Who needs Donor Egg IVF

It is now possible for those who may not be able get pregnant on their own to successfully become pregnant and deliver a baby thanks to a technology called oocyte donation or egg donation. This technology can benefit several groups of patients, including those with:

• Premature ovarian failure
• Occult ovarian failure
• Advanced maternal age
• Failure of other Treatments
• Maternal genetic abnormalities

Premature Ovarian Failure or Premature menopause: Egg donation can be used successfully for this group of patients. These are women who, for a variety of reasons, have entered menopause at an early age (under age 40, at times in early 20s). Just as in patients who have gone through menopause, these patients usually do not have functional eggs remaining in their ovaries. In some cases, a person may not have ovaries at all, as some are born without ovaries or may have had their ovaries surgically removed for various reasons.

Occult Ovarian Failure: These are patients who still have monthly periods with evidence for ovulation, but whose eggs are very unlikely to produce a pregnancy. This group is said to have decreased ovarian reserve, and can only be diagnosed by ovarian reserve testing. This group is the largest population needing egg donation.

Advanced Maternal Age: As age increases, the ability to conceive decreases and risk of miscarriage increases. This is due to a decreased number of eggs remaining in the ovaries and a decreased potential of those eggs to produce a viable pregnancy. This is true even if the patient has not been shown to have abnormalities on ovarian reserve testing. From inspection of pregnancy rate data, after about age 35, egg donation is more successful in delivering a healthy baby than In vitro Fertilization (IVF) with a person's own eggs.

Failure of Other Treatments: Occasionally, a couple will choose to use egg donation if they have attempted multiple other treatments without success. Egg donation is most commonly used for patients who have failed in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles.

Maternal Genetic Abnormalities: Rarely, a patient may have a genetic or chromosomal abnormality that they do not want to pass on to a child. This is less common now since preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) is available. However, egg donation may still be used if a problem is known to be hereditary but the exact gene mutation or problem is not known.

LGBTQ+: Many LGBTQ+ individuals and couples utilize donor egg IVF to grow their family.

An egg donor can be someone who is was previously known or unknown to the recipient couple. A known egg donor can be anyone who is not closely related to the partner who will be providing the sperm. An egg donor can be related to a partner who is not providing sperm. Sisters, nieces, cousins, or even daughters from previous partners are acceptable candidates to be a known egg donor. If a couple does not have a suitable known egg donor or does not feel comfortable with a known egg donor, they can try to find an unknown egg donor.

There are many resources for finding egg donors. Many of our patients are choosing to recruit their own egg donors by placing advertisements in local newspapers or by placing signs up at local colleges or beauty salons. Some of our recipients have found potential egg donors on the internet, while others will use an egg donor agency (though this is a very expensive method). IVF1 maintains a large database of young women who are interested in becoming egg donors for our patients.


If you decide to recruit your own egg donor, the most important thing to be aware of is that anonymity in egg or sperm donation is no longer possible. Any child born from egg donation will carry the donor’s DNA. It is now possible, because of the popularity of DNA testing services such as 23andMe and AncestryDNA, for an individual to find relatives. Therefore, an egg donor could identify your child through such testing and online family trees. Likewise, your child could find the identity of a donor in the same way later in life. If you are comfortable with the fact that complete anonymity is not possible, when trying to advertise for a donor you should still do it in a way that preserves your privacy as much as possible.

Here is an example of a well crafted ad: Nice couple seeks young woman to be an egg donor. Must be under 25 years old. Compensation will be given. Apply at ivf1match.com. Use the code name “baby1”.

By using a code name (be sure to choose your own), the donor applicant does not know who you are, and other individuals will not know who you are. When the donor applies online, we will know that this is a donor responding to your ad by the code name.

We will review the information the donor completes online. If the egg donor candidate seems acceptable, then we will notify you of her donor code and you can go online and review the questionnaire. You can then choose whether you want to use this egg donor applicant or wait for another to respond. If an acceptable egg donor applicant is not chosen by the recruiting recipient couple, we will ask her if she is willing to donate eggs for another couple in our practice. If she agrees, we will change her designation in our database from “matched” to “available.”

Initial Screening Of An Egg Donor

The initial questionnaire that the donor fills out asks about several aspects of her life:


• Education
• Work experience
• Medical history
• Reproductive history
• Family Medical history
• Sexual practices
• Infection risk
• Psychological history
• Social habits (use of tobacco, alcohol, drugs)
• Physical characteristics
• Previous egg donor experience

When an egg donor applicant is chosen for further screening, they are asked to come to the office to meet with us. At that time, we will go over their initial application and discuss anything that may be unclear. We will review the process of egg donation, what will be expected of them, and review the risks and side effects associated with the treatment. If they are still interested in donating eggs, we will begin medical screening.

Medical Screening Of An Egg Donor

The medical screening includes:

Assessment of Ovarian Reserve

• Day 3 Estradiol and FSH levels
• Anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) level
• Transvaginal ultrasound for ovarian volume
• Antral follicle count

Testing for Transmissible Diseases

As of May 25, 2005, the FDA is requiring significantly enhanced testing for all reproductive tissue donors including egg donors. This involves a more extensive medical history, a more extensive physical exam and a wider array of tests for infectious disease.

• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C
• HIV /AIDS
• RPR/syphilis
• Gonorrhea
• Chlamydia

The donor must have these tests performed as part of their initial screening for donor eligibility. They will also undergo repeat testing shortly before the egg retrieval. A potential egg donor may be declared ineligible at any point during testing.

Testing for Hereditary Problems:

• Chromosome test (karyotype)
• Comprehensive genetic carrier screening panel

If the egg donor applicant passes the above tests, then they will be acceptable to use as an egg donor.

As of May 25, 2005, the FDA is requiring significantly enhanced testing for all reproductive tissue donors including egg donors. This involves a more extensive medical history, a more extensive physical exam and a wider array of test for infectious disease.

• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C
• HIV /AIDS
• RPR / syphyllis
• Gonorrhea
• Chlamydia

The donor must have these tests performed as part of her initial screening for donor eligibility. She will also have the testing again shortly before the egg retrieval. A potential egg donor may be declared ineligible at any point during testing.

• Chromosome test (Karyotype)
• Comprehensive genetic carrier screening panel

If the egg donor applicant passes the above tests, then she will be acceptable to use as an egg donor.

Learn more about becoming an egg donor here.