Egg Donation for Intended Parents
FAQs About The Egg Donation Process
Look for a donor who aligns with your values and family goals. Your ideal donor will have the same disclosure preferences as you and check off your prioritized criteria. You can see photos and videos of our donors and learn about their medical and family history, education, interests, and more.
If your IVF clinic does third-party egg donation, then yes. Otherwise, Everie can help set you up with an IVF clinic that is convenient for you and collaborate with them throughout the entire process.
Yes, in a fresh donation cycle, your egg donor must travel at least twice during the donation process. These trips will be to your IVF clinic, where she will first undergo medical screening and then the actual egg retrieval process. You will be responsible for her travel expenses, including her meals, but don’t worry! We will help coordinate all her travel plans!
Choosing the Right Egg Donor: Characteristics to Consider
Selecting an egg donor is one of the most meaningful steps in your family-building journey. The woman you choose will contribute half of your future child’s genetic makeup, making this a decision that’s both emotional and deeply personal.
Consider what matters most to you. Here are some criteria to consider:
Genetic compatibility
Mental health
Medical & family history
Physical traits or ethnicity
Shared values
Donor type and desired relationship
Personality
Finding Your Ideal Egg Donor
Once you begin your journey as a recipient parent with Everie, you will receive guidance from us on identifying ideal, potential donor matches in our database after outlining your criteria. Defining the qualities most important to you when considering your future child(ren) is a vital step in the egg donor selection process. After all, your donor will be contributing to half of your child’s biology.
Below is a list of topics to consider when defining your egg donor criteria. We provide accompanying questions for each item here to help you dive deeper and expand on the topics as you see fit.
Health and Genetics
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Reviewing an egg donor’s medical and genetic history early can help avoid mismatches, especially if you're a carrier for conditions like cystic fibrosis. Testing occurs before matching.
Physical Attributes
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Photos of egg donors—past or present—can help envision your future child. Some recipient parents seek physical resemblance, while others prioritize specific ethnic or physical traits.
Personality and Interests
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Don’t forget the woman behind the profile. What are her talents, special interests, demeanor, and mannerisms? Meeting a donor—via video or in person—can reveal personality, presence, and shared connection.
Education and Intelligence
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You decide how much emphasis to put on your donor’s educational background. For instance, there might be a level of education you look for or a type of intelligence they gravitate toward—logical, naturalistic, mathematical, etc.
Culture and Ethnicity
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You will share your culture with your child. Consider your egg donor’s ethnicity—if it is the same or different from yours—as well as cultural traditions and values.
Religion and Personal Values
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Beyond genetics, traits like religion and values shape identity. While not inherited, they’re worth considering when reviewing donor profiles.
Location
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While most donors can travel to your clinic, selecting an egg donor who resides closer to your IVF clinic can be economically beneficial.
Donor Experience
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Think about whether you prefer an experienced or first-time donor. Experience can mean proven results and predictability, while first-time donors may offer other meaningful qualities.
How Much Does Egg Donation Cost?
Donor egg costs typically range from $46,000 to $91,000. Once you select an egg donor, we will create a customized cost sheet for you to review before confirming your egg donor match.
Another element to consider is the medical costs for the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process. You can request these costs directly from your IVF clinic. If you are not yet working with a clinic, we would be happy to give you an estimate of these costs and can refer you to a fertility specialist.
The Egg Donation Process for Intended Parents
The egg donation process is carefully designed to protect your comfort and ensure the best possible outcome. This overview will help you see how science, compassion, and careful planning factor into each memorable step of your journey.
Egg Donation Step-by-Step
For intended parents, the egg donation process will go something like this:
Step 1
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Create your account to view and save egg donor profiles.
Step 2
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Review egg donor profiles to learn more about each egg donor.
Step 3
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Contact us with any questions as you search for an egg donor.
Step 4
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Choose your egg donor: When you find the perfect egg donor, simply click the “Reserve this Donor” button on their profile, and your donor will be placed on hold.
Step 5
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Confirm your match: After you confirm your egg donor selection, our team will send the donor’s records to your IVF clinic for your physician’s review and approval.
While each person’s journey to parenthood is unique to them, we make sure the process is as smooth as possible and that you are confident about what comes next.
The Medical Process for Intended Parents
As an intended or recipient parent, understanding the medical process can help you feel more informed and confident as you grow your family-to-be.
What Happens During IVF?
Using an egg donor for in vitro fertilization (IVF) opens additional possibilities for recipient parents to grow their families. How does the process work?
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Egg Retrieval: Your egg donor will take fertility medications to stimulate the production of multiple eggs. She will then undergo a short ultrasound-guided egg retrieval procedure.
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IVF: The donor's eggs are fertilized in your clinic’s laboratory and developed to the blastocyst stage over the course of 5 to 7 days. The eggs can be fertilized by either the conventional insemination method or a specialized approach called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
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Embryo Transfer: Once viable blastocyst(s) are identified, the embryo transfer can take place. In this procedure, the blastocyst is gently placed into your, your partner’s, or your surrogate’s uterus with the hope it will implant and begin a pregnancy. After the transfer, an ongoing prescribed medications regimen continues.
Depending on your clinic, a blood test will be taken about one week later and another two weeks later to confirm whether the implantation was successful.
Choosing Your Egg Donor
Choosing your egg donor is the exciting first step in shaping your family-building journey. After all, your donor will contribute half of your future child’s genetics — and we’re here to help answer the questions that matter most.
Why Use Donor Eggs?
People choose egg donation to grow their families for many deeply personal reasons, including:
Reducing the risk of passing on a genetic condition
Facing infertility challenges
Medical issues that make it challenging to produce healthy eggs or sustain a pregnancy
Building a family as a same-sex male couple or single man
What is Egg Donation?
Egg donation is an assisted reproductive technique that allows individuals or couples to grow their families with the help of a generous, carefully screened donor. During a minimally invasive procedure, a donor’s eggs are retrieved and then used in fertility treatments to help hopeful parents—like you—achieve pregnancy.