12 Common Egg Donation Disqualifiers to Know Before Applying

Giving the gift of parenthood to others through egg donation is an enriching journey. Of course, it’s a journey that takes a serious time commitment, so ensuring you understand the requirements and potential disqualifiers is critical. The World Egg and Sperm Bank is committed to delivering the highest quality donor gametes to intended parents. Here are a few common egg donation disqualifiers to understand before you begin the process of applying to become a donor.

 

Physical Health Disqualifiers

Donors will be evaluated and screened for all of these potential disqualifying physical health issues as part of the comprehensive process. Maintaining your best health will help avoid disqualification, but it is wise to ensure your good health extends beyond these general physical standards.

 

1. BMI Outside Required Range

It’s important to remember that becoming an egg donor is an elective procedure. Since the use of twilight sedation is administered, The World Egg and Sperm Bank asks that donors have a BMI between 18 and 32. This is for the safety of the donor as well as the clinical staff.

 

2. Smoking, Tobacco, and Drug Use

Smoking, tobacco products, and drugs can damage the genetic material in eggs, reducing quality due to the chemicals they contain. Nicotine and carbon monoxide from smoking can speed up how quickly eggs are lost in the menstrual cycle, which creates poorer outcomes during retrieval.

For all women, there are a finite number of eggs their body carries. Once the eggs die, they are lost permanently and cannot be replaced or reproduced.

 

3. Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)

At The World Egg and Sperm Bank, we adhere to the highest safety and quality standards. During the screening process, we meet FDA regulations when testing for the presence of sexually transmitted diseases. Items such as Hepatitis B, C, and other STDs have the potential to be transmitted during egg donation and are disqualifiers for this reason. Should you test positive, it may result in the delay or disqualification of your donation.

 

4. Inheritable Genetic Disorders

Another disqualifying physical health factor is the presence of inheritable genetic disorders. Get ahead of the potential for disqualification by understanding the detailed medical history of your biological family.

Obtaining all of this information and undergoing genetic screenings may feel intimidating for donors. Still, it is important to know that typically, gene mutations that do show up on the screening are only problematic if the matched recipient shares the same mutation.

 

Mental Health Disqualifiers

A clean mental health history is another critical factor in qualifying for egg donation. The presence of specific mental health conditions or a history thereof will disqualify applicants from successfully becoming donors.

A psychological evaluation is the standard established by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). This is to protect the welfare and safety of egg donors and ensure the highest quality donor eggs are available to intended parents.

A psychologist will thoroughly evaluate each applicant’s mental health. Additionally, they will ensure the donor fully understands the scope and potential impact of the decision to donate eggs.

Here are some of the factors evaluated during the mental health screening process.

 

5. Motivation to Donate

Why are you interested in donating your eggs? Psychologists want to ensure there is no evidence of coercion, whether it is financial or emotional. Egg donation by force is non-consensual and, therefore, automatically disqualifies a potential donor.

 

6. Current Mental Stability

Donors will be required to take injectable hormone medications for 10-14 days that could result in mood changes. These changes are generally mild for individuals in good mental health. However, those with extreme emotional instability may suffer from severe mood swings.

Certain psychological and mental health conditions may interfere with one’s ability to take these medications and disqualify the candidate from becoming an egg donor.

 

7. Understanding Potential Complexities of Egg Donation

A candidate who is unable to handle the potential short and long-term complexities of egg donation in a healthy manner is likely to be disqualified from egg donation.

Situations like outreach attempts from the future biological offspring are possible, along with the loss of donor anonymity. Additionally, recipient matching may not directly consider the donor’s preferences.

Egg donation is a complex and lengthy process with a chance of short-term or long-term emotional or physical effects. In accordance with ASRM guidelines and The World Egg and Sperm Bank’s strict quality standards, egg donors are thoroughly educated about these potential implications. They must be confident in the decision to remain qualified.

 

8. Identifying Egg Donation Disqualifiers

Lastly, some mental and behavioral health issues are genetic and can be passed onto offspring through egg donation.

As such, the presence or history of the following could disqualify you:

• Bipolar disorder
• Schizophrenia
• Schizoaffective disorder
• Major depression

Failure to meet the demographic and health requirements puts the donor and recipient at significant risk. Strict quality standards help ensure a successful outcome for all.

 

Other Egg Donation Disqualifiers

9. Age

Not all egg banks share the same age requirement standards for donors. While the official minimum age is 18, the maximum age for donation may vary.

Unfortunately, as women age, the likelihood of passing on health concerns increases. The World Egg and Sperm Bank requires all donors to be between 18 and 32 years old. This age range helps us ensure the highest level of egg quality.

 

10. Birth Control

Birth control medications are not an immediate disqualifier for egg donation. Most donors manage their fertility with birth control, and generally, there is no impact on the quality or ability to donate. Donors are placed on an oral birth control roughly 3-6 weeks prior to donation to help regulate their cycle and time it to their retrieval.

It is important to note that certain birth control types, including Depo-Provera and Implanon/Nexplanon, will need to be discontinued. After two normal periods off these medications, you can begin the screening process.

 

11. Donation Limit

Past egg donors must diligently track the number of times they have donated eggs. There is a strict lifetime limit of six donation cycles to ensure the health and safety of donors.

If an individual has completed 6 donations, they have met their lifetime limit and will be disqualified from future donations. This limit is not clinic specific, so whether donations occurred at one clinic or multiple, the maximum is six total donations.

 

12. Time Commitment

The last major disqualifier is for those unable to commit to the lengthy process. Unlike other medical donation processes, egg donation is not a simple in-and-out, low-involvement procedure. It requires consistent engagement from the donor, and all donors must fully understand the entire process and commitment before beginning.

Egg donation involves numerous steps and takes two to four months to complete. The donation process also demands in-person clinic visits, for which the candidate will need reliable transportation.

 

Start Your Egg Donation Journey Today

The desire to help others form a family through egg donation is a wonderful and fulfilling action that motivates many egg donors to apply. However, meeting all necessary donation requirements is a crucial factor in protecting the egg donor’s health and the quality of their donated gametes. Knowing the egg donation qualifications and potential egg donation disqualifiers will help ensure the donation process is smooth and successful.

If you have any questions about the requirements to become a donor or the egg donation disqualifiers at The World Egg and Sperm Bank, reach out to us today to learn more. We put the health and comfort of our donors first, and we’re here for you every step of the way.

 

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