichols, DeLisle & Lightholder, P.C. will represent you in the contract between you and your donor, and will take time to walk you through each and every aspect of the contract so you are informed and comfortable with every aspect of the process.

In general, the legal process includes:

• Drafting and negotiation of the egg donor contract - An attorney from Nichols, DeLisle & Lightholder, P.C. will prepare the first draft of the contract and review it with you. That attorney will also negotiate changes with the donor’s attorney.
• Legal Clearance - The IVF Clinic will require a legal clearance letter prior to the start of the IVF Cycle. This will be provided by Nichols, DeLisle & Lightholder, P.C. upon the completion of the egg donor agreement.
• Anonymity - It is possible to enter a legal contract between you and the donor and still maintain the parties’ anonymity. Your attorney will explain the process to you.

The IVF Cycle

The IVF Clinic will provide your donor and you (or your surrogate) with detailed instructions on what will need to be done to prepare for the IVF Cycle. Different IVF Clinics and different doctors may have slightly different protocols for the IVF Cycle. It is very important that the donor and you (or your surrogate) follow the instructions given to you for the particular cycle. In general, the IVF process will consist of:

• Outline of the IVF Cycle calendar - A nurse will provide the donor and you (or your surrogate) with a calendar of when to start and stop taking medications.
• Monitoring - The donor and you (or your surrogate) will have several blood draws and ultrasounds prior to the egg retrieval. These are done to ensure that the donor’s ovaries are responding to the medications appropriately and that her hormone levels are in an expected range. The monitoring appointments are done early mornings so that they will have as minimal an impact on the donor’s and your (or your surrogate’s) schedule as possible.
• Egg Retrieval - Eggs are collected from the donor’s ovaries using vaginal ultrasound while she are under light sedation. All eggs will be inseminated with the intended father’s sperm or the sperm from a sperm donor.
• Embryo Transfer - The embryo transfer will typically take place 3 or 5 days following the egg retrieval.