In the United States, there is one out of every eight couples that have fertility issues. Whenever an infertile couple comes to the decision to use an egg donor as their form of fertility treatment there are many questions that will come to mind. One of the biggest questions is how to choose the right egg donor for your needs.
What is Important
When a person is about to be so valuable to you it is important that you know what you are looking for. It is important to have an idea of what you’re looking for before you begin the selection process. There are some questions that might help you along the way.
-Decide if your egg donor’s religion is important?
-Do the egg donor’s personal traits matter?
-Is the personality of your egg donor important?
-Will you evaluate academic and employment success?
-What do you feel is nature vs. nurture, so you know what things you don’t have to worry about when choosing an egg donor
Remember that no matter what is important to you, be honest with your partner as well as your fertility clinic and egg donation agency they may be helping you find the right one.
Finding the Hard Stuff
It can be hard for infertile couples to locate an egg donor based on some of their needs. Each donor is required to fill out a family history. This will enable intended parents to pick an egg donor based on many qualities such as how a donor looks, genetic traits, ethnic heritage, as well as other things that are passed down through genetics. When searching for certain things may find that there are harder to find if you run into this evaluate if that is a ”must” or just a ”would be nice”. That may free you up to find a donor that you just fall in love with, and some advice from fellow Recipient Parents.
What Kind of Donor Relationship
Each intended parent has a different expectation of what they want their relationship with their egg donor to look like. If you choose to go with a donor with which you do not have a prior relationship it is encouraged to either use your fertility clinic’s database of donors or an agency that you can trust. Most agencies will facilitate both known and anonymous cycles. If you have a strong preference one way or the other make sure you discuss that with your agency.
Screenings and Legalities
Each egg donor goes through specific screenings at the point that they are chosen. These screenings are mandatory for all egg donors. Each donor will go through both a physical and psychological screening before they are able to be committed to an egg donation cycle. If you choose to work with an agency they will help facilitate that screening with your clinic. It is highly recommended when using an egg donor you have a contract in place that both you and the egg donor sign legal agreements before you move forward. This ensures all expectations of the cycle currently and for the future are mutually agreed upon between both parties. This is still not a standard procedure but is highly recommended in all donor/recipient matches.
Options for future contact
Another important element of the agreement is establishing a way for IPs to contact the donor in the future for medical updates, questions, or in the event their children want to reach out when they are older. This is typically done via the Donor Sibling Registry (DSR), a nonprofit organization that facilitates connections between donor-conceived people, egg donors, sperm donors, siblings, and recipient parents through its website.
When the DSR is included in the agreement, IPs pay the membership fee for themselves and the donor, who is required to register with the site and keep her information current. IPs and donors can choose to remain unidentified to one another and communicate strictly through the DSR, or they may choose to exchange names and personal contact information.
No matter what qualities you want from an egg donor, remember to be confident in your decisions, and pick a donor that you feel really good about. Take the time to find the right egg donor for you. If you are interested in working with an Egg Donation Agency that is committed to helping you find the donor that is best for you please call Egg Donor Solutions today.
We help Intended Parents Create Happy Families via Egg Donation & Surrogacy with the help of caring Egg Donors & Surrogates.
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