Egg Donation Information
Who qualifies to be an egg donor?
Anonymous egg donors should meet the following requirements to be accepted into the program:
- First time donors should be between age 21 and 31
- Non-smoking for a full 3 months or longer
(must remain non-smoking and agree to nicotine testing)
- High school grad minimum; college education preferred
- Cannot be adopted unless they have full access to their family medical background.
- Normal Body Mass Index (BMI of 30 or less) Calculator:http://nhlbisupport.com/bmi/
- No history of severe endometriosis
- No genetic disorders or birth defects in donor or immediate family
- Low risk of communicable disease
- Donors cannot be currently taking antidepressant medications
- Donors cannot have Medicaid or Medicare insurance due to legal billing issues
NOTE: If you have a poor family medical history, it will be difficult to match you with a recipient.
What is involved?
To become an egg donor we must obtain a copy of your medical records directly from your physician’s office and you must complete a donor history questionnaire. The information on this questionnaire will later be provided anonymously to recipients so they can choose an egg donor appropriate to their needs.
Following this initial screening, we will make an appointment for you to meet with our counselor and take the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) test. This appointment will take approximately 2 hours and can only be scheduled in our Grand Rapids office. It typically takes 1-2 weeks to receive the results of this test.
If you remain eligible after these steps, you will be scheduled to meet with the Donor Coordinator nurse to thoroughly discuss the process of being an egg donor, including: medications, appointments, the egg retrieval process, risks/side effects, and your obligations as an egg donor. This will take approximately 1 hour and will only be scheduled in our Grand Rapids location.
These screening appointments are done at your own time and expense. We do not reimburse you for missed work, transportation, or other related expenses. However, we do cover all expenses related to your procedure. Donor reimbursement is paid once you have completed the egg retrieval procedure and we have obtained at least 4 mature eggs.
All your bills from our office will be paid anonymously by the recipient. We also require all recipients to pay a premium for a supplemental medical insurance policy for you, in case of any complication related to the egg donation process. If you have medical insurance, your insurance would be billed first, and then the supplemental insurance would cover whatever is not covered by your insurance. This is ONLY for complications, not routine visits.
If you remain eligible after these appointments, we will begin to present your information in an anonymous manner to recipients on our waiting list.
Once matched with a recipient
We will begin the egg donation process based on your menstrual cycle. Please keep track of the first day of your menstrual cycles, so we know how to coordinate you with the recipient.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) screening and testing is required for all egg donors. You will be asked questions about your lifestyle and risk factors for communicable diseases. We will review your medical history and perform a physical. The physician will do a pelvic exam and tests for Chlamydia and gonorrhea. This appointment can only be scheduled in our Grand Rapids office. We will draw blood for prenatal and communicable disease testing, including HIV, hepatitis B and C viruses, and syphilis.
The donation cycle takes two months, with most appointments and the egg retrieval occurring in the second month. You will need to be available for frequent ultrasounds and blood tests, with most appointments occurring between 8:00am - 10:30am in the morning. Your work/school schedule should be flexible enough to allow these appointments. If you cannot accommodate these appointments, we will be unable to work with you as a donor.
During the procedure month, you will inject approximately 6 weeks of medications with a small, subcutaneous needle to produce a high number of eggs for the procedure month. Two days before your egg retrieval, you will inject an intramuscular medication to prepare your eggs for the egg retrieval procedure.
The Procedure
The egg retrieval is performed in our Grand Rapids office under intravenous (IV) conscious sedation. You will need to be in the office for about 2 ½ hours. Most of this time is for your instructions, starting the intravenous (IV) for pain medications, and monitoring you afterwards. The procedure takes approximately 10-15 minutes to retrieve the eggs from the ovaries. You will need an escort to bring you to and from the egg retrieval. You will not be able to work or go to school this day due to the pain medications, but most people return to work or school the following day.
Two weeks after the egg retrieval procedure, you will have a post-operative appointment with one of our doctors to be sure you are healing properly. If you are interested in donating again, let us know at that time. Future cycles involve fewer appointments because much of the prescreening is already complete.
What happens if I unexpectedly drop out of the program?
Before you begin, if you anticipate there may be scheduling issues, please do not proceed with egg donation. Cancelled cycles are very difficult for recipients, as many have been attempting pregnancy for years. However, we understand that emergencies arise. There is no financial compensation if you cancel your donor cycle. At any time if you feel that being an egg donor is not right for you, please let the donor coordinator know IMMEDIATELY.
What happens to my eggs once they are donated?
The recipient couple provides a semen sample to fertilize the eggs to create embryos. The physician normally transfers two embryos to the recipient and remaining embryos are usually frozen for future use.
Occasionally, the recipient couple does not need the remaining embryos for pregnancy attempts. They have the choice to donate the embryos to another infertile couple or to research, or to destroy the embryos themselves. We want you to understand these options, so you can make an informed decision regarding egg donation.
How many times can a person donate their eggs?
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine recommends an egg donor be limited to six cycles. If you inform us that you desire to donate again, we will review your previous donation cycle(s) to determine whether or not you are a candidate.
If you are a repeat donor and we were able to retrieve many eggs, we may match you with two recipients for one cycle to split the eggs. There is no additional financial reimbursement to you as the donor if we split the eggs between two recipients. It is a way to lessen the costs for recipients that cannot afford this procedure otherwise and limits excessive embryos freezing.
Can my anonymity be guaranteed forever?
We will not release any information, voluntarily, to any recipient or future child. However, if future court decisions force us to comply with releasing information, we will have no choice. We cannot anticipate what a child born from egg donation will do.
What are the risks?
Please review the Egg Donation Informed Consent for possible risks and side effects.
Will egg donation affect my future fertility?
NO, we do not recruit any “extra” eggs to grow in a cycle than you would already normally produce in that cycle. Every cycle you may have 10-30 eggs that begin to grow. Normally, only one becomes mature and is released (ovulation). When you take fertility medications, more eggs are stimulated to grow that would normally otherwise have been lost that month.
Do I receive financial compensation?
YES. Please review the Egg Donor FInancial Information for details. Most donors have approximately 11 appointments to prepare for and complete their donation before they are compensated.
Do I have to claim the income from the donor cycle on my federal taxes?
YES. You will receive a 1099 form from us at the end of the year. A copy of this is also sent to the government, so you MUST claim the income. This is federal law. Failure to do so, could result in an audit and/or penalties. If you move, please be sure to update your address with our office.
If you do not feel that you can meet these requirements, it is best for all parties involved for you to not participate in the egg donor program.
Please contact our office if you have any questions. If you qualify, we will review more specific information and instructions at your nurse consultation appointment.
Christine Dixon, R.N.
Donor Coordinator
(616) 988-2229, ext. 131
