Donor Egg Recipient
FAQ about CHR's Egg Donation Program - New York, NY
Norbert Gleicher MD explains the egg donation process and provides valuable insight into when egg donation is appropriate.
1) Can we view egg donor photos?
In some cases our egg donors allow us to show their photos only in the office, but not online. In this case, you can request to see their photos when you visit us for consultation or tests. In the very rare situation where the egg donor does not want to release her picture, the physician will describe the donor in great detail during your consultation.
Our physicians take the matching process very seriously, and understand that many recipients want their donors to resemble them - and not just in hair and eye color.
2) How can we be sure that CHR's egg donors will produce good results?
We always say that there is no guarantee in medicine, just as there are no guarantees in life! That said, we take great precaution in selecting donors for our egg donor program, probably more so than any other program.
Just take a look at the detailed questionnaire every donor must fill out. You can be assured that all our donors are healthy, with no known genetic problems in the family, have excellent ovarian reserve, do not use controlled substance, and are personable and high achievers in various fields. Amongst approximately 50 donor applications we receive weekly, only approximately 3% end up admitted into our program's egg donor pool. We have the luxury of rejecting many candidates because we receive so many applications--something most other egg donor programs struggle with.
Bottom line: Our egg donors are not just young; they are thoroughly investigated and usually have excellent ovarian reserve!
3) Will we be able to "know" the donor? Will the donor ever know who we are?
The answer to both questions is in principle a categorical NO. CHR's egg donor program is strictly anonymous. Neither donor nor recipient receives identifying information about the other.
CHR, however, does accommodate direct ("open") donations, when patients already have their known donors arranged or, when on rare occasions, one of our own donors expresses interest in meeting their recipient. Such donors are rare, and if one of our donors is interested in an "open" donation, we will advise recipients of such an option.
4) How much information about a donor can I receive?
More than you would think! You will be surprised how much you can know about a donor without ever receiving identifying information. From physical characteristics to educational level to personal interest and life's ambitions, we share a lot about our donors with our recipient couples so that the recipients can feel sure that the donor is "the one."
5) What happens if the first egg donor cycle does not end in pregnancy?
About a third of the fresh donor cycle do not result in pregnancy. While this is unfortunate, a negative pregnancy test at the end of the first egg donor cycle does not mean that you have to start all over again. In our program, you receive all the eggs that your donor produces in a cycle. Since most of our young and healthy donors produce a good number of egg, you, likely, will have a few frozen (cryopreserved) embryos left over. If the fresh embryo cycle does not result in pregnancy, you then in the following month can try a frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles, at a much lower cost than the initial fresh cycle.
If you have any additional questions, Contact us about our Donor Egg Program.
Last Updated: January 25, 2012
