The Egg Donation Process

Donation Process
•The process begins with screening.
•After screening, the fertility process takes about 3 weeks, involves about 8 doctor's visits, about 20 hours of your time and a number of painless self-administered injections.
•Over about a 10-day period, you'll also take a second injection of natural hormones to signal your body to simultaneously mature a number of eggs at once.
•Finally, you will be scheduled for retrieval of the eggs before they are released into your own body. To avoid any discomfort, you may be put to sleep by general anesthesia or a tranquilizer before the procedure begins.
•During retrieval, a thin needle is inserted into the vagina and through the back of the vaginal wall to retrieve the microscopic eggs. The eggs are removed through the needle from the fine membrane follicle sacks that grow on the outside of the ovary.
•Retrieval takes about 30 minutes and is considered quite painless by most donors. There are no cuts or incisions.
•Recovery time varies from person to person. Generally, a donor experiences mild to moderate discomfort similar to menstrual cramps for some days. Few donors experience discomfort at a level that requires them to limit their activities.
•Although extremely rare, in less than 1% of cases, more serious complications occur that require medical attention or hospitalization.