How to Find the Perfect Egg Donor

When you’re thinking about becoming a parent, you’re making a decision that will jump start several other exciting decisions to make. If you’ve decided on surrogacy to grow your family and are in need of an egg donor, you have another choice to make!

Taking the journey step by step will make it easier. Here’s everything you need to know about finding the right egg donation agency.

Find the Right Egg Donation Agency

Finding the right egg donation agency for you is a matter of personal choice, however, there are ways to ensure that you choose a professional and top-tier agency. Here’s what you should keep in mind when choosing an agency.

Screening Criteria

One of the main things you’ll want to ask about when you’re looking at egg donation agencies is their screening processes. Ask the agency about their criteria for selecting donors, their medical screening standards, their psychological screening standards, and what they interview for when meeting with prospective egg donors. You need their standards to be high and the profiles they provide you with to be detailed.

Perform Research

Keep your eyes open as you meet with and research the agency! You’ll want to see that their administrative team is organized, polite, and professional—you’ll be working with them closely up to and after your child’s birth. You can meet with your prospective case manager, your main point of contact, to get a feel for how you two will communicate.

Ask Questions

Ask what services they offer you! You’ll likely need access to a legal team and travel services that make sense, and you’ll want to ask about their plans for follow-up care. Check to see if they offer any educational programs, and ask whether they have any satisfied clients whom you can ask for references. Lastly, ask about their fee structure. It should clearly define everything that will be required of you, as well as your options regarding rematches and refunds.

Ultimately, you want to ensure that every moment you interact with your donation agency instills confidence in your decision. Surrogacy is a long journey, you want to go through it feeling like you’re surrounded by people who care.

Assess Your Needs

Once you’ve chosen an agency, you’ll likely be shown a database of donor profiles from which you can select your perfect egg donor. The number of profiles can be overwhelming! Before you go through all of that information, it’s a good idea to take some time to figure out which qualities are the most important to you. Sifting through profiles will be much easier if you go in armed with what you’re looking for.

Here are a few ideas of what to think about as you’re going through preferred qualities:

• Start with physical appearance, as that can be a fun thought experiment to conduct. Will you want your child to resemble you and your family, or is appearance less of a concern?

• After this, it’s time to get practical. Make a detailed examination of your potential donor’s medical history, as that could tell the future of your child’s health.

• Will it matter which blood type your donor (and, eventually, your child) will have?

• Are you looking for a repeat donor — meaning, a donor who has been through the process before? A repeat donor may know better what the process is like, reducing the chance of any surprises as you work towards parenthood.

• Consider the location of your intended egg donor. If you’re working on a budget, it may be a good idea to look for local donors first, as that will greatly reduce any travel expenditures associated with your case.

• Lastly, pay careful attention to anything the donor has written for their profile. The way they talk about their favorite sports, for example, can tell you a lot about their personality. Whomever you choose, remember that your egg donor will provide half of the genetic makeup of your child—this isn’t a step you want to skip!

The Pros and Cons of Anonymous Donors

You may have the option to learn the identity of your donor. If so, your donor would be called a ‘known egg donor’. A known egg donor match may be a friend or relative who agrees to help you, or a donor chosen from an agency database who wishes to have direct contact with you throughout the process. With the condition of anonymity, the identity of your egg donor is hidden.

There are pros and cons either way you choose to proceed! Here are a few things to think about:

• Knowing your donor may give your child a chance to bond with their biological parent. You will have to decide whether this is something you wish to entertain going forward. Establishing relationships between your child and your donor can be confusing — and lifelong — process; however, it can also be rewarding.

• The legal boundaries are less clear with known egg donors than anonymous egg donors. If you decide to work with a known egg donor, even if it is a close friend or family member, you’ll want to make sure you have a legal contact to help work out the details.

• If you decide to use an anonymous donor, you are assured complete confidentiality and you don’t have to define the relationship between yourself and your donor. To some, the simplicity of this option makes it an attractive one, but you will have to decide which factors are more important for you.

Final Thoughts

When you’re building your family, finding the perfect egg donor may be one of the most crucial decisions you will make. Take the time to find the right agency, and the whole process will be much simpler! You should also thoughtfully brainstorm qualities you would prefer to see in your donor, as you may see them again in your child.

Lastly, any journey you take towards becoming a parent can be filled with frustration and stress. Remember to take care of yourself as you choose the perfect egg donor for your child. Simple Surrogacy would be happy to answer any questions that you may have about the egg donation process and we would love to speak with you if you are considering using an egg donor. Feel free to contact us by phone at (866) 461-4550 or simply fill out our online form.

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