What Is Egg Donation
Egg Donation Timelines
To help you set realistic expectations about you family-building timeline, we’ve outlined the steps and timing for in egg donation below.
Please keep in mind that the timeline may vary depending on individual circumstances, fertility clinic protocols, whether you are working with a fresh or frozen egg donor, and other factors that may arise.
Your fertility specialist will be able to give you more personalized guidance, but recipient parents can generally expect the embryo creation process to take around 2 to 3 months.
While some recipient parents will be fortunate enough to find an egg donor among their family members or friends, most will need to search through a database to discover their best match.
Everie’s fresh and frozen egg donors have been thoroughly screened based on genetic risk factors, physical and psychological health, and other qualifying factors such as age, minimum education level, and family medical history. We have a large, diverse pool of vibrant and healthy young women who would love to help you grow your family. For both frozen and fresh donations, you will mutually match with your egg donor.
Matching With an Egg Donor
Duration: Varies
To prepare for the egg retrieval procedure, the egg donor will give herself daily injections to stimulate her ovaries to produce multiple mature eggs.
Shortly before the egg retrieval procedure (usually 36 hours), the egg donor will receive a final “trigger shot” to stimulate the release of the eggs. For fresh donations, this timeline will be part of your process; for frozen donations, this step has already occured and will not contribute to your overall timeline.
Egg Retrieval Preparation
Duration: 1 to 2 months
Egg retrieval is a 20-to-30-minute outpatient procedure performed under mild sedation that uses ultrasound imaging to guide the fertility specialist in collecting the donor’s eggs.
Fresh egg donations will be fertilized the same day, while frozen eggs will be vitrified (“flash frozen”) for preservation. For fresh donations, this timeline will be part of your process; for frozen donations, this step has already occured and will not contribute to your overall timeline.
Egg Retrieval
Duration: 1 day
Fresh eggs are fertilized using conventional IVF methods and can immediately begin the embryo development process.
For frozen egg donations, the recipient parents decide when the eggs are thawed. Once the eggs are ready, they are fertilized via an IVF technique called ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) in which a needle is used to inject sperm directly into the egg. The fertilized eggs are then cultured over the next 5 days, with approximately 30% to 50% successfully developing into blastocysts. The embryologist may conduct pre-implantation genetic testing to assess chromosomal abnormalities and, if desired, determine the gender of each viable blastocyst. Typically, one blastocyst is selected for the embryo transfer procedure, and the rest are vitrified for future use should the recipient parents wish to expand their families further.
Fertilization and Embryo Development
Duration: 5 days
The embryo transfer procedure only takes 10 to 15 minutes and does not require sedation or anesthetic. However, the recipient parent (or gestational carrier) has been preparing her body to receive the embryo with daily medication for 1 to 2 weeks prior to the procedure.
The fertility specialist performs the transfer using ultrasound imaging. They determine the optimal placement for the blastocyst(s) and then inject it into the uterus.
Embryo Transfer
Duration: 1 day
Following the embryo transfer, the recipient parent (or gestational carrier) will continue to take medication to support the implantation process. During this period, the blastocyst will develop into a full embryo and implant in the uterine wall. Then begins what is known in fertility communities as “the two-week wait” until testing is performed.
The egg recipient will take a blood test (BETA test) —usually after 9 days—to confirm whether the implantation has been successful. High levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) will indicate a pregnancy.
Post-Embryo Transfer Waiting Period
Duration: 10 to 14 days
Get Started With Everie
Our expert, empathetic team has been a leader in the fertility and assisted reproduction space for over 25 years. We created Everie to offer recipient parents, egg donors, and the individuals they help create a more transparent and intentional process—a solution to the impersonal “black box” that often characterizes today’s egg banks and donor agencies.
Navigating the egg donation process can be complicated, involving many legal considerations, medical procedures, travel coordination, and heightened emotions. Everie will be with you every step of the way to guide and advise you—from the moment you sign up to long after your newest family member has grown.
Fresh vs. Frozen Donor Eggs
Egg donation presents you with two options to grow your family: fresh or frozen egg donation cycles.
Each donation type has its own considerations, ranging from cost to timing and egg quantity. We’re here to provide as much information as possible to help you make an informed decision in your family planning journey.
Fresh Egg Donation
In this egg donation process, the eggs are retrieved, fertilized, and then developed into undifferentiated embryo cells called blastocysts.
The egg donor and recipient parent (or gestational carrier) may use medication to synchronize their fertility cycles so that once the blastocysts are ready, one can be implanted into their uterine lining to begin pregnancy. Alternatively, the fertilized eggs can be cryogenically preserved for transfer at a later date.
Frozen Egg Donation
An egg donor will have an egg retrieval, and her eggs are then frozen in smaller numbers, often referred to as cohorts or lots. An egg donation may result in multiple cohorts from one donor that can be utilized by different recipient parents in the creation of their embryos.
Recipient parents then match with a donor and her cohort of eggs are thawed, fertilized, and developed into blastocysts for embryo transfer.
Which Egg Donation Type Is Right for Me?
Traditionally, recipient parents were limited to working with either an egg bank (frozen eggs) or an egg donor agency (fresh eggs) — each with their own set of considerations.
Conventional egg banks offer flexibility but are less personal and more transactional. Recipient parents will view egg donors on a database, select a donor who has available eggs, and secure those eggs to create embryos without giving the donor a choice as to where her eggs go.
Typical egg donor agencies offering fresh donation cycles provide a greater human connection but require precise coordination within a very tight window and carry a much higher cost.
Timing and flexibility
We encourage our recipient parents to consider their current situation: How much flexibility do you have in your schedules? Are you able to utilize insurance benefits within a certain timeline? Do you have expectations for when a pregnancy or birth is possible?
Cost
Finances will also play an important role in this decision. Fresh eggs can cost up to four times more than frozen egg donations. In fresh donation cycles recipient parents will also need to factor in their egg donor’s travel and medical costs for the egg retrieval procedure.
Quality
With frozen donations, eggs can be preserved at a very high quality and have a very high success rate. However, some recipient parents may feel that fresh egg donation cycles will give them their best, highest chances at bringing home a baby.
Quantity
Frozen eggs are generally acquired in small batches (usually 6 eggs at a time). In comparison, recipient parents get all the eggs a fresh egg donor produces in that donation cycle (10 to 20+ eggs on average). A large number of eggs provides recipient parents and fertility clinics more options when evaluating the number of embryos and embryo quality.
Everie supports each parent’s unique path to parenthood. Whether you pursue fresh or frozen egg donation cycles, you will have the same access to our industry-leading expertise, our trained, compassionate team members, and our unwavering commitment to creating the best outcomes for you, your egg donor, and your children.
Below are factors to consider when choosing a fresh or frozen egg donation cycle to grow your family.
With Everie, our recipient parents get a modern, inclusive approach that encompasses both egg donation cycle options.
Do you want to establish a relationship with your donor from the very beginning or let your children pursue it on their own when they come of age? What happens if your children want to explore their origins, but your donor has chosen not to disclose her identity?
All these questions and more will help shape your decision. From the most amount of disclosure to the least, the donation types available to you are:
Considerations: If a donor chooses De-Identified egg donation, we will still uphold our Mutual Matching™ process. We may still collect relevant medical information from your donor to support your children’s health and well-being. Similarly, if she wishes to become more known to you and your children in the future, she has the ability to do so, though it will be up to you if – or how – you would like to contact or learn more about her.
While no egg donation is truly “anonymous,” Everie will uphold a de-identified egg donor’s right to privacy. In this type of donation, the donor chooses not to share her identity or contact information with the recipient parents or any donor-conceived children that her eggs may produce.
De-Identified Egg Donation
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This disclosure can only happen when the following conditions are met: the children are of legal age, and they request the information through formal channels (through Everie and/or EDC Nexus, an online registry that connects donors, parents, and their donor-conceived children). Considerations: this type of donation allows your future child(ren) the opportunity to learn about themselves should they choose to explore their origin.
ID Release egg donation provides a small amount of information-sharing than de-identified egg donation. This type of donation keeps the egg donor’s and recipient parents’ identities confidential from each other but allows information to be released to any children conceived from the donor’s eggs.
ID Release Egg Donation
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Considerations: As part of known and semi-known egg donation, both parties will enter into a legal agreement that establishes the parental rights and responsibilities of the recipient parents.
In semi-known egg donation, both parties are willing to meet (virtually or physically) but choose to limit which parts of their identities are disclosed. You may not know your donor’s last name, for example, and contact details are not exchanged.
Semi-Known Egg Donation
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Everie promotes known egg donation as the standard for intentional, informed, and inclusive decision-making during our mutual match process. In choosing transparency, the egg donor empowers meaningful connections with the recipient parents, allowing both parties to move confidently and enthusiastically forward in their shared fertility journey. More than that, known egg donation champions a future where donor-conceived children not only know their origins but proudly celebrate their family’s unique story—and all the kind, compassionate people who contributed to it. Considerations: You will have the opportunity to provide your future child(ren) with an open door to their beginning and to learn about the woman who helped you build your family, as well as allow yourself to create a meaningful relationship with your donor.
Known Egg Donation
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This type of egg donation welcomes an active, ongoing relationship between the egg donor, the recipient parents, and any children they may create together.
A known egg donor chooses to disclose her full identity and contact information. In addition to meeting with the family she is helping to grow, she is open to cultivating a relationship with them.
Which Type of Egg Donation Is Right for Me?
Although every type of egg donation can bring you closer to parenthood, each one has its own implications to consider.
A child knowing (or not knowing) their origins can significantly impact their sense of identity, and having a complete picture of your child’s genetic information and biological medical history may factor heavily into your decision.
Meeting an egg donor will bring her to life in a way that her written profile can’t. It can even help you see what a child you create together may look and sound like. Plus, hearing from a donor what brought her to the decision to donate her eggs is a meaningful way to find the right match.
However, not every recipient parent may be comfortable navigating a long-term relationship with their egg donor or may prefer to keep the focus on nurturing their own family dynamic. Others may want to keep their egg donor in more of an abstract, free from any preconceptions that could influence how they imagine their child might be.
Everie offers four types of egg donation to suit every preference and comfort level. Matters of identity — both your egg donor’s and your children’s — are important factors to consider.
Do Parents and Donors Have To Want The Same Type of Egg Donation?
Mutual Matching™ empowers donors and parents alike to pursue an informed partnership with one another.
Both sides are given a choice in this pivotal decision, granting egg donors autonomy over where their eggs will go and how much of their identity they are comfortable sharing, both now and in the future.
The donor’s disclosure status can help you filter through candidates to find the level of familiarity that is right for you. Most of our egg donors are willing to be known, though some may be flexible regarding information release and contact based on the recipient parents’ preferences.
Although we encourage Known donations, we know that for some families, another option may be the better fit. Whichever donation option you choose, you can count on the same level of care and support from our team.
The egg donor gets to say “yes” to being part of your family building, and you get to say “yes” to her contributing half of your child’s biology as well. Only when both parties are confident moving forward together can the process continue.
Everie’s experienced, empathetic team is here to guide and support you through every type of egg donation.
Mutual Matching™ is more than simply agreeing on identity disclosure. It’s about the egg donors and recipient parents consciously choosing one another.
Types of Egg Donation
In addition to offering fresh and frozen egg donations, Everie enables recipient parents to define how much contact they want with their egg donor (and vice versa). This alignment regarding a donor's identity and shared enthusiasm to work together forms the basis of our Mutual Match™ process.
Egg donation helps people become parents when they don't have their own viable eggs. This assisted reproductive technique involves removing some of a woman's eggs from her body during a minor outpatient procedure and using them to create an embryo that is placed in another woman's body.
The eggs can be fertilized right away (fresh) or frozen for a later date. The egg donor has control over the level of information disclosed about her with the following types of donations: known, semi-known, ID release, and de-identified. Continue reading to learn more.
