Egg Donation
How a Donor Egg Program Works
Because of age or certain medical conditions, many women desiring to have a baby are not able to do so because they not have viable eggs. The only way for them to to have their own biological child is to use frozen unfertilized eggs obtained from young, fertile donors.
Today, eggs are purchased from egg banks licensed by the Center for Disease Control and by the New York State Department of Health. Egg banks recruit and screen potential egg donors. Qualified donors take fertility enhancing injections and undergo an egg retrieval procedure to have their eggs harvested. Harvested eggs are frozen by a vitrification process and are stored in liquid nitrogen.
Prior to the purchase of frozen donor eggs, a thorough medical evaluation of the female, including an electrocardiogram and mammogram should be performed. A recipient must also have a hydrosonogram to make sure that her uterus is adequate for carrying a pregnancy. A recent semen analysis is also required.
Donor eggs are purchased by patients directly from an egg bank. The patient’s eggs are then shipped to the fertility clinic that will be managing the treatment cycle, fertilization, and embryo transfer.
How a Donor Egg Cycle Works
The recipient in a donor embryo cycle must have her uterus prepared to receive the embryo at the time of transfer. This is done by taking oral estrogen tablets to develop the lining of the uterus for a period of approximately 2 weeks. On the day that the lining of the uterus appears ready, the recipient is given an injection of progesterone, the male gives his semen, the embryos are thawed and fertilized. A single embryo is transferred to the recipient’s uterus. The transfer procedure is much like a Pap smear and does not require anesthesia. The only restrictions are to abstain from sex and exercise for 4 days after the transfer.
Egg Banks and Cost of Frozen Eggs
Advanced Fertility Services is licensed to receive eggs purchased from most egg banks in the united states. The banks that we work with are MY EGG BANK, The World Egg Bank and The Fairfax Egg Bank. Eggs purchased from these banks cost approximately $11,500 for 6 frozen eggs. Optimum Egg Bank is an affiliate of Advanced Fertility. Six frozen eggs from Optimum are $9900.
The Costs of an Egg Donation Cycle (exclusive of the purchase price of eggs from an egg bank)
Cycle Management and Laboratory Fees: $12,000 includes:
- Management of recipient cycle
- Sonograms and blood tests
- Fertilization of eggs with ICSI
- Culture of Embryos
- Embryo Transfer
- Pregnancy test
Not included:
- Cryopreservation of extra embryos
- Medications
- Prenatal care after conception
Total Cost of a Egg Donation Cycle + Eggs from Optimum Egg Bank: $21,900 Total
Cost of an Egg Donation Cycle + Eggs from other Egg Banks: $12,000 + COST OF EGGS