Common Questions One May Have When Considering an Egg Donor

Thankfully, today individuals and couples who struggle with infertility have more options than ever before. Egg donation, and the use of frozen eggs has opened up the selection of finding your ideal donor. We understand that when considering using donor eggs, you will have many questions about the donor, process, costs and more.

We’ve done the legwork for you – here are answers to common questions about egg donation:

What will I know about my potential donor?

Here at Fairfax EggBank, all potential donors go through an extensive screening process where we gather important information to assist in the process of choosing an egg donor.

• Medical Information: We provide a full medical history profile of each donor, including genetics, behavioral, personal and family medical history across three generations.
• Personal Information: You will also receive a detailed profile that will cover personal information such as personality traits, motivations, goals, ambitions, interests and religion. We also provide the donor’s academic history and a detailed list of physical and facial features. Similar information on the donor’s parents and extended family members such as academic history and occupation will also be provided.
• Photos: You can view childhood photos within the donor profile, as well as professionally shot adulthood photos if you sign a confidentiality agreement form.
• Personal essays and interviews: Important pieces of the donor profile include personal essays and audio interviews which allow you to get a better idea of that donor’s personality.In summary, you have access to a tremendous amount of information about any potential donor so you can make the most informed decision when choosing a donor for yourself.

How can I be sure Fairfax EggBank egg donors will produce viable eggs?

More IVF clinics partner with Fairfax EggBank than any other egg bank, because of the trust they have in our experience and expertise.

Fairfax EggBank began in 2006 as part of the popular fresh donor egg IVF program at the Genetics & IVF Institute (GIVF). Fairfax EggBank is a subsidiary of the GIVF along with Fairfax Cryobank, one of the nation’s largest sperm banks that has been in operation for over 30 years.

As a sibling company to Fairfax Cryobank we are uniquely situated, born out of a successful and tested model for gamete cryopreservation and shipping. Our clinicians and embryologists have worked with donors and recipients for decades and pride ourselves on delivering state-of-the-art medical science. You can learn our most recent success rates here.

Fairfax EggBank is confident in the quality of its donors, the expertise of its scientists, and the experience it has in freezing eggs. That’s why our guarantee offers such a strong assurance: we offer a frozen donor egg guarantee of at least one good embryo from your purchased cohorts of donor eggs with the security of a replacement cohort if the first’s quality standard is not met. For a more detailed description of our screening process, click here.

How much does egg donation cost?

We understand that going through this process can be both emotionally and financially straining. Therefore, we structure our pricing in a simple and straightforward manner, with no hidden fees or unexpected costs. Frozen donor eggs can also be more cost-effective, costing less than half of what a single fresh donor egg cycle costs. When it comes to donor egg pricing, a cohort of donor eggs (6-8 eggs) costs $15,800 plus $690 shipping. We do offer various financing options and discount programs as well. We encourage you to check out our blog that discusses tips and resources for financing donor egg treatment to find ways to make donor eggs more affordable.

Can I obtain a medical or billing code to submit to my insurance for reimbursement?

As a human tissue bank, Fairfax EggBank is not a healthcare provider and does not participate in insurance plans.  We are unaware of any CPT, HCPCS, or other medical or billing codes for purchased donor egg cohorts on a stand-alone basis. As such, we will not be able to provide recipients with a code to submit to their insurance plans for reimbursement.

What is the difference between frozen and fresh donor eggs?

Frozen donor eggs are rapidly growing in popularity, as patients demand it more and more IVF clinics embrace the technology. There is even a growing opinion among clinicians that eventually, we will live in a world where only frozen donor eggs are offered.

• Frozen donor eggs: Since the donors are already pre-screened, have frozen donor eggs ready to ship, and don’t need to have cycles synchronized, recipients can select their donor, be guaranteed to receive a set number of good-quality eggs, and initiate a cycle quicker. Thus, frozen donor eggs are seen to be much more convenient and reliable, and give recipients a greater sense of control over time – something that they feel they do not have enough of in their quest to conceive a child. Frozen donor eggs can also be more cost-effective, as there are less expenses involved in undergoing an egg donation cycle.
• Fresh donor eggs: While fresh donor eggs can result in more eggs for the recipient to use, there is more risk, time, and potential expense involved. Once a recipient chooses a donor, the donor will need to pass additional testing requirements; there’s a risk that she’ll either fail screening tests or even change her mind about donating. If she passes screening requirements, you must then time your cycle by synchronizing your availability with the donor’s menstrual cycle and availability. And if she does move forward to complete an egg donation cycle, there’s also a risk that the egg retrieval may yield few or no eggs, though you’ll still be responsible for all costs regardless of success.

Learn other differences between fresh and frozen donor eggs here.

Where does my treatment cycle and embryo transfer take place?

Fairfax EggBank partners with over 340+ IVF clinics across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil. These clinics have been specially trained by our Fairfax EggBank embryologist to warm frozen donor eggs according to our protocol in order to achieve optimal success. Fairfax EggBank will ship eggs to any of these clinics.

You can view the list of partnering IVF clinics here. If you don’t see your preferred clinic, then not to worry: simply let your clinic and let them know you are interested in proceeding with a frozen donor egg cycle using eggs from the Fairfax EggBank, and our team will execute the steps to forge a partnership.

If I use donor eggs, will the baby be mine?

100% yes! The donor waives all rights to her donor eggs. Egg donors assume no responsibility or liability for any child conceived by their donation.

Can I meet my egg donor?

We offer the option for our egg donors to be a non-ID Option donor, or an ID Option donor. If an egg donor chooses the ID Option, she agrees to allow us to release her identity and contact information only to the donor-conceived child, not the recipients of donor eggs, once that child reaches the age of 18 and requests the information. As a recipient, you may choose whether to go with an non-ID Option or ID Option donor. For more information about our ID Option Donor Program, click here.

We hope that this blog has been able to answer some questions you may have. If you want to learn more about the egg donation process be sure to check out our FAQ page for more answers to common questions. You’ve got this, parent-to-be!

If your question is not listed here feel free to message us so a team member can answer any additional or more specific questions you may have.