Donor Egg
Egg donation is one of the most successful fertility treatment options available to couples. It is usually not the first treatment option that a couple thinks about when confronted with infertility, thus it may not be an easy decision to make. With that said, thankfully there is an option for women who desire pregnancy that have absent or diminished ovarian function, or have failed fertility treatment thought to be related to egg quality. Egg donation is often the most likely way for you to become pregnant and have a healthy baby.
In vitro fertilization (IVF) with the use of fresh donor egg was first successfully accomplished in 1984. This treatment has been available at Reproductive Resource Center of Greater Kansas City since 1993.
Today, we offer the option of frozen donor egg. Using frozen donor eggs eliminates the need for cycle coordination, giving patients more control over their treatment. Frozen donor egg is also typically less costly while being just as effective as using fresh donor egg, making it an increasingly popular choice for patients.
Egg donation is a widely used treatment option providing a biological connection between the woman and the baby, and a genetic connection to the husband when sperm from the husband is used. When needed, this treatment can also be incorporated with donor sperm and/or a gestational carrier.
There are a number of ways to have a baby!
Getting Started
As with any fertility treatment option, you will be well informed in order to make a decision whether or not to proceed. We provide you that opportunity during the Egg Donation Consult. The intent of this consult is to provide answers to your questions as well as information about the entire process from donor screening and selection through embryo transfer. If you are an established patient, you can anticipate this consult to last about 90 minutes; longer for couples who need a review of their infertility history, a physical exam, semen analysis or other laboratory screening. This consult is for your benefit, so we will take as much time as you need in order to be able to make an informed decision.
A successful Donor Egg Program requires a team effort. You will have the opportunity to meet with several members of the team during your consult. You can anticipate meeting with the Third Party Nurse Coordinator, your physician, and a financial counselor. Here are some of the questions you can expect to be covered during your consult:
- Who are the donors?
- How are the donors screened?
- How much information is available on the donor?
- How do I select a donor?
- Can I use a known donor or a donor agency?
- What are the procedural aspects of the screening process and treatment for the donor and the recipient?
- How many embryos can I transfer?
- What are the risks and limitations of this treatment?
- Do I have any alternatives?
- What is the cost?
- What are the current success rates?
To schedule an appointment, call our office to obtain the password required to complete the Information Packet found on the home page Click Here for New Patient Registration. Feel free to send or fax the information. After the information is reviewed, you will be contacted by one of our clinic personnel to assist in scheduling your consult.
If you are interested in using frozen donor eggs, you can view MyEggBank to select a donor. Compared to using traditional “fresh” egg donation, the process of conceiving with frozen donor eggs is faster, more reliable, more flexible, less expensive and produces equal success rates.
Feel free to call the Donor Egg Nurse Coordinator should you have any additional questions or concerns. It is our pleasure to assist you with your dream, having a baby!
Fairfax EggBank
Fairfax EggBank is one of our trusted donor egg partner for frozen donor eggs used in IVF treatment. Their donor egg bank offers one of the nation’s largest pool of rigorously pre-screened egg donors and state-of-the-art egg freezing technology. Fairfax EggBank has been in operation since 2006 and is a sister company to Fairfax CryoBank, a global leader in sperm banking for over 30 years.
What is the difference between fresh versus frozen donor eggs?
In a frozen donor egg cycle, the IVF cycle has already taken place, with the eggs retrieved and vitrified for use in your future treatment. Recipients using frozen eggs do not need to synchronize their treatment schedule with the donor, as is required in fresh egg donation cycles.
The major benefits of using frozen eggs are the convenience of being able to start based on your schedule alone, rather than having work around the donor’s menstrual cycle or availability. By contrast, the benefit to doing a fresh cycle would be the potential for more eggs. At Fairfax EggBank, a cohort of frozen eggs consists of 6 to 8 eggs. It is possible that a fresh donor egg cycle could yield more than that (It is also possible that a fresh cycle could yield less). Fairfax EggBank does offer an embryo development guarantee for each purchased cohort – this is the promise that if at least one good embryo does not result, Fairfax EggBank will provide a free replacement cohort of another 6-8 eggs.
Fairfax EggBank recipients have the peace of mind of knowing that the eggs have already been retrieved and vitrified so any concerns about donor compliance, cycle cancellation and response to medications are no longer issues.
Cost is almost always less when using frozen donor eggs and it is also more predictable. This is true in part because many of the variables in a fresh cycle are not present in a frozen cycle. These variables include costs of donor medications and insurance, and the expense of making last-minute travel plans due to a donor’s response that could be faster or slower than predicted.
Using Fairfax EggBank for your donor egg journey
If you’re considering using frozen donor eggs, here is how to work with Fairfax Eggbank and your donor egg coordinator at Reproductive Resource Center of Greater Kansas City.
- Notify your Donor Egg Nurse Coordinator at Reproductive Resource Center of Greater Kansas City that you’re ready to start the donor egg search. By notifying your coordinator you’re ready to start looking for a donor, she will coordinate any medical requirements for you to complete before you actively search for a donor.
- Visit www.fairfaxeggbank.com to start your donor search. You’ll have free access to a large pool of pre-screened, FDA-compliant donors, with full medical and family histories and photos. Contact Fairfax EggBank’s client services team to let them know you’re looking. You’ll get assigned a dedicate coordinator to provide you with support you need to help you find your match and walk you through the process.
- Once you find a donor you’re ready to move forward with, alert Fairfax EggBank. Your Fairfax EggBank coordinator will work with you to process the paperwork and payment.
- Complete the paperwork and payment with Fairfax EggBank. Fairfax EggBank will then coordinate with you and the team at Reproductive Resource Center of Greater Kansas City to schedule the shipment and logistics of your donor egg cohort. Note: Fairfax EggBank’s offers financing options: visit Fairfax EggBank Financing for details.
- Fairfax EggBank’s lab team will ship your donor egg cohort(s) overnight to our lab. Fairfax EggBank will keep you up to date on the progress, knowing that status updates like these are really important.
- Your team at Reproductive Resource Center of Greater Kansas City will coordinate for you to under the transfer procedure. Your success will be all of ours. Should the donor egg cohort require a replacement under the embryo development guarantee, Fairfax EggBank will work with you and RRC to process the request.
For more information, please see our Egg Donor FAQs