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Young women are becoming egg donors for numerous reasons, including as a way to help couple experiencing infertility difficulties and to be monetarily compensated. This page contains information about how to become an egg donor.

Background About Egg Donation

In the last few years, many articles have been written about younger women becoming egg donors. Here are some online articles:

• "Ova Time: Women Line Up To Donate Eggs -- for Money" - WSJ online, December 9, 2008
   
• "The Hunt for Golden Eggs: Young Women Donating Eggs" - Washingtonian.com, July 7, 2007
   
• "Dim economy drives women to donate eggs for profit" - CNN online, August 8, 2008

Where to Apply to Become an Egg Donor

1. IVF clinic: Many IVF clinics now have their own pools of egg donors, which they provide for prospective recipients. IHR.com has a list of IVF clinics.
    
2. Egg donor agency: Egg donor agencies maintain pools of qualified donors. IHR.com has a list of egg donor programs.

Typical Requirements to Become an Egg Donor

Every donor egg program has their own basic requirements to become and egg donor. Here are some typical requirements:

1. Between the ages of 21 and 29.
2. Be healthy, with no infectious diseases, including venereal diseases, and no inherited diseases.
3. Non-smokers only. No drug or alcohol addiction.
4. Not under tranquilizers or mood-stabilizing medication.
5. Able to make yourself available for all necessary appointments, including psychological evaluation, medical appointments at the IVF clinic or laboratories (or if from out of town, able to travel and stay for the medical appointments where the IVF clinic is located.)
6. Having a history of a past pregnancy, can be helpful, but is not typically required.

Some Background Information About Egg Donor Programs

1. Providing egg donors is a relatively new service and there are no licenses or degrees required to operate an egg donor program. There are no legal guidelines to determine what egg donor providers should, or shouldn't, be required to do when matching donors and recipients.
    
2. ASRM does offer a list of egg donor programs (PDF file) that have signed an agreement with the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) that states that they will abide by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) Ethics Committee Guidelines governing the payment of egg donors (PDF file). This information is self-reported and has not been verified by either ASRM or SART.
    
3. Much of the process of selecting an egg donor program is similar to selecting any professional service. You would want to know how long they have been in business and their background. Additionally, you would pay attention to whether they are adequately answering your questions and whether you feel comfortable with them.

Some Guidelines and Questions to Ask

Here is a sampling of some common guidelines and questions to ask that may make your process more effective.

Egg Donor Program Background Information

1. How long has the egg donor program been operating? This is an  especially important question for an egg donor agency. Has the agency been in business under the current name or under a different name?
    
2. How many donors has the agency matched with recipients in the last year?

Screening and Other Issues

Potential donors are typically screened on many levels, including psychological, financial, personal medical, and family medical.

1. In order to keep costs down, many donor programs conduct only basic initial screening for all donors. Then, after a recipient selects a particular donor, they provide additional donor screening for that donor. So, ask what kind of screening the program requires before and after donor selection.
    
2. If you don't have medical coverage, will the donor program help you find coverage?

Contract

1. What is the legal contract the donor program requires you to sign?
    
2. Are you required to work only with that program for any specific period of time?

Donor Payment and Fees

1. What is your compensation? Can you set your compensation or does the donor program only set your compensation?
2. How do you get paid?
3. Are there conditions about getting paid?
4. What is covered and what will you need to pay for?

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