Become an egg donor.
Shady Grove Fertility egg donors have helped over 10,000 patients have a baby. If you are 21 to 30, healthy, educated, and want to help a family- come work with the leading egg donation program in the country. First time egg donors are generously compensated $7,000 for your time and efforts.
Eligibility
Shady Grove Fertility has one of the largest donor egg programs in the country. Egg donors undergo a comprehensive evaluation, and if qualified, proceed with a donation quickly.
If eligible, you can donate up to six times and earn compensation per donation.
- Women between the ages of 21 to 30 with good overall health
- Good overall health
- Both ovaries
- Can provide medical history for your family (parents, siblings, grandparents)
- Body mass index (BMI) between 18 to 29.4
- No smoking or vaping before and throughout the egg donation process
- Live or work within 90 minutes of one of our full service locations in DC, DE, FL, GA, MD, PA, TX, or VA
- Earned at least a high school diploma
- Not currently pregnant or breastfeeding
Compensation
We recognize that your decision to become an egg donor is a tremendous gift, but we agree with the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) that participants cannot be “paid” for their oocytes/eggs. However, it is clearly recognized that your time, effort, and commitment should be compensated. The total compensation for a completed cycle is traditionally $7,000 for first-time donors, paid out in phases as your progress through each portion of the process. Donors will receive a 1099 form for tax reporting purposes. Consult your tax advisor for more information.
Where can I donate eggs?
Shady Grove Fertility accepts egg donors at select locations in Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Texas, and Washington D.C. Egg donors must live within a 90 minute drive of one of our full-service offices. If you are unsure if you live within range, please contact one of our Donor Liaisons at 1-888-312-4499.
Step 6: That’s it!
You did it! You can cross off “fulfilling someone’s dreams of a family” off your bucket list! The gift our egg donors give to our recipients is unmeasurable. We can’t thank you enough! Not only do you make a huge impact in someone else’s life, you are generously compensated for your time and energy you put into the donation!
Step 1: Apply online
It is so easy to get started! First, complete this quick initial application. If approved, you will then complete the full egg donor questionnaire. This is where we learn about how amazing you are! You will include personal/family medical history, photos, thoughtful personal statements that will give you the opportunity to share why you have decided to become an egg donor.
Step 2: Medical screening
If eligible, we will move forward to see what your ovarian reserve looks like. How many eggs is your body producing every month? While we are evaluating to see if you will be a successful donor, you get to learn some pretty cool things about your body and your own fertility! We go on to do psychological screening and some more blood work that includes infectious diseases and genetic testing! You will have the opportunity to review all these results and learn all about the actual donation process, so you know what to expect with our Donor Team Nurse Practitioner.
Step 3: Ready for selection!
You are officially an approved SGF egg donor when you receive both medical and psychological clearance. Your Donor Profile is then uploaded to our donor database for recipients to view and select! Once matched with a recipient(s) we will get you ready for the actual donation cycle.
Step 4: Stimulation
It is now time to synchronize you with your recipient(s). Sounds complicated, but its not! We use birth control pills for this and can take about 3-4 weeks to get your cycles synchronized.
Next, you will begin daily injectable medications of the natural hormone FSH and LH. The medications are higher doses of what your body naturally produces as it normally just needs enough to mature one egg. The goal for us is to stimulate the growth and development of all the eggs your body brought forward that month to donate!
We watch you very closely during this time! You will come to SGF for regular monitoring appointments (bloodwork and ultrasound) to ensure your follicles are growing appropriately.
Step 5: Let’s Donate! Egg retrieval
When your body says it’s ready, we will proceed to the egg retrieval. You will be scheduled for this appointment about 36-48 hours in advance at one of SGF’s surgical centers. The intra-vaginal procedure takes place while you are under IV sedation, asleep and pain-free! The egg retrieval is quick, 20-30 minutes! Because of the anesthesia you need to be prepared to take the day off from school/work. You will need a driver to take you home and you need to rest.
Step 6: That’s it!
You did it! You can cross off “fulfilling someone’s dreams of a family” off your bucket list! The gift our egg donors give to our recipients is unmeasurable. We can’t thank you enough! Not only do you make a huge impact in someone else’s life, you are generously compensated for your time and energy you put into the donation!
Step 1: Apply online
It is so easy to get started! First, complete this quick initial application. If approved, you will then complete the full egg donor questionnaire. This is where we learn about how amazing you are! You will include personal/family medical history, photos, thoughtful personal statements that will give you the opportunity to share why you have decided to become an egg donor.
Step 2: Medical screening
If eligible, we will move forward to see what your ovarian reserve looks like. How many eggs is your body producing every month? While we are evaluating to see if you will be a successful donor, you get to learn some pretty cool things about your body and your own fertility! We go on to do psychological screening and some more blood work that includes infectious diseases and genetic testing! You will have the opportunity to review all these results and learn all about the actual donation process, so you know what to expect with our Donor Team Nurse Practitioner.
Step 3: Ready for selection!
You are officially an approved SGF egg donor when you receive both medical and psychological clearance. Your Donor Profile is then uploaded to our donor database for recipients to view and select! Once matched with a recipient(s) we will get you ready for the actual donation cycle.
Step 4: Stimulation
It is now time to synchronize you with your recipient(s). Sounds complicated, but its not! We use birth control pills for this and can take about 3-4 weeks to get your cycles synchronized.
Next, you will begin daily injectable medications of the natural hormone FSH and LH. The medications are higher doses of what your body naturally produces as it normally just needs enough to mature one egg. The goal for us is to stimulate the growth and development of all the eggs your body brought forward that month to donate!
We watch you very closely during this time! You will come to SGF for regular monitoring appointments (bloodwork and ultrasound) to ensure your follicles are growing appropriately.
Step 5: Let’s Donate! Egg retrieval
When your body says it’s ready, we will proceed to the egg retrieval. You will be scheduled for this appointment about 36-48 hours in advance at one of SGF’s surgical centers. The intra-vaginal procedure takes place while you are under IV sedation, asleep and pain-free! The egg retrieval is quick, 20-30 minutes! Because of the anesthesia you need to be prepared to take the day off from school/work. You will need a driver to take you home and you need to rest.
Step 6: That’s it!
You did it! You can cross off “fulfilling someone’s dreams of a family” off your bucket list! The gift our egg donors give to our recipients is unmeasurable. We can’t thank you enough! Not only do you make a huge impact in someone else’s life, you are generously compensated for your time and energy you put into the donation!
FAQs
You must first be initially accepted and then you will be asked to complete and submit the official application (your donor profile) to become an egg donor. It is important you make every possible attempt to answer all questions thoroughly and try to get accurate family medical histories. The donor liaisons not only assess the profile for completeness, including review of your medical history, but also to help determine if the donor applicant meets our recipients’ needs.
If your donor profile clears this portion of the recruitment process, the next step will be for one of our certified registered nurse practitioners (CRNPs) to review your profile and give the initial medical approval to continue with screening. The CRNP may ask for additional information or clarification or decide that the donor should not continue with screening.
While it is difficult to give an exact time frame, from the start of the application process through the egg retrieval/donation, the average cycle is 3 months. This includes the screening and evaluation to become an egg donor, followed by the actual egg donation treatment cycle. Donor Day and the day of the egg retrieval are the only appointments where you will absolutely need to request a day off from work or plan to miss classes.
During the process you may also need to take time away from work or class to consult with one of our licensed mental health professionals; however, they work very closely with you and your schedule. We conduct the remaining appointments for lab work and ultrasounds early each morning from about 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., allowing you to schedule your appointment before normal working hours.
The hormone injections that you take are very similar to the hormones that your body produces naturally. Most women do not describe any noted effects directly from the medications. During Donor Day, you will receive a detailed explanation of potential risks and side effects.
One of our nurses will teach you how to administer your medications by using a very small needle to inject the medication into a small section of your abdomen.
There is no research supporting any adverse effect on your current or future fertility. About half of our donors are mothers already, and many eventually have children of their own following donation.
In addition to the overwhelming sense of fulfillment obtained from egg donation, donors will leave the process with significant information about their own fertility during and after donation. This, and the free genetic testing and counseling received prior to donation, provide insight that may eventually impact important personal life decisions and allow you to learn a little bit more about who you are.
No. Whether you have had no children or you have had multiple children, you are welcome to pursue this endeavor.
If one of our physicians approves you to donate again, you may donate up to six times in your lifetime. Approximately 60 percent of cycling donors in any given month are repeat donors. About 2 months following your egg retrieval, a donor team physician will review your donation cycle and the recipient outcomes to determine your future eligibility. This review process can take up to 8 weeks. A Donor Liaison will contact you, update any consent forms, and upload your profile back into the donor registry. As long as all labs are up to date according to our protocol, you can go back on the registry immediately.
We are excited to work with you, but do require you obtain copies of your records from your prior donations. Once we review your records, if you’re accepted into our program, we will compensate you based on the number of your previous donations.
Recipients will only receive non-identifying information conveyed by you in your donor profile. We do not disclose any identifying information to the recipients. To protect your anonymity, please omit children’s names, names of colleges, workplace, location of volunteer work, etc., from your donor profile. We also recommend reviewing your profile again before you submit to check for spelling/grammar errors or issues with consistency of information.
We also protect the anonymity of the recipient(s). We are an unidentified program, meaning we do not allow communication between our donors and recipients. Once you have donated your eggs, you no longer have rights to them or to any information regarding their disposition. Following the egg retrieval, the eggs belong to the recipient(s). It would be a violation of their privacy if we shared information with you.
No. While we do allow donors the option of showing their current photograph in their profile, it is not a requirement. Many of our donors continue to display only their childhood photographs. It is at your complete discretion. Please make sure the photos you submit are not on any social media website, for the sake of anonymity.
We encourage you to discuss your decision to donate with your family and friends. You can also refer others and earn $100 once they are approved for egg donation and added to the Egg Donor Program.
As part of Donor Day, you will complete the written portion of your psychological evaluation. If the evaluation comes back approved, after medical clearance, you will be asked to schedule an in-person appointment with a mental health professional. If you are in a relationship, your partner or spouse will need to attend the psychological evaluation with you.
In the words of our donors
Having a team that’s with you the whole way really boosts your confidence, makes you feel safe, makes you feel like you can ask questions… It was wonderful, it honestly made me feel kind of treasured in a way.
It’s the excitement and joy that I feel knowing that I can help a family in such a special way that means the most to me. My next donation is already scheduled, and I plan to continue donating as long as recipients continue to choose me.
I felt so passionate and positive about my experience, I couldn’t wait to share it with more women so that they, too, could experience the same.
For me, egg donation is a privilege and I consider myself lucky to be able to give in such a profound way. The first time I donated, I remember vividly how emotionally good I felt. Pure, simple goodness in the knowledge that I created hope where previously there had been none.
My mother struggled with fertility and had my wonderful brother with fertility treatments and I would love to give another family the chance to either start a family or expand their current family.
Having a team that’s with you the whole way really boosts your confidence, makes you feel safe, makes you feel like you can ask questions… It was wonderful, it honestly made me feel kind of treasured in a way.
It’s the excitement and joy that I feel knowing that I can help a family in such a special way that means the most to me. My next donation is already scheduled, and I plan to continue donating as long as recipients continue to choose me.
I felt so passionate and positive about my experience, I couldn’t wait to share it with more women so that they, too, could experience the same.
For me, egg donation is a privilege and I consider myself lucky to be able to give in such a profound way. The first time I donated, I remember vividly how emotionally good I felt. Pure, simple goodness in the knowledge that I created hope where previously there had been none.
My mother struggled with fertility and had my wonderful brother with fertility treatments and I would love to give another family the chance to either start a family or expand their current family.
Having a team that’s with you the whole way really boosts your confidence, makes you feel safe, makes you feel like you can ask questions… It was wonderful, it honestly made me feel kind of treasured in a way.
Patient stories
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