Your Complete Guide to Egg Donation
From selecting your donor to confirming your pregnancy — here is everything you need to know, explained clearly and honestly.
Using a Donor Egg
to Start Your Family
Egg donation is a form of IVF in which a healthy woman (the egg donor) provides her eggs to be fertilized with sperm, creating embryos that are then transferred to the intended mother or a gestational surrogate. The child born has no genetic connection to the egg donor — she relinquishes all parental rights before any medical procedures begin.
Egg donation has one of the highest success rates in assisted reproduction. Because donors are young and healthy women with strong egg reserves, each retrieval cycle typically produces 10–20 mature eggs — giving intended parents multiple embryos and multiple chances at pregnancy.
At Alpha Fidelis, we maintain a global network of pre-screened egg donors representing diverse ethnic backgrounds, education levels, and personal profiles. Every donor in our program has passed our rigorous medical, genetic, and psychological screening before her profile is made available.
Who Uses Egg Donation
Anonymous or Known Donor?
Anonymous Donor
You select a donor from our database. All communication goes through Alpha Fidelis — the donor never knows your identity, and you receive only the information in her profile. This is the most common arrangement.
- Full profile: photos, medical history, personality, personal statement
- Diverse database — many ethnicities and backgrounds
- Clear legal separation of parental rights
- Preferred by most intended parents for privacy
Known Donor
You already know who you want as your donor — a friend, a sibling, or another person in your life. We coordinate the medical, legal, and logistical process while both parties go through the same rigorous screening.
- Full genetic and medical history known to you
- Deeper personal relationship and trust
- Both parties receive independent legal counsel
- Same medical screening required as agency donors
Fresh Cycle vs. Frozen Egg Bank
Both approaches are effective. Your coordinator will help you decide which is right based on your timeline, budget, and medical situation.
Fresh Egg Cycle
Your donor's egg retrieval and your (or your surrogate's) embryo transfer are synchronized in the same cycle.
Advantages
- Eggs fertilized immediately after retrieval
- No freeze-thaw step for eggs
- Preferred for some diagnoses
Considerations
- Schedules must be coordinated
- Longer overall timeline
- Slightly higher cost
Frozen Egg Bank
You purchase already-frozen, vitrified eggs from a donor who has already completed her retrieval cycle.
Advantages
- Faster — skip stimulation/retrieval phase
- Lower cost per cycle
- Donor already screened and cleared
Considerations
- Limited egg counts per lot (typically 6–8)
- No option to re-stimulate donor
- Slightly lower fertilization rate vs. fresh
Every Donor Is
Rigorously Vetted
Only a small percentage of women who apply to become egg donors are accepted into our program. Every donor you see in our database has completed the full screening process below — before her profile is ever made available to you.
- Age 21–32— Optimal age range for egg quantity and quality
- Complete medical history— Three-generation family health review for hereditary conditions
- Genetic carrier screening— 300+ genetic conditions tested (cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy, etc.)
- Chromosomal karyotype— Confirms normal chromosome count and structure
- Ovarian reserve testing— AMH, antral follicle count — confirms strong egg supply
- Infectious disease panel— FDA-mandated testing: HIV, hepatitis, STIs, CMV
- Psychological evaluation— Assessment by a reproductive psychologist; MMPI-2 testing
- Drug screening— Full toxicology panel at intake and before retrieval
- Physical examination— Complete OB/GYN workup including pelvic ultrasound
- Education & background verification— Identity, education, and employment confirmed
From Donor Selection
to Positive Pregnancy Test
A fresh egg donation cycle typically takes 3–4 months from match to transfer. A frozen egg cycle can be completed in 6–8 weeks.
Consultation & Donor Search
After your initial consultation, your coordinator gives you access to our donor database. You review profiles at your own pace — each includes photos, detailed medical history, personality profile, educational background, and the donor's personal statement about why she is donating.
What's included
- Access to full donor database with photos and profiles
- Filters by ethnicity, education, CMV status, and more
- Coordinator guidance on what to look for
- Option to request additional information from any donor
Donor Selection & Match
Once you select a donor, we confirm her current availability and begin the formal matching process. For anonymous donations, all communication goes through us. For known donations (a friend or family member), we facilitate the introduction and coordinate the medical and legal process.
What's included
- Availability confirmation and hold placed on selected donor
- Anonymous or known donation both supported
- Optional virtual meeting with known donors
- Coordinator briefing on next steps and timeline
Donor Medical Screening at Your Clinic
Your selected donor travels to your IVF clinic for a medical screening appointment. The physician evaluates her ovarian reserve, performs a pelvic ultrasound, and reviews her full medical history. We coordinate all travel, accommodation, and scheduling on her behalf.
What's included
- Antral follicle count and AMH re-check at your clinic
- Pelvic and transvaginal ultrasound
- Physician approval to proceed
- All donor travel and accommodation arranged and paid
- Any additional clinic-specific testing completed
Legal Agreements
Both you and the donor have independent legal representation. The Egg Donor Agreement establishes that any resulting children are yours — the donor relinquishes all parental rights. This is a legally binding contract signed before any medical procedures begin.
What's included
- Reproductive attorney assigned for intended parents
- Separate attorney for the egg donor
- Egg Donor Agreement drafted and reviewed by both parties
- All legal fees included in your program cost
Ovarian Stimulation & Monitoring
Your donor begins injectable fertility medications to stimulate her ovaries to produce multiple eggs. She attends monitoring appointments (blood draws and ultrasounds) every 2–3 days at a clinic near her home. Results are reported to your IVF physician, who adjusts her protocol remotely.
What's included
- 10–14 days of self-administered hormone injections
- Monitoring appointments at a clinic near the donor
- Daily communication between your clinic and donor's local clinic
- Trigger shot administered when follicles are mature
Egg Retrieval
Egg retrieval is a brief outpatient procedure performed at your IVF clinic under light sedation. It typically takes 20–30 minutes. The physician retrieves mature eggs using a thin needle guided by ultrasound. Most donors produce 10–20 mature eggs per cycle.
What's included
- Outpatient procedure under IV sedation
- Typically 10–20 mature eggs retrieved
- Donor monitored for 1–2 hours post-procedure
- Donor travels home the same day or next morning
Fertilization & Embryo Development
Retrieved eggs are fertilized with sperm (from your partner, a known donor, or a sperm bank) in the IVF laboratory. Embryos develop over 5–6 days to the blastocyst stage. You may choose to have embryos tested with PGT-A (preimplantation genetic testing) to select chromosomally normal embryos.
What's included
- Conventional IVF or ICSI fertilization
- Day 5–6 blastocyst culture
- Optional PGT-A genetic testing of embryos
- Embryos graded and recommended for transfer or freezing
- Results reported to you with transfer recommendations
Embryo Transfer or Freezing
One embryo is transferred into your uterus (or your surrogate's uterus) during a quick, minimally invasive procedure. Remaining healthy embryos are frozen for future use. A blood pregnancy test is done 10–14 days after transfer.
What's included
- Single embryo transfer (SET) recommended for best outcomes
- All remaining viable embryos cryopreserved
- Beta HCG blood test approximately 12 days post-transfer
- First ultrasound at 6–8 weeks confirms heartbeat
Egg Donation Costs
A fresh egg donation cycle with Alpha Fidelis typically costs $30,000 – $55,000 in total. A frozen egg bank cycle is generally less expensive at $20,000 – $35,000. Exact costs depend on your IVF clinic, donor compensation, and whether PGT genetic testing is selected.
Matching, coordination, donor management
Base pay plus travel and incidentals
Stimulation, monitoring, retrieval, lab, transfer
Donor stimulation protocol medications
Egg Donor Agreement, both party attorneys
Optional — per embryo chromosomal screening
* All figures are estimates. See our full costs & fees page for a complete breakdown, or contact us for a personalized estimate.
Egg Donation Questions Answered
How long does the egg donation process take?
What are the requirements to become a surrogate?
How much compensation do surrogates receive?
How are egg donors matched with intended parents?
Ready to Find Your Egg Donor?Your Journey?
Contact us to receive access to our donor database and speak with a matching coordinator. No commitment required.
Confidential consultations available · +1 (888) 360-9887