Information for Egg Donor Recipients

The following information outlines the steps for a patient utilizing an anonymous egg donor for the goal of pregnancy.  If a recipient instead chooses to find their own egg donor, the steps are slightly different.  Our Donor Coordinator, RN, can outline the steps for this situation.

If you’re not already a patient of our office, the first step is to schedule a new patient appointment with one of the physicians to discuss the donor egg recipient program—we request that a copy of your current medical history from your current physician’s office be sent to our office prior to this appointment.

You may want to consider getting on our waiting list prior to this appointment.  This will help decrease your wait once your fertility plan is established.  To get on the egg donor waiting list, you must contact our billing department and pay a deposit.  We recommend you contact our Donor Coordinator for the current estimated wait. 

The next step is to schedule an appointment with our infertility counselor to discuss the emotional and psychological issues related to using a third party to achieve a pregnancy. There is no charge for this appointment.  Both the male and female patients using the egg donor are required to attend this appointment.  An annual appointment with the counselor is required by our office while attempting pregnancy with an egg donor (including attempts with frozen embryos).

A nurse consultation is also required and can be scheduled at this time. The nurse will review the medical aspects of the program, required testing, the donor screening process, and how we match you with a donor. The cost of this consult is covered by your deposit.

Once a recipient is presented a donor(s) and selects a donor, the Donor Coordinator will coordinate the timing of the procedure, based on the women’s menstrual cycles. All remaining fees are due at this time.

The matched egg donation cycle typically takes 2 menstrual cycles to complete. The donor takes fertility drugs to encourage the growth of multiple eggs.  During this time, the recipient female also takes medications to coordinator her cycle with the egg donor’s and to prepare the uterine lining for a pregnancy. 

Donor eggs are retrieved and fertilized with the recipient partner’s sperm on the same day. An embryo transfer is performed with the recipient female two days later.  Normally two embryos will be transferred.  Two days of bed rest and minimal activity are required after the embryo transfer.  A blood pregnancy test is done within two weeks of the transfer.  A repeat blood test is needed 2-4 days following the first test. 

This is a brief explanation of the process.  It will be reviewed in detail at the nurse consult appointment.  If you have questions, contact our Donor Coordinator at (616) 988-2229, ext. 131.

Egg Donor Information

The following guidelines/requirements are a combination of those of The Fertility Center and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  Some are in place to assure optimal fertility response in the donor, while others reduce the risk of communicable disease transmission.  Note that there may be additional reasons a donor may not be eligible to donate, but this list covers most requirements.

 Anonymous egg donors should meet the following requirements to be accepted into the program:

• Between age 21 and 32
• Non-smoking for a full 3 months or longer
• High school grad minimum; college education preferred
• Donors cannot be adopted unless they have full access to their family medical background.
• Normal Body Mass Index (BMI of 30 or less).
• 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
• Medical records from their primary care or OB/GYN demonstrate eligibility
• Psychological screening by our on site counselor determines donor is appropriate/eligible
• Completion of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI); reviewed by our counselor and a Fertility Center physician for eligibility

 After initial acceptance, all egg donors must complete the following:

• A new patient appointment and physical examination by a Fertility Center physician
• Consultation with the Donor Coordinator (to review procedures, plans, medications, etc)
• Injection teaching
• FDA screening questionnaires for communicable disease risks and testing for HIV, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, syphilis, gonorrhea, and Chlamydia.

 If you are using a known egg donor, follow the above guidelines for your best chance at success.

 Egg Donor Selection

 Unlike an egg donor agency, The Fertility Center does not have “books” full of donors to choose from.  We do significant screening before our donors are considered “available” (often much more than an egg agency).   Because of this, our donors are usually available and ready to begin the process once you choose her; however, this also means that we have fewer donors available to choose from. 

 If you prefer to choose from a larger selection of donors or if you prefer to see current photos of your donor (we will only show you childhood photos—so that it remains an anonymous process), you may advertise for an egg donor on your own or you may consider using an egg donor agency.

 Types of Egg Donors

 Recruited/Anonymous egg donors:  These women are initially screened verbally by questionnaire based on some of the previous guidelines.  If they are eligible after the initial screening, they must complete an extensive questionnaire and release their medical records to our office.  We review their medical records and compare them to the questionnaire.  If their information is consistent and they remain eligible, we schedule them with our counselor and they complete the MMPI.  We also normally do an ultrasound at this time to evaluate their antral follicles (potential to create numerous eggs).  If they remain eligible, they meet with our Donor Coordinator to review the process in its entirety and to stress the significant commitment they are choosing to make.  If they remain interested, we begin to present them to potential recipient couples.  After they are matched with a couple, we perform additional screening and testing for FDA eligibility.  Once this is complete, and if the donor remains eligible, we begin to match up the donor and recipient’s menstrual cycles for the procedure, which is a two month process.

 Advantages: There is low chance of cancellation due to low numbers of eggs.  There is a high chance of having additional embryos to freeze for later use.  Young, healthy donors are more apt to have good quality eggs. 

 Disadvantages: Cost is the biggest disadvantage.  All testing, medications, and procedure costs have to be paid, as well as donor reimbursement for their time and efforts. 

 Split Donor:  A split donor is screened the same as a recruited donor, but her eggs are divided between two recipients.  We only allow donors with prior good response or high follicle count to be matched with two recipients.  This decreases the chance of cancellation due to a low egg collection. 

 Advantages: Lower cost for both recipients.

 Disadvantages: One patient is the “primary” recipient and will be initially responsible for all cycle fees.  The primary recipient is given first priority to receive the eggs if the donor does not grow enough for two recipients (eight eggs total is normally the minimum).  The “secondary” recipient pays less but carries a higher risk of being cancelled. 

 In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) patient donor: A patient who is doing her own IVF cycle and decides to donate some of her eggs.  The ideal patient is a young woman with infertility which doesn’t affect egg quality (e.g. tubal or male factor).    

 Advantages:  The biggest advantage to using an IVF patient donor is the lower cost, due to the fact that the patient will pay for her own medications and procedures. 

 Disadvantages:  The wait time to be matched with an IVF patient donor can be longer than a recruited donor.  There is a higher chance of your cycle being cancelled if the patient does not grow enough eggs.  The IVF patient may want to freeze some embryos for themselves.  If so, decisions will need to be made regarding how many eggs will be received by each party.