Egg Donation Process
WHAT IS THE EGG DONATION PROCESS?
The egg donation process at our Los Angeles and Mexico fertility center can be emotional, but our board-certified fertility experts at the Center for Reproductive Health & Gynecology have the compassion and expertise needed to make it a rewarding experience for both the egg donor and the egg recipient. Learn more about the egg donation process, and please contact us if you have any questions about egg donation.
Screening and Donor Selection
The first step in the egg donation process is to thoroughly screen both the egg donor and the recipient to ensure they are good candidates for egg donation and also to ensure that they are a good match for each other. Once all of the screenings have been completed and a match has been made, the egg donation procedure can begin. The
expected time line for an egg donation cycle is between two and three months (once the process begins).
Stimulation and Synchronization
Both the recipient and the egg donor will be placed on an injectable (Lupron) and/or oral contraceptive pill to synchronize menstrual cycles. Once appropriate, the egg donor will start on injectable fertility drugs, and the recipient will take oral estrogen tablets. As the egg donor is being stimulated, the recipient’s cycle is adjusted in order to coordinate it with the donor’s cycle so that once the fertilized eggs are transferred to the recipient, her body is likely to implant those eggs.
Egg Retrieval
When several eggs have been produced by the donor’s ovaries, she will be scheduled for outpatients egg retrieval surgery. Once the egg donor is ready for egg retrieval, the recipient’s partner or sperm donor will need to provide us with sperm for in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the laboratory (in order to fertilize the eggs). The recipient will then be asked to continue oral estrogen and start progesterone vaginal suppositories to prepare her uterus for implantation.
Embryo Transfer
Once the eggs are retrieved, fertilized, and dividing, the recipient or couple trying to conceive will have a discussion with one of our board certified fertility specialists as to the number of embryos to transfer and the date of transfer most appropriate for them. If conditions for embryo transfer are not favorable, the embryos may be safely cryopreserved and transferred at a better time. In many cases of egg donation, more embryos than we can use in a fresh cycle are produced, and these embryos are frozen for future use.
After Embryo Transfer
After the embryo transfer, you will need to stay at home and in bed for one day, followed by two days of rest at home (a total of three days). Your pregnancy test will be performed 10 to 12 days after the embryo transfer.