FAQ - Becoming an Egg Donor

With the egg donation process, we’re not “stealing” eggs from your future fertility. During a normal monthly menstrual cycle, females begin to develop dozens of eggs, however, only one reaches maturity. The medications you take during your donor egg cycle allow us to “rescue” those additional eggs that would have normally been lost during that month.

No, because you’ll be under anesthesia during your egg retrieval, you will need to have somebody else drive you home after the procedure.

Because regular monitoring appointments are necessary during your egg donor cycle, we generally recruit women who live within a 2-hour drive of one of our full-service offices in Syracuse (NY), Albany (NY), Buffalo (NY), Colorado Springs (CO), and Sarasota (FL). CNY does not reimburse donors for travel costs.

You will be asked to complete a detailed questionnaire about your background and your medical, family, and personal history. After that is complete and has been reviewed by our staff, we will contact you to schedule a complimentary appointment to evaluate your reproductive and overall health, genetic history, and psychological well-being.

At CNY Fertility, we make it our mission to ensure everyone has access to the high-quality fertility care needed to start or expand their family.  We work every day to provide the world’s most affordable, comprehensive, and high-quality fertility solutions.

Led by a team of board-certified reproductive endocrinologists, our team of providers combines for over 250 years of fertility care experience and is responsible for helping bring over 20,000 beautiful lives into the world. We have been helping patients become parents using donated eggs since the early 2000s.  

Because the CNY Fertility Donor Program only provides eggs to CNY Fertility patients, you will receive all your care at our offices. Egg donor agencies may send you to donate at various locations, all of which may have different processes.

You complete our online questionnaire by visiting the following link:  https://www.cnyfertility.com/become-an-egg-donor/application/

Once the application is returned, we can consider you for the next steps of the screening process.

It all starts by filling out your online application. After you complete the application, we will check to see if you meet our basic requirements. If so, we will contact you to schedule a complimentary appointment to evaluate your reproductive and overall health, genetic history, and psychological well-being.

Click here to start your application now.

If approved as a donor, the egg donation process will proceed. For about 10-14 days (at the start of your menstrual cycle until ovulation) you will be monitored while taking medication to increase the number of viable eggs you can produce. Just before ovulation, you will undergo an outpatient procedure to remove eggs from that month’s cycle. Throughout this two-week window, you will be required to take injectable medications delivered to your abdomen and have frequent office visits (usually 4 during your donation cycle + the egg retrieval).

Click here for more information on what to expect during your egg retrieval.

After your donation, our donor team will reach out to you two weeks after your egg retrieval to see how you are feeling and if you would like to donate again.  If you’d like, you can remain in our donor program and donate up to another 5 times.

No, you cannot donate eggs while pregnant or breastfeeding. To donate after pregnancy, you must have two normal periods and be finished breastfeeding.

Most couples use donor eggs because they are unable to get pregnant using the female partner’s eggs.  There are many reasons that a woman may not be able to conceive with her own eggs, including older age, early menopause, poor-quality eggs, or previous cancer treatments that damaged the ovaries. Many of our donor egg recipients have been through extensive fertility treatments without success.

Egg recipients can be couples or single women or men. At CNY Fertility, all recipients for our egg donor program are CNY Fertility patients.

No, unfortunately you cannot meet your egg donor recipient.  Our program is anonymous, and we will never share your information with the recipient and vice versa.

No. Eggs are retrieved vaginally. There is no surgical cut. For the egg donor’s comfort, the procedure is performed under IV sedation. We require that egg donors have a companion to take them home afterward, as they are not allowed to drive after the egg retrieval.

After your egg retrieval, you may have some cramping, some bloating, and you may feel some dizziness from the anesthesia that day, but most people can carry on with their normal activities the next day.

Yes, you are allowed to inquire as to the results of your donor egg cycle.  You may reach out to your donor egg coordinator, and we would be happy to share that information with you.

Egg donors are paid for their time, dedication, and generosity.  Egg donors at CNY Fertility are paid $4,000 per cycle. Donors are compensated when the donation process is complete, after egg retrieval. Egg donors can donate up to 6 times for a potential total of $24,000!

Over the course of approximately 2 weeks, an egg donor will self-inject three different hormones. The first hormone medication is responsible for the production of follicles (eggs). The second hormone will prevent ovulation. Lastly, a hormone medication will be given to mature the eggs and induce ovulation.

The primary risk is Ovarian Hyper-Stimulation Syndrome (OHSS). This is relatively rare as careful monitoring is done by our fertility specialists throughout your entire treatment. Symptoms can include unexplained weight gain and extreme bloating. During your screening process, our team will educate you about all risks and potential side effects of the medications and medical procedure

Fertility treatment and egg donation medications are used universally across the United States. These medications have been subject to rigorous testing for effectiveness and safety by the scientific community and the FDA.

Yes. Upon reaching puberty, your ovaries have around 400,000 eggs. Every menstrual cycle, about 15-20 eggs mature. Usually, only one egg is released for ovulation. The rest are discarded in your body. When you go through the egg donation process, medications are given to fully develop all eggs available for that cycle. No more eggs are removed than what your body naturally puts out.

After approximately one month, your ovaries will return to normal size.

You can donate up to 6 times if you have been approved to return for additional donation cycles. Most of our donors choose to donate several times.

Yes. It is very important to avoid intercourse from the time you begin hormone injections until 3 weeks after your egg retrieval or the return of your menses.

Once an egg donor has been selected, the process is quite short, approximately 4-6 weeks.

Most appointments are scheduled for early in the morning so the egg donor will have as little disruption to her schedule as possible. Appointments typically take less than half an hour. The retrieval day will require an entire missed day. Most egg donors return to school or work the following day. Due to the time sensitive nature of the procedures, it is most important that an egg donor recognizes the level of responsibility required in making and keeping appointments.

With the exception of basic travel expenses (such as gas to and from our office for occasional visits), donating your eggs will not cost you anything out of pocket. You will of course be compensated $4,000 per donation for your generosity, compassion, time, and eggs.

The intended parents are responsible for all egg donor costs incurred because of an egg donation cycle. These expenses include compensation, medications, insurance, monitoring appointments.

Yes. The aspiration of eggs occurs before the eggs are released by the body. The tubes are bypassed during egg retrieval.

We recommend that you abstain from intercourse during your stimulation process and for two weeks following your egg retrieval. If you are unable to abstain, it is important that you use condoms.

It is fine to be using birth control pills, patches, or NuvaRing. Hormonal IUDs and implants will need to be removed. We do not accept egg donors currently using Depo-Provera Injections as a form of birth control.

During your in-office visits, our physicians will instruct you on how to administer your daily injections. All injections are subcutaneous (under the skin), so they are easy to self-administer. The syringes used have a very small needle and are usually well tolerated by the egg donor. For additional information and on-line lessons for administering injections at home, please click on the following link: http://www.freedommedteach.com/eng/