We truly appreciate what a wonderful thing you are considering doing to help someone have the family they so much desire. We are committed to making the egg donation process as rewarding and enjoyable an experience for you as possible. We will be available to assist you throughout the entire matching and egg donor cycle and will take the time to explain what is involved with an egg donor cycle and answer any questions that you may have.

Egg donation can be a great option for infertile couples, gay couples and others to become the parents that they have longed to be. Many of the couples that we work with have struggled through years of infertility treatments. Sometimes such treatments are successful resulting in a pregnancy. A significant number of people are not so fortunate. Others find that they are initially able to get pregnant naturally or through treatment and then are unable to get pregnant to have a second child. What all people considering egg donation have in common is strong desire to have a family or to add to their family. They all are so grateful that there are women willing to donate eggs to help create a child that will be so wanted and loved.

Why Work With Us? Because we have been matching donors with intended parents since 1999, we have the experience to know what is most important to donors and intended parents. In addition:

• We have a waiting list of clients looking to be matched with a donor
  
  
• Your profile and photographs will only be able to be viewed by potential intended parents through a password protected database or in our office
  
  
• We have built a solid reputation through hard work and by treating clients and donors fairly
  
  
• We allow donors to set their own fees, provided that the fees comply with the American Society for Reproductive Medicine guidelines
  
  
• We can put donors in touch with women who have donated previously so you can ask questions to someone who has been through the egg donor process
  
  
• We allow direct contact between the donors and the intended parents (provided both parties agree to such contact)
  
  
• We provide donors with significant information about the couple with who she will work and encourage donors to ask questions about the couple so that donors feel very comfortable about the intended parents with whom she will be working.
  
  

The Egg Donation Process - Egg donation is done through an In Vitro Fertilization ("IVF") procedure whereby a donor's ovaries are stimulated with hormone stimulation medications to have the donor produce multiple eggs. The eggs are removed from the donor's ovaries by placing a needle and ultrasound probe through the donor's vagina. Although the donor will receive general anesthesia for the minor surgical procedure, there will not be any surgical incision. Once the eggs are removed, they are fertilized with sperm from the intended father or a sperm donor, and a number of the resulting embryos are then transferred to the uterus of the intended mother or a gestational carrier. Most fertility clinics require donors to inject themselves or have a partner, family member or friend administer the injections. Also, most clinics now use subcutaneous (just under the skin, i.e., short) needles for the hormone stimulation injections. Women who are afraid of needles or unwilling to have such injections should not become egg donors.

After being matched with intended parents, donors will be medically and psychologically screened by the fertility clinic with which the intended parents are working. While the screening process varies slightly from clinic to clinic, donors usually complete a medical questionnaire, undergo an in person medical and psychological evaluation, and receive medication training. Donors usually will meet the intended parents' IVF physician, a nurse, and a mental health professional. Donors should use this consultation appointment to ensure that they receive answers to all of their medical and psychological questions regarding the egg donation process.

However, we understand that you may have questions about the IVF process before you can decide whether to become a donor. While questions of a medical nature must, of course, be directed to an appropriate medical provider, you can find more information about the medical aspects of egg donation from various fertility websites. Some websites that we believe provide a good overview of the IVF cycle process include:

This website has a good discussion of the IVF cycle process and includes a video that shows a day by day animation of a woman's cycle while undergoing an IVF cycle. You should also click on the link to in vitro fertilization (IVF) which provides a good description of the IVF process.
Click Here for Web Site

Fertility Journey

This website has many great resources. The link to in vitro fertilization (IVF) provides a detailed discussion of how the IVF process works, including the egg retrieval process. This site also includes information about different medications that are typically administered to egg donors as part of the IVF cycle. Just follow the various links to in vitro fertilization, benefits and risks, and drug therapies (paying particular attention to the link for gonadotropins, as these are the medications used to stimulate a donor's ovaries during an egg donor cycle). The link to Fertility Guidebooks also has a lot of very useful information. The most relevant of these guidebooks are Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Oocyte Donation.
Click Here for Web Site

In addition, many of the fertility clinics that our clients work with most often have their own websites that provide information about the IVF process. These include:

Boston IVF's Egg Donor Handbook has a lot of information regarding the egg donation process.
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Reproductive Science Center's website has information about various aspects of Assisted Reproductive Technology techniques. You should visit both the link to Egg Donors and In Vitro Fertilization.
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The Center for Reproductive Medicine at the Brigham & Women's Hospital's website has very detailed information and videos about the egg donor process. You should click the link for Patient Resources. On the next page, you should be sure to read the link to In Vitro Fertilization Information on the right side of the page, as well as the link to the video: Therapy Instructions for Donor Egg IVF Cycle - Introduction.
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The Massachusetts General Hospital Website has some very good information about infertility treatments, including IVF and donor egg.
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The Fertility Centers of New England website also provides some good information about their services including IVF and donor egg.
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Cardone Reproductive Medicine & Infertility's websites includes information about their program, including the IVF cycle and egg donation.
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Becoming a Donor Through Our Program and the Matching Process -

To become a donor through our program, you must be:

• between the ages of 21 and 32,
  
  
• in good overall health
  
  
• and have a family medical history without any significant genetic illnesses.

Women of all ethnic and educational backgrounds are encouraged to submit an application. Prior donors are strongly encouraged to participate in our program. While we are based in Massachusetts and therefore many of our clients are from the New England area, we work with clients from all over the United States and many foreign countries. Accordingly, we usually are able to match donors from all areas in a short amount of time.

The process of matching donors with intended parents begins with donors completing a short initial egg donor application. After we review your application, we will contact you to discuss the egg donation process in greater detail and answer any questions that you may have. We also will send you a more extensive egg donor questionnaire. Intended parents often are looking for a donor who has similar physical features, ethnic background, and educational background to the intended mother. Because there are all different kinds of intended parents, again we encourage women of all ethnic and educational backgrounds to apply to our program.

Unlike many other agencies, we will provide you with a copy of the intended parents' profile so that you will know some background information about the couple you will work with. You are able and even encouraged to ask questions about the intended parents so that you will feel very comfortable about the couple you have been matched with. We are very open to doing known or semi-known donations if both the donor and the intended parents are agreeable. However, the vast majority of egg donor matches that we have done have been anonymous. If the match is anonymous, we are committed to maintaining the anonymity of the parties.

Legal Issues - Once matched with intended parents, donors will be referred to an independent attorney who will review the Egg Donor Agreement with them. Donors are free to request any changes to the agreement to make them comfortable with the process. Fees for the donor's attorney are paid by the Intended Parents.

Donor Fees and Expenses - The standard donor fee for donors in Massachusetts is between $4,000 and $6,000. However, we allow donors to set their own requested fee. Donors are encouraged to contact us to inquire about fees in excess of the standard fee as we recognize that the standard fee may not be appropriate in all instances. Certainly, the higher the requested fee, the more difficult it will be to match a donor with prospective Intended parents.

Donors typically are reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the egg donor cycle, including travel expenses, if necessary. You will be provided with a schedule of standard expenses with the Egg Donor Questionnaire.

The donor's fee and expenses will be paid within 5 business days of the retrieval. Typically, checks are sent to the donor immediately after we confirm that the retrieval has occurred.

Click Here to Complete Initial Donor Application

Please contact us for more information.