Diversified donor listing Recipient chooses the egg donor Professional and experienced medical team Egg donation is a treatment for female infertility, which can be used to achieve pregnancy in women who lack ovaries, women with diminished ovarian function, or women who have either a genetic disease or a family history of genetic disease. The donation process begins with the retrieval of eggs from a woman with normally functioning ovaries. These donated eggs are then fertilized in a laboratory setting (in vitro fertilization) with sperm from the egg recipient’s partner or donor sperm. The resulting embryos are then transferred to the uterus of the recipient. When pregnancy is established, the egg recipient becomes the "gestational" mother and experiences pregnancy and birth.

Pregnancies resulting from donated eggs to infertile women were first reported in England and from Monash University in Australia in 1983, following the development of in vitro fertilization technologies. Egg donation is complex for a variety of reasons, including the relative inaccessibility of donors, the extreme difficulty in freezing eggs, and the need for synchronizing the menstrual cycles of the donor and the recipient.

Since 1993, the Reproductive Science Institute has had a highly successful egg donation program, which meets the highest standards, and criteria set by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

RSI has an available list of egg donors at all times. Our egg donors are healthy women between the ages of 21 and 32 years of age. Our donor book lists the donor’s physical characteristics, education, religion and nationality. Extensive profiles are available upon request.

Once you have decided to proceed with an egg donor cycle, an initial consultation will be made for you with one of our board certified physicians, Dr. Michael Sobel or Dr. Abraham Munabi. On your initial consultation visit, you will meet a nurse coordinator, a billing representative, and our team of Embryologists & Andrologists. On this day you can review our donor egg medical profiles.

You will initially be provided with a list of egg donors that have been assigned specific numbers. Next to each number, you will find general characteristics about that individual. This will help you match general characteristics to yourself and allows you to narrow down your choices. The medical profiles you will be reviewing here contain photographs and a more detailed history of that donor. If the donors we have do not suit your characteristics, it will then be our job to find a donor for you that is appropriate.

Once a donor is chosen, you will be asked to place a deposit to hold her for your upcoming cycle. Prior to any treatment starting, both you and your partner will be asked to complete a series of testing that is required for the program. This will consist of blood work, uterine cavity assessment, semen analysis and a psychological consultation. Once all testing is performed and reviewed by the physician, the synchronization between you and your donor will begin.

The following are general categories of potential egg donors: Anonymous Donors-Many women opt to undergo the egg donation process as anonymous donors. These individuals donate eggs to an infertile woman or couple whose identity also remains anonymous.

Known Donors- Family members, friends or others close to a recipient frequently donate eggs. In addition, recipients sometimes opt to "self recruit" an egg donor by searching out prospective donors on their own.

The Egg Donation Process

In preparation for an initial consultation, an egg donor candidate completes a medical history form and genetic questionnaire. A complete psychological screening evaluation and extensive medical screening is performed.

The prospective recipients will review the available donor listing and choose the donor that best suits their needs. The recipients will need to provide the Reproductive Science Institute with their prior medical records. If any additional medical screening is required, the recipients may have this done at The Institute or at a facility closer to their home. A counseling session for the recipients is required prior to the beginning of the donor cycle.

All egg donors are required to undergo a process of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation in which medications are used to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple, mature eggs. When the blood work and the ultrasound show the eggs are mature, the egg retrieval is scheduled. This procedure is done in a procedure room with intravenous (IV) sedation. The sedation allows the donor to be asleep to minimize any discomfort as the eggs are retrieved with a needle by way of a vaginal ultrasound.

The Reproductive Science Institute’s donor egg program was established in 1993 and since that time, our program has expanded to include the coordination of donors and recipients from many other states and countries. If you would like to learn more about our egg donor program, please call us at 610-981-6000 or email us.