FAQs for the Potential Egg Donor

• Nurse Appointment – this involves in depth discussion about the IVF cycle, medications used, being matched with a recipient couple;
• Psychologist Appointment – at this session, each donor is required to complete a personality assessment test (Myers Briggs) and discuss the motivations and ramifications to being an egg donor.
• Physician Appointment – during this appointment, an IRH physician will complete a physical evaluation. You will also have blood work done, as well as an ultrasound.

Although, there is not a published study on donor fertility/ability to conceive after donating, we have no reason to believe that being a donor will compromise a woman’s future fertility.

When we are born, women have all of the eggs they are going to have for a lifetime. We naturally ‘lose’ these eggs as we grow up. We see evidence of this when we hit puberty and begin our menstrual cycle. During a typical menstrual cycle, a woman’s pituitary gland sends out hormones that mature only one of the hundreds of eggs that are released every month. During an IVF cycle, the medications we use assist the hormones and allow more eggs to mature. This ensures we have more eggs to fertilize in the lab than just one. Through this process, we maximize the odds of success by encouraging the hormones to work a little harder to accomplish what they ordinarily do naturally.

IRH did a very small pilot study a few years ago that asked 100 ex-donors a series of questions focused on how many months of unprotected intercourse it took them to conceive after having been a donor. The results were very encouraging. It was a small study, and entirely retrospective, but it suggested that the expected time to conception for ex-donors was not any different than women in the general population.

Medications for fertility treatment and egg donation are used throughout the United States and the world. The widespread use in the US is the result of rigorous testing for effectiveness and safety by the scientific community and the FDA. Additionally, with approximately ten thousand cases of egg donation in the United States performed every year, and with the guidelines set by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine at 6 donations per egg donor, the track record on safety is excellent. As with any medicine, there can be adverse side effects. During the screening consultation with a physician, you should inquire about all of the risks and potential side effects of the medications and medical procedures. We also encourage you to talk with your gynecologist about your desire to be an egg donor, to help you feel more comfortable and confident in your decision.

For more information about the medications used during an IVF cycle, click here.

Unfortunately, no. Due to declining fertility rates in women in their 30s, we use the age of 30 as a cutoff for oocyte donor candidates.

Of course. Having a tubal ligation does not effect the donor process and therefore does not disqualify you.

Yes, just click here.

For more independent information about becoming an egg donor, check out this link: http://www.nyhealth.gov/publications/1127.pdf

For more information, please check out our Informational Videos.