Parent FAQ
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Hope is the only egg donor agency in the world owned by a licensed, certified genetic counselor, with a focus on genetics and family history. When you choose a Hope egg donor, you know that her personal and family medical history has already met FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and ASRM (American Society for Reproductive Medicine) criteria for being an egg donor. Many agencies do not have a strong understanding of these guidelines, so donor matches can end up not being approved by your clinic.
Because we are a new agency, and all of our donors have already met FDA and ASRM criteria, our database will naturally be smaller than agencies who do not do extensive screening prior to a match. But if you find your donor here, you will proceed more quickly to egg retrieval compared to other agencies, as we help you move efficiently through the next steps.
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First, congratulations! Selecting a donor is a huge moment in this process, and it can sometimes take months to find the one. After you have selected a donor, you will sign a contract outlining the agreement between you and Hope. Once we have received the agency fee ($8000) we will contact the donor to confirm her availability. After medical, genetic, psychological, and legal clearance, donor compensation ($9000+) is due prior to the cycle start. This fee will be held by a third-party escrow service. Once the donor is about to start her IVF cycle, travel fees ($300-$5000) are due. Your clinic will create the donor’s IVF calendar which provides daily instructions for medications, appointments, and travel dates over about a month. We will use this calendar to arrange a travel itinerary for her and a companion. On the day of egg retrieval, you will hear from your clinic about the number of eggs and embryos created, and within 3 days the donor will receive her compensation for the donation!
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Our main role is supporting you and your donor through the process of pre-cycle screening, the IVF cycle, and egg retrieval. We create strong connections with our donors and want to ensure a smooth process for them and you. Also included in your agency fee is a detailed family history assessment, guidance around genetic testing, donor psychological evaluation, donor insurance policy, and facilitation of local monitoring and travel to egg retrieval.
Your IVF clinic is responsible for managing testing for you and the donor and creating her cycle plan. You and your donor will be assigned a coordinator (or two) at your clinic who will (hopefully!) ensure ongoing communication between all of us.
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No, our focus is working very closely with you and our egg donors. If you select a Hope donor, you will work with a separate agency to find your surrogate. We have many close relationships with surrogacy agencies if you need a recommendation.
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Studies have shown that the main reason donors are denied is that their personal or family history does not meet ASRM criteria due to significant increased risk for genetic or hereditary disease. The next most common reasons are baseline testing (AMH and infectious disease testing), psychological evaluation, and genetic carrier screening.
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If a match is canceled prior to cycle start (use of injectable medications), your agency fee will be refunded less the cost of services rendered (insurance policy, psychological assessment, escrow fee). We want you to find your perfect donor, and if that is not with Hope, your funds should be used elsewhere!
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Agency fee: $8000 due at donor selection
Donor compensation: $9000 - $15000 due at calendar creation
Travel fee: $300 - $5000 due at calendar creation
Still have more questions? Please don’t hesitate to contact us!
Donor FAQ
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Becoming an egg donor is a complex process, that requires your time and energy in the beginning. There is a short form and then a long form for you to fill out, and you must meet FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and ASRM (American Society for Reproductive Medicine) criteria for being an egg donor. You must also be comfortable submitting photos of yourself. It is important to your recipients that you spend time gathering detailed and accurate medical history from your family members so that your recipients understand - and are comfortable with - the genetic risks associated with your eggs.
Because we are a new agency, and all of our donors have already met FDA and ASRM criteria, our database will naturally be smaller than agencies who do not do extensive screening prior to a match. But if you find your donor here, you will proceed more quickly to egg retrieval compared to other agencies, as we help you move efficiently through the next steps.
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One of the main things recipients look for in a donor is a resemblance to themselves and their family members. Whether it is hair color, hair type, skin color, freckles, or brown eyes, recipients are typically looking for particular characteristics that are similar to their own.
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You are activated in our database! Sometimes donors are matched quickly for a donation, or it may take some time. Once you are matched, you will have fertility (AMH) testing, infectious disease testing, genetic testing, and a psychological assessment close to home. The fertility clinic will approve you to donate from a medical perspective, and then you and your recipients will sign legal documents. Then you will be ready for your IVF cycle!
Your IVF clinic is responsible for managing testing for you and the donor and creating her cycle plan. You and your donor will be assigned a coordinator (or two) at your clinic who will (hopefully!) ensure ongoing communication between all of us.
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You will be assigned a donor coordinator at your fertility clinic. This person will support you through your cycle and provide you with a calendar that works with your schedule. The calendar will provide daily instructions for your medications and appointments. Eventually, you will take daily injectable medications for 10-14 days. During this time you will have some monitoring appointments (blood work and ultrasounds) at a clinic close to home.
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Around day 10-12 of your injections, you will travel to the fertility clinic where you will be monitored by your physicians. When they have determined that you are ready for your egg retrieval, you will be given your final injection. The next day you will undergo a surgical procedure in an IVF clinic to retrieve the eggs. This takes about 20-30 minutes, you will be asleep under light sedation and made comfortable after the retrieval. The eggs are fertilized that day and embryos are frozen for future use by your recipient!
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Hope egg donors will receive a free fertility evaluation, genetic testing, and a genetic risk assessment, all of which provide you an understanding of your own reproductive health if you are considering having children in the future. Depending on where you live, and where the recipients’ fertility clinic is, you will likely get a chance to travel somewhere you have never been, with expenses paid for you and a companion. Finally, after the egg retrieval is complete you will receive payment ranging from $9,000 - $15,000, depending on your experience.
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Applicants who use certain forms of birth control, have certain medical conditions, have certain infectious diseases, or a family history of certain conditions are ineligible to donate according to FDA and ASRM guidelines. If donors are unable to stop smoking, using recreational drugs or using alcohol they will also not be eligible. Once a donor is matched, AMH results, genetic testing results, or the psychological assessment are some of the common reasons that prevent the process from moving forward.