How to become an egg donor

As an egg donor, you give another person the incredible experience of pregnancy, childbirth, and parenthood. Egg donation helps people struggling with infertility to have a child of their own.

When you choose Penn Medicine for your egg donation, you entrust this gift to internationally recognized specialists in reproductive endocrinology who perform third-party reproduction services. Our expertise ensures your donation has a high success rate.

Reasons to consider becoming an egg donor

Donating your eggs is a selfless act and journey of growth and empowerment. By helping someone else build their family, you’re making a positive impact on their life for years to come. The process requires commitment and responsibility. In return, you gain the rewarding experience of giving a priceless gift to someone else.

You also receive valuable health and fertility assessments, which can help you with your own future family planning – at no cost to you. And as an egg donor, you receive generous compensation for your time.

Advanced fertility services and compassionate care

Your donation takes place in our state-of-the-art fertility center, supported by experienced and compassionate specialists. We discuss each step of the process and guide you along the journey from start to finish. From the initial screening process through egg harvesting, we ensure your safety and comfort throughout the entire process.

Egg donor requirements

Egg donors must meet specific eligibility requirements before proceeding to a screening process. The requirements include:

• Ability to make frequent visits to our fertility center
• Body mass index (BMI) under 28
• Female between the ages of 21 and 30
• Good health with no significant medical conditions
• Living or working within 90 minutes of center city Philadelphia
• Non-smoker
• Regular menstrual cycles

Screening process for egg donors

At Penn Medicine, egg donors undergo an extensive screening process. We follow recommendations from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and American Society for Reproductive Medicine. These guidelines include screening for serious genetic, medical, and psychological conditions, as well as infectious diseases. We also assess your ovarian reserve to ensure you have enough eggs.

How egg donation works

As a donor, you may choose to make an anonymous donation or donate your eggs to a friend or relative. The process begins once you’re accepted to donate your eggs and matched to a recipient.

First, your provider gives you injections of medication to stimulate your ovaries to develop multiple eggs at once. For the next few weeks, your provider measures hormones in your blood and uses ultrasound to monitor the eggs’ development.

When your provider determines your eggs are mature, they give you an injection to trigger ovulation. We’ll sedate you and harvest the eggs during an outpatient surgical procedure. You’ll recover for two to three hours in our fertility center and return home. You may resume your regular activities the day after your procedure.

After we harvest the eggs, they belong to the egg recipient.