Inside egg donation

Shady Grove Fertility, the nation’s leading fertility center, performs more IVF treatment cycles using donor egg than any fertility center in the United States. 

Donor egg is a necessary and very effective treatment when a woman’s own fertility is compromised due to poor egg quality. Shady Grove Fertility has strict standards for the women eligible to become an egg donor. “We only accept about 3% of applicants, so about 97% of women that apply are not going to qualify,” says Donor Egg & Gestation Carrier Program Manager, Michele Purcell, RN, BSN.

Egg donor are between 21-31 years of age, normal weight range, a non-smoker, and preferably a college student or graduates. Candidates must go through a psychological assessment as well as be tested for their potential fertility prior to being put on the donor egg database.

“It was unbelievable to hear the words ‘not only are you pregnant but this really looks like a viable pregnancy,’” said donor egg recipient, Heidi. “It was an answered prayer. We had waited so long, I didn’t believe it could really happen, and then it happened.”

“I know how much I want to have kids when I am ready, so I can’t imagine how painful it must be when you want kids so badly but you can’t,” explained a Shady Grove Fertility egg donor. “I figured it would so worth it to go through a little inconvenience on my side to help someone with something like that.”

Shady Grove Fertility’s egg donation program quality control standards, egg donor selection criteria and egg donation qualifying process, follows the strict medical guidelines as established by the Food and Drug Administration and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.