Intended Parent (via Egg Donor)

For those individuals who face fertility challenges due disease and/or the onset of ovarian failure which prevents their ability to produce a fertilizable egg. Or, for any same sex male couple who would in concert be utilizing a gestational surrogate with a healthy uterus; egg (or ovum) donation offers a realistic opportunity for pregnancy. Egg donation involves retrieving eggs from one woman (the donor), fertilizing them in the laboratory with either the partner sperm or a sperm donor, and transferring the resulting embryos into the uterus of the recipient (or a gestational surrogate if necessary), who will carry the baby to term.

extracting egg via needle

Introduction

Reasons to use an egg donor:

  • The most common reason one would need to use an egg donor is due to advanced maternal age.  The quality of a woman’s eggs declines exponentially after the age of 40.  The effect of age on outcome with IVF is largely negated using donor eggs. This is because the donor eggs will come from a younger woman and will therefore be healthy. In addition, the newer methods for preparing the recipient’s uterine lining optimizes the chance of healthy implantation.
  • Same sex male couples would need to utilize an egg donor, as the female component of the embryo would be derived from those of the donor eggs.
  • Often, more eggs are retrieved from a young donor than are needed for any one pregnancy attempt. In this case, all the eggs are fertilized, and any extra embryos are frozen for a future attempt at pregnancy, or for a sibling down the road.
  • A further benefit of egg donation is a reduced risk of miscarriage, as the donor is usually younger than the recipient.  Therefore, the quality of her eggs is typically elevated.
  • There is rarely a need for amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling to diagnose chromosome disorders that produce birth defects, because the eggs are from a relatively young and healthy woman.  Additionally, with advances in science, many recipients can choose to have the embryos chromosomally evaluated prior to implantation.

For your convenience, Footsteps to Family provides the ovum donor registry access from the privacy of your own home. We make it our mission to ensure every effort is made to provide as much information necessary for you to make an informed choice without compromising anonymity. Once selected for a cycle, the donor will be subject to a psychological evaluation, the required FDA screening, as well as any other screening that your clinic requires or you personally request.

baby sleepingAll our fees are outlined in detail on our Recipient Financial Agreement which is sent as an attachment to the welcome email once you register. Please feel free to contact the office to review pricing or go over any questions about our program. We can be reached at 702-696-0821 or by e-mail at recipient@footstepstofamily.com.

Steps

Steps for Donor Selection

  1. Register…  Go on - Take your first step to family! Once you register you can view our donor database.
  2. Take some time to consider what is important to you.  We know it is exciting to see the endless possibilities of “search criteria.”  Just remember you are using a computer search engine.  Also, each donor has completed her profile subjectively, evaluating herself physically.  Make sure you take some time to look through the photos yourself.  How a donor sees herself may be very different than how you see her.  Unless you have non-negotiable criteria that are not subjective, such as race, religion, previous donations, etc., allow yourself the ability to peruse your options.
  3. Search and review the lovely ladies who are there to help you fulfill your dreams.
  1. Select a few candidates you are interested in.  Make notes of those donors and let us know their first names and numbers so we can check on their availability for cycle. We can also ask them any additional questions you may have.  At this stage, it will be important to know the clinic you are working with, where they are located and the month you are interested in cycling so we can let your possible donor candidates know.
  2. Once you have confirmed your donor selection it’s time to get things moving!  At this point the agency fee is collected and you need to return the signed financial agreement.  By paying the agency fee you are solidifying your donor of choice and she will be held for your cycle.  The balance of fees due are typically collected 30 days prior to the start of injectable medications.  The fees collected will be for the following services:
    – Agency Fees
    – Donor Stipend
    – Reserve (either travel or incidental)
    – Donor Insurance
    The agency agreement details the fees involved as well as our cancellation policy.

Financial

Recipient Financial Agreement

Footsteps To Family prides itself on full transparency. As such, we have provided our financial agreement below for you to download and review outlining all of our program fees and possible expenses. Please note, this document provides only agency information and does not account for any clinical, legal, travel or other fees which typically are associated with the IVF process using an egg donor or gestational surrogate. We are happy to go over any questions you have. Please feel free to contact the office to set up a time a time to talk.

We look forward to assisting you on our journey to family.

Download Financial Agreement

Register

Register

Please request an account to search our donor database!

 

Request Account

FAQ

Can I use my own doctor?

Yes, of course!  You can use any physician that you choose. The Footsteps to Family staff will work closely with you, your donor and the clinical staff to ensure that all required screening has been done, that all necessary appointments are made, and the donor is aware of her responsibilities throughout the entire process.

How do I choose a donor?

We know this is one of the most stressful parts of the process. We are here to assist you through it. We can offer guidance, suggestions, outside referrals for support if needed. However, typically, most recipients will select a donor who has a resemblance to them in either physical characteristic, ethnicity, family background, etc. There are times, however, when a recipient is drawn to a donor for no particular reason.

When you are searching for donors, we do suggest that you start with broad criteria as is possible and then narrow your search from there.

It is also important to remember when you select a donor, review not only her personal information, but the demographic information of her family as well.

Rely on your support system, trust your decision and of course, let us be your sounding board when taking this very important step.

How old are your donors?

Our donors are between the ages of 21 and 33.

Where do you find your donors?

We recruit donors on college campuses, online and in publications that target our demographic. We also have a large number of donors who are referred to us from our existing donor pool as well as those who find us on their own due to research they have done on our reputable program.

Why would someone become a donor?

There are many reasons for a young woman to want to become a donor.  As fertility issues are talked about more in the mainstream, young women are stepping forward to assist people in their quest to become parents. Some of the reasons our donors have given us for their interest in becoming a donor include:

  • They know someone who has been affected by infertility and were touched by their struggles to have a family.  This is a way for them to be of assistance.
  • They are not interested in having children but want to help someone else who does.
  • They have children of their own and they cannot imagine NOT being able to experience the joy of being a parent.
  • They feel they are wasting opportunities to help every month they ovulate.
  • They had an abortion and feel there are so many people who are trying to conceive, this is their way of giving back.

What happens if my cycle is cancelled?

  • If cancellation occurs prior to initiation of medication you will receive all your money back, with the exception of the agency fee and any spent money from the expense reserve.
  • If the physician or recipient cancels after the initiation of injectable down regulatory medication, before the fertility injectable medication you will receive all your unused expense reserve, the donor stipend less $500 (which is paid to the donor for starting medications).
  • If the physician or recipient cancels after initiation of fertility Injectable medication by before the egg retrieval you will receive your unused expense reserve and the donor stipend less 25% (which is paid to the donor for undergoing two sets of injectable medications)
  • If the donor cancels after initiation of injectable medication. You receive all your unused expense money and 100% of the donor stipend.

Your agency fee, although non-refundable, remains on account indefinitely and we will always work with you to find another donor that suits your needs. Your only financial responsibility is to replenish the donor stipend account, unused expenses, for your new donor and obtaining another donor insurance policy.

If the physician determines the donor was non-compliant, she will not be compensated at all.  We will then start the process of trying to recoup some of your lost money.  Obviously, there is no guarantee that funds will be recovered; but we will work tirelessly on your behalf to attempt to collect and return any money due to you.

What happens after I have a child and I need to contact my donor?

We make every effort to maintain contact with the donors for a long as possible.  We are required to keep records for 7 years.  That said, donors can relocate, change their phone numbers, email addresses, etc. throughout that time. Should you need to make contact with your donor, we will try to assist you via every means possible.  Should there be any fees associated with that search, those would be passed on to you.

young happy pregnant woman adoring her pregnancy

Blood Type Calculator

Blood Type Calculator

So, you have decided to take this step, but you aren’t sure how public you want to be about your decision… Don’t worry. Many people who use an egg donor initially feel the same way. This is the only place where blood type plays a part. Blood type is NOT a success factor. It is only a disclosure issue. If you decide you do not want to tell anyone you have used a donor, then the blood type of the egg donor plays a critical role in your decision, as you will need to find a donor who has a blood type that is compatible with you and your partner.

Please select the blood types and Rh factors of both parents and choose Update. The blood types of possible matches will be displayed and can be utilized in your donor selection.

Please remember… If disclosure is NOT an is issue for you, blood type should not play a critical part in your donor selection process.

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