Becoming a Donor: General Information

> Basic requirements and guidelines for egg donors
> Reasons to donate
> Steps in the donation process
> Time required
> Confidentiality


   



Basic requirements and guidelines for egg donors

n egg donor must be between the ages of 21 and 32. She must be in good health, both mentally and physically, with a weight that is appropriate for her height and with a family history free of genetic and/or psychological illness. Upon deciding to participate in the donation process, she must have clear resolve and motivation. Donors may be married, although this may make them inappropriate for recipients who are more observant of Jewish religious law. Donors do not have to be U.S. citizens.

Donors must be willing and able to:

• Attend early morning blood tests
• Be on time for all appointments
• Follow instructions for timing and doses of medications
• Self-administer injections, or have a trusted friend or relative administer them
• Refrain from sexual intercourse during the cycle
• Refrain from using any recreational drugs
• Donate all eggs that result from the cycle

Some additional desirable attributes include:

• advanced education, or family with advanced education
• non-smoker
• previous successful egg donation or previous pregnancy
• fluent english

   



Reasons to donate

Donors experience the fulfillment that accompanies helping a recipient to have a child. Many women find that they cannot or should not become pregnant with their own eggs. This can happen for a number of reasons, such as illness, age, a condition from birth or the risk of passing on genetic illness. In such circumstances, those who wish to become pregnant must rely on the generosity and compassion of others willing to donate. Donation allows the recipient mother to become pregnant, give birth and breastfeed a child who is, in most cases, genetically related to the recipient father.

     Since the process of donation requires the donor to make complex personal decisions and to take daily injections for a period of around two weeks, she is compensated by a predetermined amount for her sacrifice. The amount of this compensation is $11,000.

     As part of the screening process, potential donors receive medical, genetic and psychological examinations and evaluations. The results of the screening can give you peace of mind, or allow you to address issues that might otherwise go undiscovered.

   



Steps in the donation process

Throughout the following steps, NY LifeSpring LLC founder Ruth Tavor, who is fluent in Hebrew and English, personally communicates with every donor, explaining the process and either answering questions or directing them to the appropriate professionals. She is compassionate and dedicated to both donors and recipients.

Pre-screening

     The first step for potential donors at NY LifeSpring LLC is a pre-screening, consisting of an interview, a 3-page questionnaire and a review of photographs that can be shown to prospective recipients. It is called a pre-screening because the results are used to determine if a potential donor should be considered for the actual screening, which includes medical, genetic and psychological tests. It is also used to select appropriate potential matching recipients when specific criteria such as eye color, hair color and height are deemed important.

Matching

     Once a potential donor has passed the pre-screening, her information and photographs are offered to appropriate recipients for their consideration. Of course, since recipients each have their own personal concerns and physical attributes, not every potential donor will be matched, even though she may have many positive attributes. Once the donor has been matched, NY LifeSpring LLC's role is restricted to that of coordination and scheduling liaison between the donor, recipients and fertility clinic.

Blood test

     When a potential donor is matched with a recipient, a blood test is administered on a certain day of her menstrual cycle to determine if she should continue on to the psychological exam.

Psychological examination

     Once a potential donor passes the initial blood test, she is given a psychological exam to determine if she is making a well informed, mature decision. At this stage of the process, potential donors should be clear of purpose and emotionally unconflicted.

Medical and genetic tests

     The last step of the screening process comprises the medical and genetic exams. If the donor passes them both, she is cleared to begin her injections at the appropriate time.

Injections and monitoring

     For approximately 10 to 14 days, the donor is stimulated with hormone injections to cause more eggs than usual to mature. Normally, most of these eggs would remain undeveloped and be flushed out during the donor's next period. During this stimulation phase, the donor is monitored with ultrasound exams and blood tests. At the appropriate time, a final injection is scheduled to prepare for retrieval. After receiving instruction from a nurse at the hospital or clinic, the donor generally injects herself, or enlists the assistance of a friend or relative.

Retrieval

     A certain amount of time after the last injection, the doctors sedate the donor and retrieve the eggs. On the day of retrieval, after it takes place, the donor is compensated.

   



Time required

Once a donor is matched with a recipient, screening can begin three days after the donor's next period. From that first day of screening, it will usually be about 2 months until the day the eggs are retrieved. The screening is generally scheduled on several days at the beginning of the two months, then there are a couple of weeks of waiting for the results. Next, assuming the tests indicate the donor may proceed, there are 10 to 14 days of injections, with retrieval occurring a day or so after the the end of that 10 day period.

   



Confidentiality

By default, the donor's identity is kept confidential. Any information that directly identifies her is withheld from the recipients, who are instead given the reference number assigned to her by NY LifeSpring LLC. However, the recipients do see the donor's photographs, medical history, genetic history and physical description.