What are the steps to become an egg donor?

For some women, the steps to become an egg donor can feel complex and overwhelming. Our job is to guide you through the process, as well as to address and alleviate all your concerns. Outlined below is each step of the donation process. Our donor coordinators welcome your call if you have any questions.

Step 1: Fill out eligibility questionnaire and application

Once you are ready to start the process of becoming an egg donor, click on the “Donor Application” button to fill out an initial eligibility form. We will contact you within two business days with your eligibility status. If you are eligible to proceed, you will receive access to complete the entire donor application on line.

The application asks questions relating to your personal and family’s medical and genetic history. You will also need to provide photographs of yourself as a baby, child and young adolescent. A team member will contact you within two business days after submitting your completed application.

Step 2: Initial Consult

When we receive your completed application, we will ask you to come to the office for a 30-minute face-to-face consultation. During this time, we will discuss the cycle in detail and address all your questions. You will then go to a local laboratory for drug screening and blood testing.

If this testing is normal, we will place your profile on our active donor list for potential recipients to view. If you have donated somewhere else previously, please let us know so that we can obtain your records and potentially modify your previous stimulation regimen.

Step 3: Matching Process

Once your profile is active, recipients may view it using a password-protected website. When they have selected your profile, we will contact you to begin the screening and testing process.

Step 4: Psychological Counseling

Each donor will have a psychological consult with a licensed psychologist prior to starting an egg donor cycle.

Step 5: Screening

You will schedule an exam and sonogram to evaluate your ovaries once your period has started. We will collect your saliva for genetic screening. You will also return to the lab for infectious disease screening. In approximately three weeks your results will be complete, and you may begin the cycle process if all results are within normal limits.

Step 6: Medical Process

You will begin birth control pills and a prenatal vitamin with your period. Your donor coordinator will provide a plan and a calendar with your anticipated appointment dates. We will teach you how to give subcutaneous injections to yourself. You will take them one to two times a day for three to four weeks.

During this time you will have frequent blood testing and sonograms to monitor your ovaries. When your physician determines that your follicles are mature, you will take your trigger injection. Your retrieval will occur 36 hours after your trigger injection.

Step 7: Retrieval

You’ll receive IV sedation from an anesthesiologist to minimize discomfort. The retrieval takes about 20 minutes, and it is followed by a one hour recovery time. You can expect to be groggy and have some cramping for several hours after the procedure. Post-procedure pain medications will be given to take at home as needed to minimize discomfort. Be sure you have someone to drive you home after the retrieval.

Step 8: Compensation

You can pick up your compensation, or we can also mail it to you after your retrieval.