The IVF Egg Donation Process

The process of egg donation involves In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).  IVF is a process in which a woman's eggs (the donor) are removed from her ovaries by needle aspiration, and combined with sperm (the recipient husband or donor sperm) in the laboratory. 

During a treatment cycle, medications are taken by the donor to imitate the body’s natural hormones and assist in developing multiple eggs.  The created embryos (an embryo is a fertilized egg or the union of a sperm and egg) are transferred into the recipient uterus, usually three to six days after the eggs have been removed.

It is very important to us at the Center of Reproductive Medicine (CORM)to maintain the confidentiality of both anonymous donor and the recipient couple.  No identifying information will be given to the anonymous donor about the recipient couple and no identifying information will be given to the recipient couple about the anonymous egg donor. 

Once you are selected by a recipient, the treatment process will take approximately 4 to 8 weeks. The actual stimulation process takes a minimum of 9 days and maximum of 14 days. You will come to the office for blood tests and ultrasounds approximately 5 to 7 times.  These are early morning appointments that are scheduled between 6:45 and 10am and usually last 30 to 45 minutes.  You will need to be available (no work) for one full day on the day of the egg retrieval.