HOW TO FIND AN EGG DONOR
Selecting an egg donor is an intimate and personal choice. It is a major milestone in your journey toward building or growing a family. When you’re ready to begin the process, it will be important to consider what characteristics and qualities are most important to you and discuss those with your partner and/or social networks.
You’ll also have to decide whether to find an egg donor through personal connections, an agency or social app. Here are a few attributes that many intended parents consider while going through egg donor profiles at Growing Generations.
CONSIDERATIONS WHEN CHOOSING A DONOR
Before creating your checklist, remember that no one is perfect. Keep in mind that it is highly unlikely you will find one donor who meets all of your specifications in every area. Just as with all things in life, choosing your ideal egg donor is a balancing act, so it’s helpful to decide what the most important attributes are in your ideal egg donor and which are more secondary or optional.
WILL THE EGG DONOR BE KNOWN OR UNKNOWN?
Decide whether you prefer an egg donor you know, such as a friend or family member, or someone who is unknown to you. Some intended parents prefer to choose a known donor so that the child will be able to form a relationship with her. Others prefer an unknown donor that an agency or fertility center helps them find. The latter option provides greater confidentiality and simplifies some of the legal issues.
WHAT IS HER MEDICAL BACKGROUND?
In order to do your part in having a child that is healthy and not at risk of hereditary diseases, make sure to have a full medical analysis and screening performed before confirming your egg donor.
WHAT ARE HER PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS?
For many intended parents, choosing a donor who shares their physical traits is important. When going through an agency, you will have a wide selection of women to choose from, so narrowing your preferences can save you time and stress. Factors such as ethnicity, skin tone, height and hair and eye color are common considerations.
WHAT PERSONALITY TRAITS DOES SHE HAVE?
It helps some intended parents to know a little bit about the kind of person their chosen egg donor is. This makes it easier to create a birth story that is empowering and interesting for their child. Your egg donor’s profile will help paint a picture of who she is, including her reasons for becoming an egg donor. This knowledge can help you decide between multiple candidates. IQ test scores are also often shared if the egg donor has taken the test.
DOES SHE HAVE A HISTORY OF DONATING EGGS?
Are you willing to work with a first-time donor, or do you prefer someone who has been through this process before? When working with a previous donor, you may be able to see if she produced a strong amount of viable eggs, and if they resulted in a successful pregnancy.
WORKING WITH AN AGENCY
When you search for an egg donor through Growing Generations, we are hard at work behind the scenes to help you find the right donor. Before an applicant can become an egg donor, she will answer many questions about herself including information on her health history, her family’s health history, if she’s on medication, and if she is a tobacco user. Growing Generations’ egg donors meet strict criteria for acceptance including:
A BMI lower than 27.5
Between the ages of 21-30
No history of inherited cancers
No familial history of multiple family members with heart disease or heart attack before age 55
Must pass Sexually Transmitted Infection Screening
Must pass drug screening
No psychiatric hospitalizations