• Education, Information & Consultation
• In-vitro fertilization (IVF)
• Male Factor Infertility
• Egg Donation
• Gestational Carriers (Surrogacy)
• Gay Surrogacy
• Reciprocal IVF for Lesbian Couples
• Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS)
• Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)
• Egg Freezing (Elective & Medical)
• Embryo Donation

» Rhonda Levy » Services » Egg Donation

Egg Donation

The egg donation process involves a young and fertile woman (the egg donor) undergoing the same stimulation and retrieval process involved in a typical IVF cycle. The donor's fresh eggs are then combined with sperm in a laboratory to create embryos. In circumstances where male factor infertility is an issue, Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) is performed. ICSI involves the injection of a single sperm into each egg. Alternatively, the eggs are frozen (vitrified) following retrieval, and only combined with sperm in a laboratory after they have been thawed.

Fresh embryos created with donated eggs can be transferred into the recipient's uterus either 3 or 5-6 days later. In this scenario, the recipient's cycle must be synchronized with the donor's. However, the embryos can also be frozen (vitrified) and transferred into the recipient's uterus after they have been thawed. In this scenario, synchronization is not required. In either case, the uterus of the recipient is prepared with hormones in advance of the transfer so that it will be receptive to implantation.

When Is It Appropriate to Consider Egg Donation?

Egg donation is an appropriate consideration for women who are unable to use their own eggs because they:

• Have a uterus but no ovaries;
• Are suffering from diminished ovarian reserve;
• Are at risk of passing on a genetic condition to a child created with their own eggs; or
• Have had cancer treatment, which has rendered them infertile (and they did not freeze their own eggs prior to their cancer treatment).

Egg donation is also involved when a gay couple, a single gay man, or a single heterosexual man uses a gestational carrier (surrogate) to have a baby.

Who Provides Donated Eggs?

Donated eggs are provided by one of three types of donors:

• Anonymous donors recruited and matched with recipients by fertility clinics (who do not learn the identity of the recipients and whose identity is not revealed to them);
• Known donors (a friend or family member of the recipients, or someone who is recruited independently by the recipients and becomes known to them in the process);
• Agency donors who are recruited and matched with recipients by an egg donor agency; and
• Egg bank donors who are recruited and matched with recipients by an egg bank.

Topics Covered When We Educate Our Clients About Egg Donation

• Guidelines of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) regarding egg donation;
• Guidelines of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the donation of eggs;
• Critical factors to consider when choosing a fertility clinic for IVF with donated eggs;
• How to interpret published fertility clinic success rates for IVF with donated eggs;
• Comparative analysis of world renowned, elite fertility clinics on the cutting edge that report success rates for IVF with donated eggs that are among the highest in the world;
• Comparative analysis of the best performing fertility clinics for IVF with donated eggs in your geographic area;
• Choosing a doctor within a fertility clinic for IVF with donated eggs;
• Questions to ask at an initial consultation with a fertility doctor about an IVF cycle with donated eggs;
• Possible levels of information sharing and contact between recipients and egg donors;
• Using a fertility clinic to find an anonymous egg donor;
• Using an egg donor agency to find an egg donor;
• Comparative analysis of specific egg donor agencies;
• Using a fertility a frozen egg bank to find an egg donor;
• Comparative analysis of specific frozen egg banks;
• Using a known donor;
• Conducting an independent search for an egg donor who was not previously known to you;
• Using a "proven" egg donor;
• Finding an egg donor with a specific ethnicity or religion (e.g. Jewish, Asian, East Indian, Asian Indian, African American);
• Using a "proven" egg donor;
• Rigorous standards of egg donor screening;
• Using preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) in IVF with donated eggs to assess the chromosomal makeup of the embryos;
• Increasing the odds of having frozen embryos created with the donor's eggs available for future use;
• Grant programs to cover or offset the cost of IVF with donated eggs;
• Programs to finance the cost of IVF with donated eggs;
• Discount programs to reduce the costs of IVF with donated eggs;
• Shared / split egg donation cycles;
• Drug company and other programs to finance or reduce the cost of medications used in IVF with donated eggs;
• Risk sharing programs / money back guarantees / refund plans for IVF with donated eggs;
• Third party intermediaries who stay updated regarding an anonymous donor's contact information so that she can be reached should your child develop a hereditary medical condition;
• Lawyers who specialize in third party reproduction, including egg donation; and
• Psychologists, social workers and therapists who specialize in the emotional and psychological considerations in third party reproduction, including having a baby with donated eggs.