If you’re considering donating eggs in Idaho, you’re likely looking for the answers to a few important questions. Deciding to become an egg donor is a deeply personal decision with the potential for profound impact, and it’s important to know what you can expect and what might be expected of you as an egg donor.
In this article, we cover some of the most common questions we get from donors at our Idaho fertility center to help you get started on the right foot donating eggs in Idaho.
1. Who is qualified to become an egg donor in Idaho?
If you’re new to the process, becoming an egg donor might seem like a highly exclusive process but in fact, egg donation is available to a wide range of individuals who meet a few essential criteria. These egg donation requirements vary, but typically, you can expect to see the following requirements when donating eggs in Idaho:
Age Range: While the age limit can slightly differ among reproductive centers in Idaho, it typically falls within 19–33 years of age.
Body Mass Index (BMI): The precise BMI requirements differ depending on where you’re donating eggs in Idaho, but typically the range is 19–30.
General Health: Candidates should be in generally good health with no major medical conditions that could compromise their safety, the success of the procedure, or the overall outcome of the pregnancy.
Ovaries and Ovarian Reserve: To become an egg donor, you must have both ovaries and a healthy ovarian reserve, which refers to the quantity and quality of eggs in the ovaries.
Are there any egg donation disqualifiers?
While they aren’t automatic disqualifiers, there are a few other factors that may be taken into account before an individual can participate in the process, including:
- A history of drug use
- A positive test for infectious diseases
- The presence of inheritable genetic disorders
If you’re considering donating eggs in Idaho but you’re not sure if your health status and medical history make you a good candidate, don’t let that hold you back. As a part of the screening process, egg donors are given, or compensated, for the necessary medical tests, like testing ovarian reserve, to ensure that their health is conducive to egg donation.
The majority of candidates don’t have all the answers when they first come to us about donating eggs in Idaho. And in fact, many prospective egg donors consider the opportunity to gain these reproductive health insights to be another reason to apply. Through the screening process, you can gain valuable information about your ovarian reserve and overall reproductive health that can inform your own fertility journey and family-building decisions.
At ICRM, the egg donor screening includes:
- A serum AMH check
- Antral follicle count
- Infectious disease testing
- Drug screening and health maintenance testing
- A physical exam and psychological evaluation
- A genetic carrier screening
Is there an egg donation age limit when donating eggs in Idaho?
The age limit for donating eggs in Idaho varies among fertility centers, but typically the maximum age falls between 29 and 33 years. At the Idaho Center for Reproductive Medicine, we require donors to be between the ages of 21 and 32.
The reason for this is that both egg quality and supply diminish with age, and this can affect the success of the in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle and resulting pregnancy. Particularly after the age of 35, factors such as low antral follicle count, accelerated follicular atresia, and chromosomal abnormalities in resultant embryos can contribute to infertility and increased miscarriage rates.
Can you donate eggs with an iud?
In most cases, you can still become an egg donor if you have an IUD. Non-hormonal IUDs are compatible with egg donation and can stay in place during your donation cycle. If you have a hormone-releasing IUD, like Mirena, it will need to be removed prior to donating eggs in Idaho.
Looking for more information about the egg donor screening process?
Check out this episode of the SART Fertility Experts Podcast featuring ICRM Doctor Cristin Slater.
2. How many eggs can a woman donate and how often?
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) has set limitations to guide reproductive clinics and protect individuals donating eggs in Idaho and all across the country.
Based on the cumulative risk posed to the donor through recurring ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval, the ASRM advises that a person should donate their eggs no more than six times.
Sometimes a single egg donation, which usually harvests between 15 and 40 eggs, can be split so that one half is donated and the other half is retained by the donor for potential personal use in the future.
3. What is the compensation for donating eggs in Idaho?
Egg donors play a vital role in helping individuals and couples build families, and they are compensated for their time and medical expenses. The precise amounts vary from one Idaho fertility center to the next and from one egg donor to another.
The compensation for donating eggs in Idaho can range from $5,000 to $15,000, the precise amount depending on a few factors:
First-Time Donor vs Experienced Donor: First-time donors may receive compensation on the lower end of the range, while donors with previous successful donations might receive higher payments.
IVF Success Rates: Donors who have had distinct egg retrieval success and yielded a high number of eggs or who have contributed to successful embryo transfers might be offered higher compensation.
Geographic Location: Individuals who are donating eggs in Idaho but live out-of-state may receive higher compensation to account for additional travel and accommodation expenses.
It’s important to note that compensation is not meant to be the sole motivator for donating eggs in Idaho, but a way of ensuring that donors are fairly recognized for their generous contribution and compensated for their time and expense, ultimately cultivating a supportive environment for both donors and recipients.
Variations in compensation reflect the unique circumstances of all parties involved, and the goal should always be a mutually beneficial arrangement that respects the donor’s efforts and the recipient’s needs.
4. How does donating eggs in Idaho work?
By donating eggs in Idaho, you are contributing to a family’s path to pregnancy through in vitro fertilization, or IVF. Egg donor IVF can be a fertility treatment for intended parents of all kinds, including couples facing egg factor or unexplained infertility, single parents, and same-sex couples receiving egg donor IVF with a gestational carrier.
Though the IVF process as a whole varies depending on each family’s fertility needs, the process of donating eggs in Idaho will look about the same. At the Idaho Center for Reproductive Medicine, here’s what you can expect:
Egg Donor Onboarding
Once you’ve completed your initial screening and been deemed eligible to become an egg donor, you will be added to our online donor database. Here you will complete a donor profile which, in addition to the essential health information, will include personal information like education, interests, and personality traits to help intended parents get to know you. Though it’s not required, you will also have the option of sharing photos of yourself.
Sometimes, as recipients are reviewing donor profiles, they will request more information about a donor they’re interested in. These requests will be facilitated by our egg donor coordinators, and you will be given the option to provide the requested information if you choose to.
What is the IVF process with an egg donor?
If a recipient chooses you as their donor, the match will be secured and the IVF timeline will be developed, synchronizing your egg retrieval with the uterine preparation of the recipient parent or gestational carrier.
You will begin a 10–14-day treatment involving gonadotropin injections to stimulate the growth of multiple follicles and the release of as many mature eggs as possible. In the final days of this treatment, you will be monitored, and when the optimal number of eggs have reached maturity, you will receive an injection to induce ovulation.
About 36 hours after this injection, the egg retrieval procedure will be performed. This is a minimally invasive procedure during which a transvaginal needle is guided by ultrasound to suction fluid out of the mature follicles and remove the eggs from the ovaries.
The retrieved eggs are then moved to an embryology lab, where they will be fertilized and cultured for 5–7 days until they reach the blastocyst stage. On average, in one egg harvest cycle, donors produce 15–40 eggs resulting in 3–10 embryos that can be transferred to the recipient’s uterus, each representing the potential for a successful pregnancy.
5. Is donating eggs painful?
At our Idaho reproductive center, the comfort and safety of our donors is a top priority, and part of that is helping you understand what to expect of the treatment experience. The egg retrieval process is performed under anesthesia, both to ensure our donors’ comfort and to ensure minimal movement for a safe and successful procedure.
Most donors report minimal discomfort, comparable to menstrual cramps, for one or a few days following the procedure, and many donors are ready to resume usual activities the next day.
Egg donation Idaho
Egg donation is a distinctly impactful gift that can change the trajectory of a family’s life. And as an egg donor, you have the opportunity to both realize someone else’s dream of having a baby and develop a deeper understanding of your own fertility.
At ICRM, our goal is to make donating eggs in Idaho a safe, accessible, and rewarding experience for donors. If you’re interested in becoming an egg donor, we encourage you to start our pre-screen application, and if you have any questions as a new or current donor, we invite you to reach out to our donation coordinators.
