Become a Donor
• Overview
• Donor Qualifications
• Becoming a Donor
Overview
At Texas Fertility Center, we have the utmost admiration and respect for those young women who choose to help others by donating their eggs. It is the philosophy of the practice that every donor is treated with the care and respect she deserves. From your initial encounter with our Donor Coordinator, you will be able to see that we are dedicated to your well-being.
For some women, becoming a donor can feel like a very complex and overwhelming process. Our job is to guide you through the process and alleviate all of your concerns. By becoming a donor, a significant amount of responsibility is given to you, with the knowledge that there is another couple depending on you to help them bring their baby home.
The physicians at TFC feel very strongly that every donor who enters our program receives personalized care. We employ very thorough screening measures in order to maintain the highest standard of care for all of our patients.
We consider the health and well-being of our patients and donors to be our first and foremost responsibility. Along those lines, every one of our donors is provided with health insurance during the course of their treatment. This insurance is in place to protect against that rare occasion when a complication requiring medical attention or intervention may be encountered as a result of the treatment cycle. The policy is secondary if other medical coverage is in place. While donating eggs has an extremely low complication rate, we believe that all patients should have coverage during any type of medical treatment.
The remainder of this page describes eligibility criteria for potential donors. Feel free to contact us at (512) 451-0149 for an information packet or to speak with one of our donor egg coordinators.
Donor Qualifications
Every potential oocyte donor must meet ALL of the following criteria in order to be eligible for acceptance into our anonymous egg donor program:
- Age 21-32 year old healthy female
- Non-smoker
- No current use of psychoactive drugs
- Must have readily available transportation to the office for appointments
- No history of substance abuse
- No travel to regions deemed high risk for communicable diseases as defined by the FDA
- No recent body piercing or tattoos
- Must be responsible and able to follow directions
- Must meet height and weight requirements as listed below:
Height Maximum Weight
4'11" 149lbs
5'0” 154 lbs
5'1" 159 lbs
5'2" 164 lbs
5'3" 169 lbs
5'4" 174 lbs
5'5" 179 lbs
5'6" 184 lbs
5'7" 189 lbs
5'8" 194 lbs
5'9" 202 lbs
5'10" 209 lbs
5'11" 215 lbs
6'0" 220 lbs
Becoming a Donor
Initial Questionnaire:
If you meet all of the eligibility requirements listed above, please contact the Donor Coordinator for an initial telephone screening or complete the brief eligibility questionnaire by clicking on the link below. If the information obtained is consistent with FDA and TFC practice guidelines, you will be scheduled for an interview with the donor coordinator. At this visit, you will be given a detailed information packet to complete. This packet will ask very extensive questions relating to your personal medical, family, and genetic history. You will also be asked to provide photographs of yourself as a baby, child, and young adolescent. We will then ask you to sign a privacy statement and contact permission sheet so we will know how you prefer to be contacted.
Once your entire application is complete, our Donor Coordinator will explain the enrollment process as well as screening and cycling procedures and expectations. There will also be a discussion of the risks and potential complications of becoming a donor and you will be given the opportunity to ask any questions or voice any concerns. If you desire, a brief tour of our facility in Austin will also be arranged. If you have donated at another fertility center previously, please let us know and we will try to respect your time by minimizing your required visits. Since May 2005, the testing and eligibility requirements of egg donors have been specified by the Federal Drug Administration. These guidelines mandate that every donor undergo a screening questionnaire for relevant communicable disease transmission as well as physical testing for infectious diseases. The physical testing must be completed within 30 days of the actual donation process.
Eligibility Questionnaire (Link to form that will e-mail to billie@txfertility.com once they hit send)
Ultrasound and Consultation
Once you have been chosen by a recipient couple and are ready to proceed with egg donation, you will be asked to come in for a short examination and transvaginal ultrasound. You will then have a consultation with one of our donor coordinators, at which time the risks and complications of egg donation will be reviewed and you will have the opportunity to discuss any concerns or have us answer any questions you may have. You will incur no charges for any of the initial or subsequent testing related to your donation procedure.
Additional Testing
Once you have completed the initial screening and testing, we will ask you to complete the remaining eligibility items:
1. Psychological Screening with a licensed psychologist / social worker
2. Complete History, Physical and Genetic testing
This will include blood testing for: HIV, Hepatitis B & C, Syphilis, CMV IgG & IgM, Blood Type, Rh factor, Drug screen, Cystic Fibrosis,Thalassemia, Sickle Cell, Tay Sachs Disease, Chromosome Analysis and Fragile-X testing. Cervical cultures for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea will also be performed as will a Pap smear unless you can provide proof of a normal Pap smear within the last year.
Stimulation Cycle
Once you have been chosen by a recipient couple, the entire donor cycle will span the course of approximately six weeks. You will be in contact with our Donor/IVF Coordinator and will receive a schedule of treatment. During the first three weeks of the schedule, you will take an oral contraceptive pill every day, usually followed by a once daily subcutaneous (under-the-skin) injection of Lupron, a medication that prevents you from releasing eggs prematurely during the cycle. While you are on the oral contraceptive pill, you will schedule an appointment with one of our clinical staff in order to learn how to administer the subcutaneous injections.
Typically, we will ask you to stop taking your oral contraceptive on the fifth day of Lupron injections. You will start a menstrual period a few days later, at which time you will call our office to begin the stimulation process. An ultrasound will be performed on the second or third day following the start of your period at which time you will be instructed to start your stimulation medications. If you need a refresher on your injection technique, our staff will be pleased to take care of this at the time of your ultrasound appointment. You will continue taking your Lupron injections every day until your stimulation has been completed. The stimulation medications are injected subcutaneously similar to the Lupron. You will have a vaginal sonogram and will also have blood drawn to measure your estrogen production approximately every three days during your stimulation. Although everyone stimulates differently, we will do our best to predict the day you will be ready to undergo egg retrieval so that you can arrange your schedule accordingly. You can schedule your ultrasound monitoring appointments with either our sonography technician or the physician, whichever you prefer, in order to disrupt your schedule as little as possible. We will make every attempt to accommodate your scheduling preferences, but ultimately the decision for when you must be seen lies with the physician. Adjustments to your treatment will be made daily by the monitoring physician after he or she reviews your blood tests and ultrasound report.
The Egg Retrieval
Once your follicles have reached maturity, you will be instructed to take another medication called hCG or Ovidrel at a very specific time in the evening. Your retrieval will then be scheduled exactly 36 hours after this injection time. The egg retrieval will be performed at the St. David’s Fertility Surgery Center which is adjacent to the Austin IVF facility located on the ground floor of Building 3 in the Northwest Hills Medical Center. A Board Certified anesthesiologist will insert an IV and provide light IV sedation for the procedure. You will be breathing on your own the entire time; however you will feel no pain or discomfort during the procedure. Your physician will perform the oocyte retrieval by passing a thin needle under ultrasound guidance through your vaginal wall into your ovary and aspirating the fluid containing the egg from each follicle. The entire retrieval procedure usually takes no more than 20-30 minutes and the recovery period usually lasts 30 minutes to 1 hour. Some women will experience spotting and cramping (similar to menstrual cramps) after the procedure. We require that you have someone with you to drive you home, as you may still be a little groggy from the sedation medications. We ask donors to abstain from intercourse for at least 1 week after retrieval and to use condoms during intercourse for the subsequent 2 weeks. A clinical staff member will call you on the day after the retrieval to check on your status. You can expect resumption of your menstrual cycle in approximately two weeks.
Compensation
Upon successful completion of the egg retrieval, each donor will receive compensation in the amount of $4000 for her participation in the program.
