Egg Donation Process for Egg Donors

It’s important to fully understand what goes into being an egg donor.  Here are the 7 steps in the egg donation process.

 

1. Fill out egg donor application.  You will provide information about yourself, including your medical history, and the types of families you are willing to help. You will also be asked to upload 5–7 photos of yourself from different stages of your life.

 

Once your application is completed and evaluated, our specialist coordinator will reach out to you for an interview. During the interview, we will educate you about the process, answer any questions you may have

 

2. Selection & Matching Process. Once intended parents see your profile in our database and express an interest in working with you, the matching process begins. Once you are selected, the Giving Tree team will contact you to go over the details of the match – such as clinic location, details about the intended parents, expected timeline – and we will confirm your availability to commit to the process with them.

 

3. Screening. After successfully being matched with your prospective parent(s), you will be required to undergo a series of screenings and evaluations as follows:

• Psychological Evaluation

This is an online face-to-face consultation with a licensed clinical psychologist who will conduct a thorough interview designed to help us determine if egg donation is right for you and ensure you are fully prepared to make the commitment.

• Genetic Consultation

This will be a telephone consultation to review yours and your family’s health background. The purpose of the consultation is to recommend any genetic testing that needs to be performed at the fertility center specific to your family history.

• Medical Evaluation

This is a comprehensive physical evaluation that will be done at the fertility clinic chosen by the Intended Parent(s). This appointment will consist of various medical tests including STD & infectious disease testing, genetic testing (if applicable) and a drug test. A pelvic ultrasound will also be performed to evaluate your ovaries and your antral follicle count. Self-injection training will also be completed in order to learn more about the medications used in the donor cycle.

 

4. Legal Consultation. After successful screenings, Giving Tree will assign an attorney experienced with egg donation law to cover all points in the legal agreement. The attorney will advise you of your contractual rights and obligations outlined in the specific arrangement between you and the intended parents. At this time, you will acknowledge full understanding and sign the legal agreement.​

 

5. Fertility Treatments. The doctor will work with you to find the medications that are right for you, so that you can coordinate your cycle with the intended mother or surrogate. You will start with medications designed to suppress the menstrual cycle in order to synchronize you to theto and the female recipient’s cycle.

 

You will then be given ovarian stimulation medications to stimulate the production of follicles which is where the eggs are formed. During the stimulation phase, you will be monitored very closely to ensure your health, proper dosage amounts, and the success of the cycle. Your case coordinator will arrange for these monitoring appointments with the IVF clinic.

 

The last stage of your fertility treatments is the “trigger” shot. The purpose of this is to ready the ovaries for the egg retrieval.

 

6. Egg Retrieval. Your egg retrieval will be performed at the fertility clinic or nearby surgery center. The procedure is performed vaginally under a mild intravenous sedation (often referred to as “twilight sedative”. The procedure lasts approximately 30-45 minutes in duration. You’ll spend a few hours in recovery and can then go home. You might experience some fatigue, and/or some mild to moderate abdominal cramping afterwards. You will not be allowed to drive that day and will be required to spend the rest of the day on bed-rest; most donors return to work/ school the following day.

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The number of eggs retrieved differs for each egg donor. 

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7. Post Retrieval. ​After you've completed your egg retrieval, you'll receive an email from your case coordinator explaining the next steps. Your coordinator will provide you information regarding the results of your retrieval, once completed, When to expect to receive your final payment, and how to proceed with egg donation again if you are interested.