Pssssst! We have the ultimate cheat sheet to find out whether you can donate your eggs! Simple factors such as your age, living situation, contraception use, mental health, and physical health can all pre-determine if you are a qualifying candidate for an egg donation program. We always recommend applying if you are unsure if you qualify by the end of this blog. So, what are the egg donation disqualifiers?
Join us as we discuss the 5 main reasons someone may be deemed unqualified to donate their eggs at The World Egg and Sperm Bank.
Why Are There So Many Requirements to Donate Eggs?
Please don’t be discouraged! While we wish we could accept more donors, on average, only a handful of donor applicants meet the qualifications. Within an application, an even smaller percentage pass screening, all the way to egg retrieval.
We understand that an extensive screening process can be frustrating. However, these requirements are to safely determine these pivotal promises we must keep:
- That it is safe for the donor to donate, as it is an elective procedure requiring anesthetic and hormone stimulation.
- That the donor’s egg quantity and quality is healthy enough to prompt the highest chance of a successful pregnancy.
- That the child is born healthy, without any serious genetic conditions.
Egg Donation Disqualifiers #1: You are under 18 or over 31 years old.
Let’s talk about age restrictions! If you are under the age of 18 but have already started researching or thinking about donating your eggs, you will need to wait until you are of the age to give legal consent. This is extremely important, as being an egg donor is a serious decision which takes significant time and effort. Like all other medical procedures, egg donation can add some level of stress on the mind and body.
If you are on the other side of the spectrum (being older than 31 years old) you may be disqualified for aging out of our program. This restriction is largely due to the decrease in egg quality and quantity as we age. This is no way means that you are deemed infertile at 32! When it comes to women trying to become pregnant through donor eggs, we need a high quantity of available eggs, with less genetic abnormalities. The percentage of genetically abnormal eggs also increases as we age.
Egg Donation Disqualifiers #2: You do not live in the United States.
Each one of our egg donors are retrieved in house at our state-of-the-art facility in Scottsdale, Arizona. For locational and ethical reasons, we ONLY accept donors that have proof of residency with the United States and or Canada.
What if you live in the United States, but not in Arizona? Donors don’t need to worry about traveling or coordinating hotels, as we handle all of that for you! We cover and reimburse all travel and hotel coordinating and costs to make our donors feel at ease before their egg retrieval.
Egg Donation Disqualifiers #3: You Are On a Non-Approved Form of Birth Control.
When it comes to egg donation and contraceptives, it can be a bit of a game of roulette. Some birth control forms are fine to continue taking while you donate your eggs. Others would negatively interfere with the donation process. If you are on the birth control pills (most common, the patch, or you have an IUD, these will not disqualify you from donating.
If you are on Depo-provera (the shot) or you have an implant (Nexplanon, or Implanon), you would be disqualified.
Just because your birth control is unaccepted, this doesn’t mean you can never donate! Many aspiring donors will decide later to swap out their birth control for another form, and they can reach back out to us.
Egg Donation Disqualifiers #4: Your BMI Levels are too high or too low.
Many donors will ask why their Body Mass Index may disqualify them from donating if they are young and have healthy eggs. This requirement has nothing to do with the status of your fertility, but whether it is safe for a woman to donate. Egg retrieval is an elective procedure, meaning that it is scheduled in advance, not to treat a medical issue or emergency. Like all procedures requiring anesthesia, there are risks associated when a woman has a higher BMI. Egg banks are legally obligated by anesthesiologists to not put any donor’s health at risk for a procedure which is not for their own health.
If your BMI is too low or your overall muscle mass is too high, this can also disqualify you from donating. These women’s bodies can be less receptive to the required hormone stimulations to mature your eggs prior to retrieval.
Egg Donation Disqualifiers #5: Our Clinical Psychologist or Genetic Screener Deems you not able to donate.
Last but not least! Donors are required to undergo medical and psychological screening before they are approved for retrieval. These blood tests will screen for thousands of genetic health disorders. Here are two ways you could be deemed ineligible through this screening:
- Our genetic counselor finds in your lab results, that there were one or multiple serious physical or psychological disorders present, that could be passed on to the future child.
- Our psychological counselor finds that after speaking with you, that you are not mentally ready for this program.
A reminder that while this is not a comprehensive list of all the egg donation disqualifiers, click here to see the full breakdown!
See If You Qualify by Applying Online!
If you read through all of the egg donation disqualifiers and feel as though you may be a great candidate, we encourage you to take some time to fill out our application!
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