When you choose to donate eggs to a woman or couple struggling with infertility, you begin an incredible journey. Imagine the joy you will bring into someone’s life by giving them the chance to have a baby they wouldn’t have had otherwise. Egg donation is a selfless way to help someone else achieve their dreams of becoming a parent. 

For people with ovaries who don’t have their own viable eggs, donor eggs are often the only option for them to carry a pregnancy. At Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, we rely on healthy donors to supply these eggs. 

Donating your eggs can be a life-changing experience—you’re certainly going to change the life of the couple that receives your eggs.  

Reasons to Donate  

There truly are so many reasons to donate eggs. Each donor will have her own personal reasons and viewpoints, but we find that they often cite the following reasons.  

• Altruism – Egg donation is a primarily selfless act. It gives you the power of improving the lives of others in a deeply meaningful and permanent way—which can lead to an immense sense of satisfaction and happiness. 

• Empathy – Often, egg donors are already mothers themselves. They themselves know the joy and fulfillment that comes from being a parent and want to share that. Knowing that you can take away someone else’s sadness and stress creates a meaningful experience that may help you appreciate your own family even more. 

• Kinship – Some donors know someone personally who has dealt with infertility. (Some may have even donated eggs to this loved one previously.) Witnessing that kind of pain may prompt you to consider donation as well. 

• Advocacy – As an egg donor, you have the unique position to advocate for those people dealing with infertility. Infertility struggles—especially those that require egg donors—are rarely spoken about. By playing a part in someone’s journey, you may be bringing the issue to light to those around you or opening up a dialog that makes others feel heard and supported. 
• Empowerment – Before the actual egg donation process, prospective donors undergo medical and genetic screenings. While this isn’t usually cited as a reason to donate, many women who do donate their eggs feel grateful for the knowledge they gain after the fact. Knowing more about your body and health can make you feel empowered.  

Becoming an Egg Donor 

Donating your eggs can be one of the most rewarding experiences, and while there are requirements in place to ensure donors are healthy and suitable, the screening process for becoming a donor is relatively easy. 

There are specific FDA rules and requirements—plus a few additional guidelines of our own—we follow when screening egg donors. For example, in order to be approved to donate you must: 

• Be a non-smoker and free from drug use 
• Have fewer than six sexual partners in your lifetime 
• Have no history of an STD 
• Have a BMI of 18-28 
• Be 29 years of age or younger 
• Have a flexible schedule 
• Be willing and able to administer fertility medication and prescribed 

In addition to the above, each potential donor must pass medical evaluations, including a thorough history of your and your family’s healthy, in order to verify that you are well suited for the donor program.

At AZCREI, we truly value our egg donors and support them as much as we can. If you choose to go forward with this life-changing and incredibly rewarding decision of donating your eggs, we want to make sure you’re comfortable every step of the way. We’ll let you know what to expect throughout the screening process and walk with you from approval to retrieval. 

For more information on egg donation, contact AZCREI by calling (520) 326-0001 or visiting us online. To apply to become an egg donor with AZCREI, click here.