Why do some women require the assistance of an egg donor to have a child?

Women with health problems consisting of premature ovarian failure, or women whose eggs are of poor quality. Those with genetic diseases or chromosomal abnormalities may wish to utilize third party reproduction to prevent passing these disorders to their children. Also, women who have waited to have children may have diminished ovarian function and require the assistance of an egg donor.

What are the advantages of egg donation?

Egg donation is a wonderful alternative to adoption. It also allows the intended father to be the biological parent to the child and it gives the intended mother the ability to experience pregnancy and giving birth to her child.

What type of person can be an egg donor?

A donor should be a healthy, responsible woman between the ages of 18-34, and of any ethnic background. It is required that donors be non-smokers, have no sexually transmitted diseases, and no major genetic diseases or health problems in their family.

Are your donors psychologically screened before they are put in your egg donor database?

We require that donors complete an extensive application containing questions about their psychological history. We will also make arrangements for them to take the MMPI and have psychological consult with our affiliated psychologist if the clinic they are cycling with agrees to accept the report, additional fees will apply.The MMPI (Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory) is a personality test that helps to rule out any major psychiatric illnesses. Donors that have participated in prior egg donation cycles may have psychologists reports and MMPI results on file. Often times this will not need to be repeated if it has been completed in the past year. 

Are your donors medically screened before putting them in the egg donor database?

We require that our donors complete an extensive application, which contains questions about the donor, and their families complete medical history. We question them regarding any genetic conditions that could be passed to you or your offspring. The medical and infectious disease screening will be done by your fertility clinic prior to the donation. Donors who have already completed egg donation cycles have undergone medical screening, however this may have to be updated depending on what your clinic requires.

Are donors compensated for their time and effort in an egg donor cycle?

Yes, we do require that intended parents place the donor's compensation amount in a trust account set up with our agency to be disbursed according to the terms of the egg donation agreement. Our agency abides by the American Society of Reproductive Medicines guidelines regarding the compensation of donors. The ASRM stipulates that compensations exceeding $5000.00 require justification and compensation exceeding $10,000.00 are inappropriate. We do not represent any donors with compensation exceeding $10,000.00. The requested compensation may be found on the general information page of each egg donor profile.

What if I am not successful in achieving pregnancy with my donor's eggs?

We understand that unfortunately all egg donor cycles do not always result in pregnancy and a live birth. In order to make the process of implementing a subsequent egg donor cycle a little less costly for our Intended Parents we have implemented an Optional Shared Risk Policy.

Can I choose a donor from your Happy Beginnings Egg Donor Database even if she does not live close to my fertility clinic?

Yes, in a situation where you choose a donor who does not live in close proximity to your fertility clinic we will arrange for her to travel to the clinic. Often times your fertility clinic will ask us to arrange for the donor to be screened locally and then have the results sent to the clinic. This is easy for us to arrange in such a manner that is accommodating for all the parties involved and is of no additional cost to our intended parents.

Are intended parents able to meet the egg donors?

If both parties agree to meet then we can arrange a meeting by phone or in person. There will be a fee of $100. for meeting the donor in person, and a fee of $50. for an anonymous third party phone consultation between the Intended Parents, Egg Donor and agency representative.This cost is to arrange the meeting and compensate the donor for her time. Intended parents will also be responsible for any donor travels fees for the meeting. This includes mileage and food allowance if applicable.

If it is needed for health reasons, will you release the donor's identity?

Our donors are promised that we will maintain their anonymity. However, if there is a health concern that requires future contact with a donor then we will contact them and proceed discreetly when requesting the necessary information.

What criteria do intended parents generally use to choose a donor?

In most situations our couples are seeking a donor with similar characteristics to themselves, such as hair color, eye color, height, weight and ethnic background.

What if I don't see a donor in your database that appeals to me?

We are adding new donors to our database on a daily basis. We encourage you to check our database frequently for donors with qualities you seek. It is also recommended that you inform our staff of what you are seeking in a donor, so that we may assist you in locating your ideal donor. Also, we offer specialty advertising for our intended parents. We do not charge an agency fee for this, however our intended parents will be responsible for any advertising costs before the ads are placed. We typically advertise for donors in college newspapers. The typical fee is $50. - $100. per week of advertising. Although, if you would like for your ad to be placed in a Ivy League school newspaper the cost is usually higher. We can check the current cost for these ads prior to placing them to assist you in making your decision.

Once I choose a donor, how long does the process usually take?

From the time you choose a donor until the completion of the egg retrieval procedure, the process is generally about three months. Although, each unique situation may cause this time frame to vary.

What types of couples does Happy Beginnings work with?

We feel that all families should be able to experience the joy of having children.

We work with a variety of clients, and will not discriminate against racial background, marital status or sexual orientation. We work with clients of all ages and ethnicities.

Is our personal information kept confidential?

At Happy Beginnings, we pride ourselves on our very strict confidentiality policy. We will use your information solely for the purpose of facilitating your egg donation or gestational surrogacy cycle.