Donating your eggs is truly offering the gift of life to couples unable to have their own children. Befitting such an important decision, there’s more to becoming an egg donor than just signing up and waiting for your appointment to have your eggs removed.
Becoming an egg donor isn’t for everyone. Beyond your willingness, you must meet a wide range of health criteria. Here at YourEggs, in the Del Mar/Torrey Pines area of San Diego and in Newport Beach, California, we make sure potential egg donors are suitable.
Requirements to be an egg donor
What’s it take to become an egg donor? These are among the factors that determine whether you can donate your eggs. You must:
- Have a body mass index (BMI) under 30
- Be 19-29 years old
- Have both ovaries
- Be a non-smoker
- Have regular menstrual cycles
- Have no history of substance abuse
- Be dependable, mature, and keep appointments
- Have no family history of inheritable genetic disorders
- Be willing to take injections
- Not be using psychoactive drugs
- Not be using Mirena® IUDs, implants, or Depo-Provera® injections as birth control
Due to the intensive screening process with egg donations, only a small percentage of potential donors gets accepted. The number varies from clinic to clinic, but typically the acceptance rate ranges from 3-10%.
Be psychologically and physically healthy
Before becoming an egg donor, you must undergo multiple psychological and physical screenings. The doctors at YourEggs want to ensure you’re healthy and mentally stable before donating.
At your physical screenings, the doctors disqualify you if you’ve received any tattoos or piercings that did not use sterile procedures in the last 12 months.
They may also disqualify you if you’ve been to a country known to have viruses that could potentially affect your child’s quality of life after birth.
Finally, the doctors will take bloodwork and then give you an ultrasound to see how many eggs you have and the likelihood of a good outcome.
Actual process time vs. screening time
The screening process takes up to three times as long as the actual donation process. While the egg donation process only takes around two weeks, the screening process can take up to six weeks.
If you’re considering becoming an egg donor, call us at our offices in Newport Beach or the Del Mar/Torrey Pines area of San Diego, California, or schedule an appointment online today. We also encourage you to take our brief pre-screening questionnaire.
