Posts Tagged ‘egg donation process’

Meeting the Donor

Monday, May 17th, 2010

Part 3 in Brenda Fahn-Hardt’s informal discussion for Intended Parents.

Meeting the Donor?  There is No Right Choice.

iStock 000006638550XSmall3 300x199 Meeting the Donor

At some point during the egg donor process most parents consider whether or not they should meet their egg donor.  There is no right or wrong answer to this question.  Each case is different and depends on the intentions and expectations of the intended parents.  If their expectations seem reasonable and realistic, then meeting the egg donor can turn into a very positive experience.  Most of the time intended parents want to be able to meet their donor so that they have the option of telling their child at a later date.  Statistically, only about 20% of intended parents choose to meet their donor.  If you intend to tell your child that they were conceived with an egg donor and you want to tell your child something about the donor, then meeting would likely be a positive experience.  Many times parents to not have an interest in, or feel comfortable, meeting their donor, which of course should always be respected.  Each situation is different.

- Brenda Fahn-Hardt M.S., MFT

Beverly Hills Egg Donation Staff Psychotherapist

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Why a Backup Donor is a Good Idea

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

You’ve been searching for weeks for your ideal egg donor candidate, taking into consideration physical characteristics, fertility history, family health and educational achievements.  You’ve ranked your favorites, narrowed them down, slept on it and now that you’ve found your perfect match and are ready to book her, you can breathe a big sigh of relief and know that your search is finally behind you.

Right?

iStock 000002307811Small1 200x300 Why a Backup Donor is a Good IdeaNot quite.  Despite the best of intentions, something will go wrong in 25%-30% of all egg donor cycles and most, if not all of these issues cannot be predicted in advance.  Beverly Hills Egg Donation has an extensive in-house screening process and a team of donor reps who work diligently to ensure that our selection of donors is the strongest that it can be, but there is always the potential for surprises once a cycle gets underway.  As is the nature of working with a young woman in her early to mid- twenties, your donor will be having medical testing for a number of things that, if not for this donation, she likely would never have been tested for at her age.  There are also occasionally unforeseen issues that come up in the psychological testing, genetic counseling, or during the legal process.  In fact, this is why we utilize these professionals in the first place – to protect you and ensure that you have the best chance possible at a successful outcome once the medication phase of the cycle begins.  While our personal screening process is an initial review, we employ others to help uncover any health/genetic problems that may otherwise have gone undetected and confirm that your donor is psychologically prepared to donate.

This is why, no matter how perfect your donor may seem, we always recommend that you select a backup option before going forward with your cycle.  We have many repeat donors available (which lessens the possibility that something unexpected will come up to deter or derail your cycle), but even then if something goes wrong and you have a backup choice, our cycle coordinator will be able to help you move seamlessly onto that donor without using any momentum.  There is also no additional agency fee to switch donors; your full fee will be applied to the subsequent cycle.

Ideally, your cycle will be completed smoothly and without a hitch.  However, one of the best things that you can do to make your experience with egg donation as successful as possible is to remain flexible and be prepared for the unexpected – which includes having a backup donor in mind before you book your perfect match.

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For the BHED Egg Donor – What Can I Do While I’m Waiting to be Matched?

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

Once you’ve reached the end of the application process and had a successful interview with a member of our donor team, our staff will add your profile to our database of donors for recipients to peruse.

Congratulations, you’re now an active donor with BHED (Beverly Hills Egg Donation)!

There can be quite a lot to do leading up to this point – gathering pictures and transcripts, doing your own research on the donation process, putting together information on your family’s medical history, and scheduling your interview – that it may seem like the flurry of activity tapers off slightly after you’ve finally been made active.  One of the questions we get a lot is, “how long will it take for me to be matched?”  To tell the truth, there’s no way of knowing.  Some egg donors are matched within a matter of days, and for others it takes longer – sometimes even weeks or months.  It’s really all a matter of the right recipient coming across your profile at the right time, and for some donors, that doesn’t happen right away.

The most important thing to do during this time is to make sure to keep your profile accurate and up-to-date.  Review your profile occasionally and contact us with any changes in contact info, updates/successes in school or work, or new information regarding your medical history.  Also, we always love to have new pictures to add to your profile so feel free to keep them coming!  We store the extras on our server in case a potential recipient requests to see them.

Another big thing to keep in mind while you’re waiting to be matched is to make sure you’re easy to get in touch with.  Sometimes a recipient has a couple of donors they’re interested in, and wants to make a decision quickly, so make sure to respond to any phone calls or emails that you get from us as promptly as possible.  You’ll also receive a phone call from our team every three months to confirm your availability.

Finally, a great thing to do after you’ve been activated is come to one of our photo shoots!  We hold these shoots every 4-6 weeks in West LA.  It’s a wonderful way to get beautiful, professional photos to enhance your profile and it’s totally free to you.  It takes just 15 minutes of your time, and you get a high-resolution jpeg of your favorite shot to keep.

Of course, you can feel free to contact us at any time with questions or to see if there’s been interest in your profile.

We look forward to seeing you matched!

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On the CNN story “Egg Donors on the Rise”:

Friday, January 16th, 2009

I am a donor with BHED (Beverly Hills Egg Donation) and anytime I catch the words ‘egg donor’ between diaper changes and operating my business on the TV I turn to look.

Women are flocking to egg donor agencies (per CNN HLN) because of the economic crisis for the need of money and the high level earnings made from cycles.

So I called in and got to speak for about a minute!

I advised that prospective donors should not just get involved with the egg donation process because of desperation in a failing economy but because they truly would like to help out the families that are in need healthy eggs. Infertility is a disease! I worry that a woman in a desperate circumstance may not be able to handle the commitment it takes to be a donor. I added that money is disposable where as helping to create life is not.

I am so happy to be an egg donor – the families I have helped are able to have what they wanted so dearly, a family of their own. This Christmas I know there is a couple I helped that will be sitting around the tree with their little one (as I will be) and that is something more rewarding than any dollar amount.

-Suzi, Donor

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