The Egg Donation Process

Once you are selected to donate, The World Egg and Sperm Bank will contact you to begin the process.

You will have some blood drawn for screening and genetic testing then you will meet with our friendly psychologist to inform and evaluate your understanding and willingness to donate. Once this testing is complete, you will start hormones to prepare your eggs for donation.

You will be seen for an office visit, which will include a simple ultrasound to make sure you are ready to begin 2 weeks of hormones. You will start the hormones, which are subcutaneous injections through small, short needles to help you mature more than one egg. You normally lose many hundreds of eggs every month, and we rescue a small number by supplementing your normal monthly hormones. You will also have about 3-5 additional office visits to monitor your response to the hormones and ensure you are feeling well.

After about 10-13 days of monitoring and hormone injections, you will be scheduled for egg retrieval. The day and time of egg retrieval is based on your response. At the time of egg retrieval, you will be placed under “twilight sedation.” The eggs are retrieved through a small needle (the eggs are microscopic) a short distance through your vagina to the ovaries. Because of the sedation, you will not feel any pain and will not remember the procedure itself. You will need to take the day of egg retrieval off work/school to rest and relax.

You may feel some cramping, fatigue and bloating similar to menstruation. This is usually managed with over-the-counter medications. Most donors return to work and normal activities within a day or two of egg retrieval.

You will receive your reimbursement for your donation on the day of retrieval once the procedure is completed.