Egg Donation Requirements: Essential Criteria

Egg Donation Requirements in California

Potential Egg Donors must meet the following egg donation qualifications to be considered for our program. Check out these requirements to donate eggs:

Must live in the United States as well as be a citizen of the United States
Must be willing and able to travel to California for up to 7 days (travel expenses provided by their intended parents at no cost to our donors), which is a specific egg donor requirement in California
Must be between the ages of 18-30
Must have a valid driver’s license
Must have no history of genetic disorders or serious medical conditions
Must have a flexible schedule
Must be willing to undergo a psychological evaluation
Must agree to a background check
Must be height/weight compatible (with a BMI of less than 28)
Must have a stable residence and not be planning to move from the state in which you live once you are matched through SAI

About Our Program

Dear Prospective Egg Donor,

What are the requirements to donate eggs? Well, after we receive your online preliminary application, you will be sent an invitation from our egg donor coordinator to complete the full application (please include at least 5 current photos as well as 5 additional ones from your childhood). Your full egg donor application will be reviewed and if you meet all our egg donor qualifications and are approved, you will be notified by e‐mail within 5 business days.

Your information will then be placed in our password protected online database. We have couples that are always looking for egg donors of different races and nationalities. Once you are selected by an interested party, you will be informed of the type of arrangement they want to pursue with you. There are three options available; open, semi-open, and closed. If the couple selects open egg donation, you will meet one another and exchange information (this is not very common). When a semi‐open arrangement is preferred, only brief information about the couple will be shared with you, as well as a possible face-to-face meeting with the couple. In a closed arrangement, you will only know their name, age, and state or country of residence.

After you have been matched you will be psychologically screened by a licensed psychologist that SAI has worked with for many years and who specializes in third party reproduction arrangements. As part of our qualifications to donate eggs, you will also be medically tested for HIV and STD’s; your husband or partner will be tested as well. At this point, you will be assigned legal counsel to complete the contract with your intended parents, stipulating the terms of your match.

During an egg donation cycle, your ovaries will be stimulated with injectable medication. The fertility doctor monitors you very closely and when your egg follicles are mature, the doctor will go in and retrieve your eggs from your ovaries. You will be under IV anesthesia during the retrieval, so you will not feel any discomfort. The doctor goes in vaginally with a small catheter. He or she than extracts an egg from each follicle. The eggs are then fertilized with sperm from the couple and the resulting embryos are transferred into the intended mother or a surrogate they have selected. Any embryos not used are typically frozen for future attempts, although some couples may choose to donate them to stem cell research or place them up for adoption through the embryo adoption program.

A donor stimulates on medication for a period of approximately two weeks, and she does become rather bloated during the stimulation process. Once the egg retrieval occurs, she limits her activities for the first 24 hours and the bloating usually subsides. She is able to resume her normal daily activities the next day. These are the qualifications for donating eggs.

Side effects:

Major side effects from the stimulation medication are rare. Some women do experience “hot flashes” when taking the medication Lupron, though this is usually only for a short period of time. Side effects from other medications include: hyper-stimulation of your ovaries (this is when your ovaries produce too many eggs). This can cause you some abdominal pain and/or discomfort, but it is rare. Your physician will explain in detail what OHSS (Over-Hyper Stimulation Syndrome) is during your consultation appointment.

In addition, another situation that may occur while on medication and/or after the retrieval is if you have sex you could become pregnant with twins or triplets. All eggs may not be retrieved; there might be a few left behind. You should understand that it is IMPORTANT to abstain from intercourse the month before you start Lupron and for two weeks after the egg retrieval as a precaution to avoid this situation.

Compensation:

The egg donor compensation for a FIRST-time donor is $6,000.00 + travel expenses and each time you donate thereafter, your fee will increase by $1,000. This fee is paid to you within seven days following the egg retrieval procedure.

You must complete the donor reimbursement form provided by our agency. This form is required for all payments requested by you. If you are entitled to expense reimbursement for travel, please submit all required receipts in a timely manner so your payment is not delayed.

If the cycle is cancelled after stimulation has begun, you will be compensated in the amount of $1,000.00 for your time and participation.

Testimonials

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