What is Egg Donation?

what is egg donation

My friend cannot conceive after trying for 6 years, and finally she is considering egg donation. Her challenge is that there are very few Asian egg donors in the United States. The shortage of Asian and Asian-American egg donors means that people like her who are looking towards building their family through IVF with egg donation have to employ an egg donor agency that specializes in finding Asian donors.

For those who wanted to know more about this topic quickly, Andrea Moore’s “Complete Guide to Egg Donation and Fertility” is a wonderful source of information. I have extracted some salient information from her blog to give you a glimpse of what it is and how it is done.

What is Egg Donation?

It involves taking several drugs and undergoing a medical procedure to remove the donor’s eggs. The first phase of egg donation usually involves taking drugs to synchronize the donor’s menstrual cycle with the intended mother’s cycle. Once synchronized, the egg donor begins taking drugs to stimulate her ovaries to make extra eggs. The final phase, called egg harvesting, involves surgically removing the eggs from the donor’s ovaries. During the egg harvesting phase, the donor is put under light anaesthesia (called “twilight”) so she feels no pain, and doctors place a small needle into her vagina to remove the eggs in a process called egg harvesting. The entire process, from synchronizing her cycle to egg harvesting is called an “egg donation cycle.” Egg donors report that the process can be physically uncomfortable for a few days before returning to normal.

How much does it cost

Usually, the cost is $5000-$1000 per cycle

Egg donor agencies place a high value on egg donors’ personal accomplishments. Women without high school diplomas usually won’t be accepted, but those on the other end of the spectrum—women with graduate degrees, those who attend(ed) Ivy League colleges like Harvard and Yale, or those with high-paying professional jobs—can earn high fees for their eggs. Some egg donor agencies even have special “exceptional egg donor programs” where they pay the egg donors more than “regular” donors.

By the way,

In the United States, Israel, and the Czech Republic, egg donors are legally allowed to be paid for their services. In other countries, such as New Zealand, egg donation is done for free, without any monetary compensation. This is sometimes called egg sharing.

Like Andrea said, this must be one of the very few jobs where females make more than males. Women who have empathy for other women who cannot conceive, or simply want to earn an income by an egg donor can check out Andrea’s Step by Step Procedure. She even has a comprehensive list on fertility clinics and egg donor agencies in the United States for those who want to consider egg donation to start a family.

Additional Wisdom on Fertility: The Fertility Secrets Handbook.

Additional Reading on Health Quote

[tags]egg donation and infertility[/tags]