Egg Donor Program
About Our Egg Donor Program
RGI's Egg Donor Recipient Program is one of the largest and most successful in the U.S.
One feature that makes our program unique is the large pool of screened and pre-qualified egg donors that can be viewed anytime via our online database. We use a detailed egg donor screening process that guarantees only qualified candidates are approved. Our standards are so strict that only about one applicant out of five who initially signup end up matched to a recipient couple.
All of our egg donation matches are handled anonymously. Recipients, however, can choose a donor based on her lmedical, genetic and family history, including social and educational background, psychological make-up, why the candidate chose to become a donor, as well as details about her appearance. Donors and recipient couples are mandated to sign standard consent forms, which assure the respective rights of both parties.
Egg Donor Recipient couples indicate their preference for the traits and genetic background they desire by filling out an Egg Donor Wish List. Based on the desired donor characteristics indicated on the Wish List, recipients are able to automatically search the database for pre-screened candidates who meet their search criteria. Of course, it's rare to find a donor who is a perfect fit; there is an element of chance in any donor-recipient match; exactly what you would expect in a natural pregnancy.
Once we receive a recipient couple’s Egg Donor Wish List, we can usually provide a well suited donor within days. Recipients have the opportunity to review the potential donor’s characteristics and approve or disapprove of her. If they approve the donor, we can generally begin the donor’s cycle within a week or two. If they disapprove the candidate, the matching process is repeated until the right donor is discovered and approved.
RGI also offers open oocyte donations. In these, the donor and recipient couples are known to each other. Most cases of open (non-anonymous) donations involve family members. However, we still require that the potential donors undergo our routine screening process and qualify under RGI’s criteria to be an oocyte donor.
Any financial risk of adverse outcome happening to the donor, as small as it may be, usually lies with the recipient couple. As a routine commitment to the Egg Donation Program, RGI requires recipient couples to buy an insurance policy for the donor in conjunction with the donation cycle, which secures medical and third-party insurance risks without breach of confidentiality.
Because we are very concerned about high order multiple births, we strongly recommend that when egg donation cycles involve younger donors, that only one to three embryos are transferred. Nevertheless, we have outstanding pregnancy rates in these cycles, exceeding 50 percent. Most egg donation cycles, especially in a single donor/recipient match, will result in additional embryos being cryopreserved. They offer significant opportunity for additional pregnancies.
RGI has no age limit for recipients, but we require medical and psychological screening for women above age 45 who wish to enter the program. Our Egg Donation Process has an international following, with couples from Europe, the Middle East, China and other Asian countries, as well as South America, routinely passing through our Chicago offices. In addition, we closely cooperate with physicians in many countries to prepare recipient couples for egg donation cycles; this minimizes the amount of time patients need to spend in Chicago.
Next Steps:
To start the Egg Donor Recipient process: please fill out an online Egg Donor Wish List.
To become a potential Egg Donor: submit an online Egg Donor Application.
If you have further questions about the program, or want to know more about the process,
please send us an online inquiry.