Egg donation is a powerful way to give the gift of life

Becoming an egg donor lets you help others achieve their dreams of having a family. What’s more, you can earn compensation for your time and effort with every egg donation cycle you complete.

Who can participate in the Center for Reproductive Medicine’s egg donor program?

Egg donor applicants must meet with following requirements to participate in our donation program:

• Between the ages of 21-33
• Body mass index (BMI) between 18-30
• Has a minimum of a high school diploma or GED, college preferred
• No nicotine or drug use
• Familiar with family medical history
• Fluent in English

About the egg donation process

At the Center for Reproductive Medicine, we offer a simple, five-step process for egg donors.

Begin by completing a brief online questionnaire.

First, you’ll answer a few simple questions about yourself, your lifestyle and your family history. Shortly after submitting your responses, you will receive an email containing an activation link to register your account. (Please note this link is only valid for 36 hours.)

Once you’ve registered, you will complete a prescreening application. Our donor egg team will notify you within one to two days if you are eligible to move forward.

If eligible, you will receive an invitation to complete a more in-depth donor profile. It is important that you answer every question to the best of your ability, and that you reach out to family members for further information if necessary.

Once you’ve submitted your profile, a member of our team will carefully review it and contact you via email or phone with your next steps.

Undergo our donor screening process.

Once your application has been approved, you will come in for a visit with one of our donor egg nurses, who will guide you through the entire process ahead of you. At this appointment, we will take your vital signs, conduct an ultrasound to assess your reproductive anatomy, and collect blood and urine samples so we can perform tests for drugs/nicotine, your blood type, your hormone levels and over 20 genetic diseases.* Once all your results are available (typically within two weeks), we will reach out to schedule a phone consultation with our geneticist to review your results.

Provided your genetic testing is satisfactory, you will then attend a consultation with one of our reproductive endocrinologists. At this appointment, blood and urine will be collected to perform FDA-required testing for diseases, including HIV, hepatitis, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. You will also meet with one of our nurse practitioners to discuss your personal and family history, and undergo a physical.

Finally, you will undergo a psychological evaluation and personality inventory with a highly qualified licensed mental health practitioner. If you are married or engaged, your partner will be required to attend as well.

* One in four women can carry a mutation for any number of genetic diseases.

Begin taking fertility medications.

At the end of the screening process, you will be asked to call your donor nurses with the first date of your menstrual cycle (if you do not get regular monthly cycles due to the use of an intrauterine device, you will be given alternate instructions). Based on your cycle, a transvaginal ultrasound will be performed to ensure you are ready to begin a treatment cycle. We will also conduct another round of FDA-required blood and urine testing to screen for infectious diseases.

After you’ve passed the testing and have been cleared to start a cycle, your doctor will prescribe you a series of hormonal medications to stimulate your ovaries to produce multiple eggs. These medications are administered via injections that your nurse will show you how to prepare and administer. (Please note that during this time you will be highly fertile and will be asked to abstain from intercourse.)

Undergo monitoring.

On your fifth day of treatment, you will attend your first monitoring visit, which will include a quick ultrasound and blood draw to assess your body’s response to the medication. Over the next several days, we will continue to see you regularly for additional monitoring appointments as your eggs mature. These visits allow us to adjust your medication protocol as needed and help us determine when your eggs are ready for retrieval.

Monitoring appointments must be held in the mornings but are quick and usually do not last more than 30 minutes.

Have your eggs retrieved.

Once your eggs are ready to be retrieved, you will be instructed to take a trigger shot to encourage the release of all potential eggs.

36 hours later, you will undergo the egg retrieval process. This is an outpatient procedure conducted under twilight anesthesia. Using ultrasound guidance, the physician will use a thin needle to extract your eggs. The entire procedure takes around 20 minutes, and with some rest you will likely be able to return to work or school the next day.

You will be called the day after your procedure and instructed to alert us on day one of your next cycle (which usually occurs within four to six days after the retrieval procedure) to schedule your post-op appointment. This will be your last appointment; at this time, you will also receive your compensation check for your donation.

(Please be aware that you will still be extremely fertile for some time after the procedure, so you will be asked to continue abstaining from vaginal intercourse until you have had your next menstrual cycle. Although it’s unlikely you may still be more fertile than usual through the cycle after that, backup methods of birth control are strongly encouraged.)