Hi there! 8x donor here.

I would research the heck out of it to really make sure this is something you’d be willing to do. Essentially you are giving someone your child not just carrying theirs for them.

It is quite a process.

Step 1. Find an agency. I can recommend the one I use if you’re in CA. You will have to apply to be a donor. If accepted, you will fill out a profile. 10-12 pages of information. They want to know everything. The more pictures you upload, the better. You will have to wait until an “intended parent” picks you to donate. I waited almost a year of my profile being active before I got chosen for my first.

Step 2. The screenings begin. You’ll have a medical screening. They will test you for just about everything under the sun. STDs included. They possibly will test your partner too if you are married.

Step 3. You’ll have a psychological screening. This is an interview with a psychologist. The first one I had was about 4 hours. They will ask you about everything. They want to make sure you’re of sound mind to go through with a donor cycle. They might do an IQ test also.

Once you pass all that,

Step 4. Legal phase. You and your IPs will have separate attorneys. The attorney will present you with a contract. These are usually about 20-30 pages long. The attorney will explain everything in this contract. You (and your husband if you have one) will have to sign this. You may request changes to the contract if you see it necessary. The IPs would have to agree to the changes (if you have any) and both parties must sign the contract before any stimulation meds occur.

Step 5. Once this is all done, you will start stimulating medication. This is 10-14 days of injections that you must give yourself. Or you can have a family member help you. You will feel BLOATED. I personally get moody while taking these, like in on my period. You will have to drive to the clinic for monitoring appointments every couple of days. 1-2 days before your retrieval you will have a “trigger” shot to begin ovulation. The egg retrieval itself is only about 20 minutes or so. They put you under light sedation. I would say the cramping after, when you wake up is comparable to being on your period.

BE CAREFUL ABOUT HYPERSTIMULATION. Please google OHSS. This has happened to me before and is totally preventable. You should not be producing more than about 20 eggs. Any more than that is reckless on the doctors part. They are overstimulating you. I drink 2 liters of Gatorade a day (not exaggerating) about a week before the retrieval and a week after. I have been to the ER for hyperstim and it is NOT fun.

I usually take 2 weeks off from work to complete these donations. First week for all the meds and monitoring appointments (sometimes they will change the date of your appointments last second) and a week for recovery.

It’s a lot to to think about. The process takes a couple months once you’ve been paired with a family.

You can have an anonymous donation or the family might share information with you. Depends on what they want.

Let me know if you have any questions :)

Egg Donation Q&A