Click here for Conceiving Through Egg Donation (3 of 10): Egg Donor Candidates.
Finding Your Egg Donor through Your Own IVF Program
If your IVF (in-vitro fertilization) clinic has its own egg donor program, you may find your donor through their own pool. Although these programs are typically anonymous and do not show photographs of the egg donor candidates, they present non-identifying information as well as screening results. Some of the bigger clinics have waiting lists up to a year long for egg donors. It’s probably a good idea to put your name on the list even if you choose to look at other sources in your search.
Since egg donors are in great demand and costs are high, clinics usually match two recipients to each donor for a “shared cycle.” This means that the retrieved donor eggs will be divided equally between two recipients, who also share the costs of the procedures and egg donor compensation. One recipient is considered “primary” in case there are too few eggs to share (fewer than about twelve). The secondary recipient in that case would not be responsible for the cost, which then becomes the full responsibility of the primary recipient. It may be possible to do a non-shared cycle at your clinic; keep in mind the cost will be higher.
