If you want to assist a couple who struggles to start a family, one key way to help them conceive is by donating eggs. At The World Egg and Sperm Bank, we appreciate our egg donors and want them to know the key role they play in helping couples have a child. For those who are considering this process, you’ll need to meet a few requirements before you can get started. While specific requirements to donate eggs may vary between facilities, here is what you can expect through our facility.
14 Requirements to Donate Eggs
Demographic Requirements
As part of the egg donation process, we are only able to accept women who meet demographic requirements such as age and residency. Egg donors should be:
- Between the ages of 18 and 32: As you get older, it is more likely that eggs will carry the risk of genetic disorders. This is why we require that our egg donors be younger than age 32.
- Must hold a Permanent Residency in either the United States or Canada along with corresponding official Government issued ID
Physical Health Requirements
Women who meet the basic demographic requirements to donate eggs still have physical health requirements to meet before they qualify for egg donation. Some of the most important stipulations regarding your physical health include:
- Must be a non-smoker: The chemicals found in cigarettes such as nicotine and carbon monoxide can cause eggs to die faster, contributing to poorer outcomes during egg retrieval. Plus, it can have a negative impact on egg quality.
- No alcohol and/or drug abuse and addiction: While alcohol may be fine in moderation during the egg donation process, drug and alcohol abuse can lower the quality of the egg and may affect the health of the future embryo.
- Healthy body mass index (BMI): Body mass index is an important criterion for egg donation for your own safety. It ensures that you will have a lower risk of complications resulting from the sedation during egg retrieval.
- Must pass STD screening: Some sexually-transmitted diseases like hepatitis B and C can actually be transmitted through your egg donation. If you test positive for these and other STDs, it could disqualify you from becoming an egg donor.
Mental Health Requirements
While many women focus on the physical aspects of their egg donation, psychological health is just as important. As a result, we require our egg donors to undergo a psychological screening to ensure that they understand the process, what it means for them, and to assess them for mental health concerns that could impact the process.
The steps required to ensure mental health include:
- Passing an evaluation with a psychologist: They will evaluate you to make sure that you are mentally stable enough for the process and are fully aware of the decision you are making to donate your eggs.
- Complete a questionnaire based on mental disorders: In a one-hour consultation with a psychologist, you will fill out a detailed questionnaire assessing you for mental disorders that could disqualify you from donating eggs.
Medical History Requirements
As you might imagine, it is crucial to know how your medical history will impact an unborn child conceived with your donated eggs. Here is what you need to know about medical history in relation to your desire to donate eggs:
- Must provide good knowledge of medical and genetic history of family members up to biological grandparents: Even if you are adopted, you must still know this information to be considered for egg donation. In order to help families conceive healthy babies, we have to know if they are at risk for developing certain conditions.
- Pass genetic testing: In addition to knowing detailed information about your biological family, we will also send you for a genetic testing to screen for gene mutations. This is often scary for our donors, but you don’t have to worry too much. Typically, mutations that show up will only be problematic if you are matched to conceive with someone who has the same mutation.
- Birth control: If you are on certain types of birth control such as Depo-Provera, Implanon, or Nexplanon, you are not eligible to donate eggs. If you are on other types of birth control, you will be eligible to donate.
Personal Comfort Requirements
While we go in-depth to make sure that you are healthy both physically and mentally, there are other requirements to donate eggs that you should consider before signing up for egg donation. Namely, you must be aware that you will be sacrificing some of your personal comfort in order to see this process through to its completion.
A few of the requirements to consider before signing up include:
- Willingness to administer medication by injection: Leading up to your egg donation, you will need to self-administer medications via subcutaneous injections with a very small needle. Many women struggle with this, so make sure that you are okay with administering these injections.
- Time commitments: Donating eggs is not simply a quick trip to the doctor. Instead, it is a process that can take some time to see through to completion. Most women see that the first donation will take an average of two to four months from start to finish to account for the physical health requirements and mental health requirements. Subsequent donations go faster with an average of one to two months.
- Make sure you want this: While we appreciate all of our egg donors, we want to be sure that you truly want this. At no point during the process should you feel pressured to see it through to completion. If you hesitate at any of these requirements, you should stop to consider whether this is the right fit for you.
Register to Be an Egg Donor
Donating eggs is a miraculous and wonderful way to help people conceive a child when they struggle with infertility. However, it is a lot of work on the part of the egg donor and requires a real commitment to see the process through.
The World Egg and Sperm Bank is here to answer any questions you might have. We’ll guide you through the process, from the first phone call to the retrieval of your eggs. To learn more about the requirements to donate eggs or about how to get started, visit The World Egg and Sperm Bank.
Follow us on our socials!
Check out our Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn pages to see our content and learn more!
