Frequently Asked Questions from Potential Egg Donors

The egg donation process can seem overwhelming, but our team at The Donor Solution is here to answer all of your questions and guide you through the entire process.  With The Donor Solution, you can rest assured that you are working with a team that truly cares about your health and well-being.

Some of our most frequently asked questions about egg donation include:

How old do I have to be to become an egg donor?

• Typical egg donors are women between the ages of 21 and 30 who would like to make the dreams parenthood a reality for others.

How much will I get paid to donate my eggs?

• Our donors are compensated according to the guidelines provided by ASRM (American Society of Reproductive Medicine) and generally range from $4000 up to $10,000.  Donors being compensated over the standard of $5000 are usually veteran donors or those that travel to be a donor for a specific family.  Donors are not compensated for their eggs, but rather for their time and effort in missing school, work and social activities during the donation process.  When the donor misses school or work the compensation is meant to cover some of the loss of salary or class time.

What is the egg donation process?

• The egg donation process through The Donor Solution begins after you have finished our testing and interview process.  Your anonymous profile is placed on our secure donor database and prospective Intended Parents are able to view your profile and photos.  Once you have been selected we send your contact information to the Intended Parents clinic and they will contact you to begin the screening process.
• The entire process from selection to egg retrieval takes about 6-10 weeks depending where you are in your menstrual cycle at selection.  Most clinics require you to be on birth control pills in order to “synch” up with the Intended Mothers own menstrual cycle.
• Your first visit with the clinic will usually involve a physical exam, much like a well woman visit at your own physician, an ultrasound of your ovaries and uterus to make sure you are a good candidate and have great looking ovaries and a lot of labs for genetics, infectious disease as well as time to discuss the entire process with the nurse at the clinic who handles their egg donors.
• You will also have an appointment with a psychologist to discuss your feelings about egg donation and the long term implications for you and your future family, if any, and to discuss the entire process.  Sometimes this is the day of your initial evaluation and other times it is done via appointment when it is convenient for you.
• After this initial appointment, it is “hurry up and wait” time!  The clinic is waiting for your lab results to come back from the lab and you are waiting for your period so you may start birth control pills to synch up with your recipient.
• Once your period starts and your lab results are in, the nurse will set you up with a calendar for the actual donation cycle.  Every clinic has their own “recipe” of who they run an egg donation cycle but generally you will be on birth control pills for 3 weeks and then stop them to start the Stimulation Medication for the cycle.  It is imperative that you tell the clinic of any conflicts like weddings or vacations you have that would interfere with your “calendar”.
• Once you start the injection portion of the cycle, it goes very fast.  You will have had injection teaching either with a nurse at the clinic or with one of our staff in our Houston or Dallas offices.  The injection portion is about 10-14 days.  During this time you will be seen about every 2-3 days in the clinic for an ultrasound and lab work to see how your body is responding to the medication and how your eggs are growing.  You will need to be prepared to be available sometime between 7am and 10am on those mornings and you will be missing work and school at that time.  It is usually about 3-4 times over the entire 10-14 day donation cycle and one or two may even fall on a weekend.  The appointments are usually quick and you are on your way.
• The final part of the process is the actual egg retrieval.  This is performed after about 10 days of injectable medication.  You will be notified that you are ready for the trigger shot that matures the eggs and 35 hours later you will have the actual egg retrieval.
• The morning of the retrieval you will need to bring a companion to drive you home or back to your hotel if you are doing a travel cycle.  The entire retrieval process is very quick!  You will change into a hospital gown, meet with the anesthesia person (MD or Nurse Anesthetist) and have an IV started for conscious sedation and the entire retrieval process only takes 30 minutes or less.
• You are usually in the recovery room about an hour and then can go home to lay on the sofa, watch TV and eat chocolate for the rest of the day. You should feel back to “normal” within one to two days with soreness to be expected and your period should come within 10-14 days. You are VERY fertile yourself during this time so beware! We like to compensate our donors the day of the procedure, so we can either direct deposit your check in your bank account or mail it to you that day.

How are egg donors selected?

• We first ask potential egg donors to fill out a preliminary application.  If you are qualified, we will send a more extensive application and schedule an interview.  After your interview we perform a background check, and a transcript check if you are a college student or college graduate.  Additionally we will ask that you have a blood test which tells us if your fertility potential is excellent!
• Once we have all this information we can ascertain if you would be a great addition to our program.

Who uses my eggs?

• Women who do not produce enough normal eggs but can otherwise become pregnant use egg donation to achieve their goals of parenthood. Sometimes woman are cancer survivors and other times they may carry genetic diseases that they do not want to pass on to their children.  Same sex couples also use egg donors and a gestational carrier to help them create a family.
•  Egg donors allow Intended Parents to achieve parenthood when they never thought it was possible.  As little as 30 years ago these men and women would not have been able to have their own biological child.

Is egg donation anonymous?

• At The Donor Solution we provide three different levels of donor anonymity.  The first level is a completely Anonymous donation where neither you nor the recipient couple has any identifiable information other than what is contained in your profile.  The second level is an Identity Release program where you as the donor agree to be contacted by a third party when any child resulting from that donation reaches the age of 18 and they request contact.  At that time you are able to decide what level of contact you feel comfortable with.  Your personal contact information is usually held by an attorney or specialized business that keeps this totally confidential.  The children may or may not ever contact you.  The third level is called Known Donation. In this type of donation you would actually meet the intended parents in person over coffee or a meal and decide the level of future interaction.
• We discuss all types of donation in your personal interview and you can decide on your comfort level when you have been matched with Intended Parents.

What are the legal considerations to egg donation?

• There are many legal considerations with egg donation including legal contracts, parental rights waivers, informed consent releases, and confidentiality agreements.  All of the legal elements will be discussed entirely with you at The Donor Solution.   You are provided an attorney that will discuss the various legal considerations and assist you in making informed consent.  This attorney is for you alone and we pay the attorney fee so you have adequate representation.

To learn more information about The Donor Solution and the egg donation process, please contact our team of experts via email at info@thedonorsolution.com or by calling our main number at 713-827-0301 or filling out a preliminary application.  We look forward to sharing with you our great team to help you become a great egg donor.