The Ultimate Guide to Egg Donation

Egg donation is an important part of growing a family for tens of thousands of intended parents in America every year, but if you’re thinking about donating your eggs, you might be wondering what it all entails. What is egg donation like, and what are the benefits and challenges of donating eggs? 

More importantly, how is our Split program—where you can freeze your eggs for free if you donate half and qualify—different from others out there? We break it all down below. 

What is egg donation?

Egg donation is a process in which a woman donates her eggs—called oocytes—to be used in the process of conception for someone else. It may be helping a woman who has faced fertility challenges or an LGBTQ+ couple using a gestational carrier to help grow their family. It may be to help a family member or a complete stranger. 

Through this process, a doctor at a fertility clinic will retrieve eggs from the donor’s ovaries. These eggs will later be fertilized to create embryos. Doctors will then implant that embryo into the uterus of the intended mother or gestational carrier as part of the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process. Hopefully, the intended mother or carrier becomes pregnant. 

People who qualify for egg donation are generally:

• Between the ages of 21 and 34
• In all-around good health 
• Not carriers genetic conditions that could be passed along to potential offspring 
• Able to provide informed consent to the egg donation process. This means that they understand the risks involved with any procedures and give their full consent to move forward

A full list of disqualifications of our Split program, which account for FDA, ASRM, and other industry guidelines and standards, can be found here.

Benefits of egg donation 

As much as 1 in 5 women in America face infertility, struggling to get pregnant after a year or more of trying. By donating your eggs, you’re able to help not just those women but LGBTQ+ couples or individuals who may need donor eggs in order to start a family. 

In 2019 alone (the most recent year for which data is available), more than 83,000 babies were born with the help of donated eggs. And those who gave their eggs have the satisfaction of knowing they’ve given someone the gift of a family. 

While helping others is a primary benefit of egg donation, there are a few more you may not have realized:

• A chance to freeze your eggs, too: At Cofertility, our Split program offers the option to, if you qualify, freeze your eggs for free if you donate half of them to a family who can’t otherwise conceive. 

• Understanding your own fertility: By donating eggs, you’ll get to learn more about your ovarian reserve and fertility outlook. Especially if you haven’t been pregnant before, you can gain important information that may inform future reproductive planning.  We feel strongly that this is information that we should all have, whether you choose to donate or not. 

• A chance to meet other donors: Split Members will have the opportunity to connect with other women going through the donation process at the same time. While this may not be something your closest friends or family can relate to, you can share thoughts and experiences with peers through the Cofertility community.  

How does egg donation work? 

Before you can decide if egg donation is right for you, you’re probably wondering how it will all work and how long it will take. Note that the below is a general overview that encapsulates the general process. For a more in-depth overview of our Split program, click here.

Screening and application

The process starts with you filling out a brief intro screener to ensure that you’re qualified to donate. If you pass the intro screener, there will be a more in-depth application where you’ll answer questions about your health, your personal and family medical history, and why you want to donate. 

At Cofertility, we aim to humanize this process a bit more, providing deep insight into your goals, values, and who you are as a person. Your profile should be a reflection of who you are as a person—not just your eye color and hair color. 

Call with our team

Once you pass this first phase, you’ll have a call with a Member Advocate to ensure you are ready for the process. You’ll get to ask any outstanding questions before your profile is shared with intended parents. 

Once your profile is listed on the platform, intended parents will be able to determine whether you are the right match for their family. The timeline for this varies. But, know that you’ll always be able to switch into Cofertility’s Keep program if you decide you don’t want to wait any longer to freeze your own eggs. 

AMH Testing

After your program call, you will complete a free AMH test, or Anti-Mullerian Hormone, at a local lab near you. Understanding your ovarian reserve through an AMH test is an important step for egg freezing and donation. Fertility doctors typically consider an AMH level above 2.0 ng/ml as a good indicator for egg donation, and this is the benchmark used at Cofertility. That's because this level suggests that a Split member is likely to respond well to fertility treatments and produce a sufficient number of eggs for both donation and personal use. This allows us to proceed with your egg retrieval process in a manner that is both safe and effective. If your AMH falls under this level, our team is here to help you find the best path forward in your egg freezing journey. 

Match with a family

Your profile will be listed on our platform for intended parents to view. Once you’ve been matched with intended parents, you’ll have a dedicated Member Advocate to walk you through next steps - and they’ll be with you throughout the entire journey! You will have the option to meet the intended parents - either in person or via Zoom - before moving forward with your screenings.

Donor screening

After you match with the intended parents, you will undergo a set of screenings. These could take place at your local clinic or at the intended parents’ fertility clinics. At Cofertility, we want to ensure the process is convenient and beneficial for both parties. If you do end up traveling, all expenses will be covered for you. 

The screenings are to ensure that you’re healthy enough to undergo the process. Doctors will screen genetic diseases to prevent anything from being passed along to the donor conceived child. 

Testing will include a physical screening based on FDA, ASRM, and other industry guidelines and standards. You’ll also complete blood work and have a vaginal ultrasound to indicate your ovarian reserve. Lastly, you’ll undergo a psychological evaluation to make sure you’re prepared for what lies ahead. Importantly, you’ll need to acknowledge that no one is coercing or forcing you to donate your eggs. 

Stimulation

If you get the green light, you’ll then move on to the phase known as stimulation, which lasts about 10-14 days. You will take injectable hormone medications to stimulate your ovaries to mature more eggs at once instead of the typical one egg that ovulates into your fallopian tube during your monthly cycle. This is all done under the supervision of a Reproductive Endocrinologist (REI).

The medications will be prescribed by a fertility specialist, but you will administer them at home. Either by yourself or with the help of a friend or partner, you’ll inject them under the skin or into a muscle. We know this sounds intimidating, but we have tons of helpful tutorials and materials to help guide you.

You’ll also need to set aside time to visit your fertility clinic every few days during this phase, where the doctor will perform ultrasounds and bloodwork to monitor how well your ovaries have been responding to the medication.

During stimulation, egg donors are asked to abstain from sexual activity or use condoms as your fertility will be higher during this time period.

Egg retrieval

When the doctor has determined you’re ready for the egg retrieval, you’ll undergo a short procedure to collect the eggs from your ovaries.  The doctor will insert an ultrasound probe into the vagina, then use a special needle to remove eggs from your ovaries. The retrieval typically lasts about half an hour and is performed by a fertility specialist transvaginally under anesthesia. It’s an outpatient procedure, meaning that you can go home that same day. Many women are able to return to work the next day.

Like with the screening, the retrieval may take place at either your or the intended parents’ clinic - in either case, we’ll make sure you have the support and care that you need. 

Storage and fertilization

At this point, half of the eggs will go to the family that you matched with. They will likely create embryos with sperm from the intended father and/or sperm donor. The embryos may be transferred to the intended mother or gestational carrier. 

As part of our Split program, the other half of the eggs are yours to freeze and keep. Your eggs will go directly to a reputable storage facility that specializes in storing frozen eggs. We cover the cost of those eggs to be frozen for 10 years. If and when you need those eggs, they can be sent to any clinic at any time.

What will I know about possible genetic offspring?

If any children are born from your donated eggs, the intended parents - not you - will be listed on the child’s birth certificate. 

If a donor-conceived child experiences a serious medical condition, you may need to provide us, the fertility clinic, or the intended parents with additional medical information.  Also, if new information comes up about your medical history, we need you to let us know. The intended parents are required to do the same with anything they learn about the donor conceived child. This is in everyone’s best interest so everyone can be made aware of unknown medical conditions which can occur. 

When you apply to the Split program, you’ll have the choice to indicate a desire for Disclosed or Undisclosed donation. 

• Disclosed: you’ll proactively share identifying information with the intended parents—though you don’t necessarily have to communicate. Studies have shown major benefits to known donation for any donor-conceived people. 
• Undisclosed: If you choose not to identify yourself to the intended parents, we won’t disclose your information to them (or vice versa) without your consent. 

Lastly, we note that with today’s widely available genetic tests, it is extremely difficult to guarantee anonymity. There have also been recent changes in some state laws that give donor-conceived children more access to information about their donors. This means that it’s possible that identity and shared genetics may be discovered or made more broadly available by law, even if you chose to be Undisclosed. 

Bottom line

Egg donation is a wonderful gift that you can give to intended parents hoping to grow their family. But we know that this is a big decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly. We hope that this overview provides a solid foundation that helps you feel confident navigating this process.