Thanks you for clicking on our FACEBOOK ads and your willingnes to open your heart to the possibility of becoming an Exceptional Donor. One of the most precious gifts women can give women is the Gift of Life. Below are the requirements for applicants.
Apply TODAY!
1. You are a female between the ages of 20 and 28. (this limit may be extended for proven donors.
2. You are in good health within 5 pounds of having a body mass index of 19-25 . Click on the following link to review a BMI chart. .
3. You are a non-smoker and do not use drugs (including marijuana).
4. You are attending, or have attended, or have graduated from, a college or university or trade school with a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.00 or higher.
5. You currently have regular monthly periods and are not using any “long term” type birth control such as Depo-Provera or anything containing high progesterone that can keep you from ovulating.
6. You are available and committed to the donation process – traveling to and from the fertility clinic for monitoring (blood tests and ultrasounds) and retrieval, taking numerous injections on a strict schedule.
7. You are willing to have a clinical interview with a psychologist and complete the MMPI psychological test.
8. You understand that you will be asked to travel to Portland, Oregon for the egg retrieval (travel, lodging, and meal expenses will be paid for you and a companion).
9. You are mature and dependable.
Apply TODAY!
Once you are selected by a recipient couple, the donation process typically ranges from 8 to 10 weeks. We appreciate our donor’s commitment and selfless act and compensate accordingly. Donor compensation begins at $7,000.00 per donation.Proven donors are paid $8,500 per donation. Doctor appointments are usually in the early morning. However, you will need to be off work the day of the egg retrieval.
The attached information provides additional details about why couples need donor eggs, the process donors go through prior to the egg retrieval and the retrieval process itself. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact us by email at info@exceptionaldonors.com or by phone at 503.243.7760.
We understand that our profile is long, however, your responses to these questions will help us make sure that your health and genetic make-up is compatible with potential recipient couples. We appreciate you taking time to fill it out accurately, and enclose 5 good quality, and clear photographs or email to info@exceptionaldonors.com. One recent photograph, one of you as a child, and three in-between. We will return these photographs to you, once they have been scanned, and placed into our system.
This is the first step in giving the gift of life, not only to a child, but to a family as well. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Information About Egg (Ovum or Oocyte) Donation
Why Couples Need Donor Eggs
There are a variety of reasons that couples need donor eggs. Some of them include:
* Waiting until later in life to start a family
* Early onset of menopause which can occur in women as early as their 20’s
* Some women are born without ovaries or other reproductive organs
* Reproductive organs have been damaged due to disease or have been forced to have them surgically
o Some women have a family history of serious genetic diseases that they do not wish to pass on to their children.
o Some have had cancer or chemotherapy causing infertility
Steps in Becoming An Exceptional Donor
Complete the Online Application. You will be sent the link to our full online application when that information is reviewed. When filling out our complete online application, it may be necessary for you to contact family members to ensure accuracy for medical and psychological history.
* Decide whether you would like your photo viewable by recipients on our website.
* If you are not local, determine whether you are willing to travel to Portland, Oregon for your donation. Costs for you and a companion are covered by the recipient, typically 5-7 days, but can be up to 2 weeks.
* Your profile will not automatically come to us when you finish the last page. Please let us know when you have finished at info@exceptionaldonors.com or by return email to application emails. You may load photos, or email them to info@exceptionaldonors.com for editing here before being loaded. A copy of your driver’s license, your photo release and the consent form on the last page of this informational pamphlet, and the FDA screening form can be faxed or mailed to us. Fax 503 243 5849. Mail to Exceptional Donors / Katie, ORM, 2222 NW Lovejoy Ste 304, Portland, OR 97210.
* When your application has passed the Medical Review Board screening, you will be asked to call us on the first day of your next period (flow, not spotting). We will schedule you on the 2nd or 3rd day for a vaginal ultrasound and the drawing of blood to check your hormone levels to help determine if you are an appropriate donor candidate.
* Complete the MMPI psychological screen when the ultrasound results are in.
* Have your photographs taken by our contract photography company when you are approved as a donor.
The Selection Process
Recipient couples look for varied traits in a donor. They include:
* Ethnicity
* Health and medical history
* Similar physical characteristics to the recipient woman
* Fertility history
* Similar personalities, hobbies, interests
* Education level
* Athleticism
* Artistic talent
Your profile and pictures are posted on our website only with your permission.
Once you have been selected…
1. Additional screening tests will be done. A physical, drug testing, communicable disease testing, and a consultation with our psychologist, Dr. Britta Dinsmore, Ph.D, at no cost to you.
2. Your monthly cycle is synchronized with recipient’s using birth control pills.
3. If you are currently in a relationship, your partner may also need to be screened for communicable diseases.
4. When your testing is complete, you will attend a teaching session to review your calendar that tells you when and which medications to take and how to administer them. There is no cost to you for this session.
5. Following this session, you will begin your donation cycle. This will involve following your calendar carefully, taking medications at the appropriate times and being punctual for all monitoring appointments at Oregon Reproductive Medicine, or at a treating clinic near you.
6. For the retrieval, you will have several appointments during the final week. If you are out of the area, you will travel to Portland for this week.
Donor Responsibilities
* Keep us informed quarterly or as necessary with your availability during the next several months, and the start date of your recent period, and the type of birth control you are currently using.
* Once you are selected, be able to commit. Recipients have an emotional investment in this process and it can be devastating if you don’t follow through.
* If you change your mind at any time while waiting to be selected, please call and let us know.
* Be punctual for appointments – most appointments are scheduled for 10-15 minutes and if you are late, the doctor may not be able to see you unless you can be fit into the schedule at a later time.
* Be proactive – communicate with us if you have any questions. It is important that if you have any problems, questions or concerns that you let us know as soon as possible so we can address them in a timely fashion.
* Please help us keep you on schedule by calling the clinic where you are being monitored to complete the necessary screening tests that have been ordered for you in a timely manner.
* Have at least your first name on your answering machine or voice mail. This ensures that we are leaving information at the correct number.
* Abstain from sexual intercourse during your treatment cycle as you will be extremely fertile.
* Follow all instructions given to you. If you have any questions, be sure to ask them. High egg quality is best achieved by following instructions exactly.
* Abstain from smoking, alcohol, recreational drugs, or other medication not approved.
Possible Medications
Listed below are some of the most common medications, their purpose and how they are administered.
Birth Control Pills– An oral tablet used to synchronize your cycle to the recipient woman’s.
Lupron– Suppresses the pituitary gland from allowing you to ovulate. This medication is given by injection.
Human Menopausal Gonadotropins (HMG)– Contains natural pituitary hormones that are responsible for ovarian stimulation and aid in the production of eggs. This medication is given by injection.
Human Chorionic Gonadotropins (HCG)– Simulates the body’s normal LH surge causing the final maturation of the eggs. It is expected that ovulation will take place 38-40 hours later. This medication is given by injection.
Antibiotic– A broad-spectrum antibiotic to prevent infection. This is usually an oral tablet.
Prenatal Vitamin– A multivitamin that is given for good general health and egg quality. This is an oral tablet.
Low Dose Steroid– May be given to suppress the production of male hormones during the treatment cycle and helps with egg quality. This is an oral tablet.
Egg Donation Process
Donors are under close monitoring at all times during the donation process.
* .Once you are synchronized with your recipient, you will take Lupron, a medication used to turn off your body’s natural stimulation of your ovaries.
* .Usually within two weeks, you will start gonadotropin injections to begin a very precise and uniform stimulation of your follicles that results in the increased production of quality, mature eggs. These hormones occur naturally in the body, we just add more than your body would generally produce in one cycle. Usually a minimum of 10 growing eggs is required in the treatment cycle.
* .Approximately 8-10 visits during the following 2-3 weeks are required to measure each follicle (done by ultrasound) and your estradiol levels (blood test). These visits are vital to the success of the donation process. Appointment times are generally between 8:00 and 9:30 am Monday-Sunday mornings.
* When the majority of the follicles reach a mature size, the trigger shot (HCG injection) is given which causes ovulation approximately 36 hours later. It is therefore given at a very precise time. Your egg retrieval will be scheduled based on the time you are to receive the injection.
It is important to only do low impact exercise during your donation cycle because your ovaries will be heavier than usual and they can twist and cut off their own blood supply which could lead to surgery and a loss of a tube or ovary.
Egg Retrieval
The egg retrieval (aspiration) will take place at Oregon Reproductive Medicine in Portland, Oregon and you are usually under conscious sedation or light sedation (twilight sleep).
The eggs are retrieved under ultrasound guidance through the vagina. A long thin needle, a little larger than the needle used to draw blood, is attached to a vaginal ultrasound probe. Attached to the needle is a long thin tube with a test tube at the end.
The needle will go through the back wall of the vagina and the follicles (liquid filled sacs where the eggs grow) are drained and the eggs pass through the needle into a test tube.
The retrieval process usually takes about 20-30 minutes, however you should plan to be at the clinic for 3-3 ½ hours.
Due to anesthesia, you will need someone to drive you home and you will need to rest the remainder of the day.
Most donors are able to return to work/school the day after the retrieval.
Risks in Donating Eggs
* Medication Side Effects – A very small percentage (less than 10%) of women who use Lupron and Gonadotropins develop temporary side effects such as headaches, bloating and mood changes. These disappear when the medications are discontinued.
* Infection – You will most likely be given antibiotics by the treating clinic to take immediately after the retrieval to lower the risk of infection. A serious infection could affect your ability to become pregnant in the future. The chance of significant infection is extremely small, less than 1 in 100.
* Bleeding – You may experience a very small amount of bleeding (approximately a tablespoon at most) due to the needle stick through the back wall of the vagina during retrieval. The chance of significant bleeding is extremely small, less than 1 in 100. There is an even lesser risk of somehow damaging pelvic organs with the needle used to collect the eggs.
* Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) – Some women experience lower abdominal bloating for a few days after taking the HCG injection. Approximately 6% of women who use Gonadotropins develop swelling of the ovaries and fluid collection in the abdominal cavity a few days after the ovulation or egg collection. The physicians will carefully monitor your response to the medications through blood tests and ultrasound studies. They will take all necessary steps to diminish the possibility of OHSS, which usually goes away within 10 days of the egg collection. You may be given medication to help prevent fluid build-up if necessary. Make sure to drink plenty of fluids following the retrieval and to weigh yourself every day at the same time. On very rare occasions (<1%), you may have to be hospitalized to tap the fluid and relieve pressure. You may also experience nausea, vomiting and shortness of breath.
Our agency requires the recipient couple to purchase a medical insurance policy to cover any donor-related treatment after the retrieval. This is good up to 90 days afterwards.
Additional Information:
* Your compensation check will be available to you on the day of the retrieval. Or, it will be mailed to you immediately.
* Compensation begins at $7,000 for your first donation through Exceptional Donors. Subsequent cycles will be raised $1,500 so cycle 2- 6 is $8,500 per cycle. You are allowed up to 6 cycles maximum.
* Call us with your first period after the retrieval (usually about 2 weeks) so we know you are back on track and let us know if you are interested in donating again.
* Donating your eggs will not affect your ability to have children in the future. You are born with over 400,000 eggs – less than 500 will be released by the ovaries during your childbearing years. The remaining eggs undergo a process called “atresia,” where they fail to mature and are gradually absorbed by the body during the time span between puberty and menopause. Because of the large number of these “spare” eggs, there is no evidence to suggest that the use of fertility drugs or egg donation will decrease the egg reserves in such a manner as to lead to early menopause or infertility.
* Egg donation is considered a tissue donation at the state and federal levels.
* Unless prior arrangements have been made between the Donor and the Recipient in regards to disclosure, anonymity will be strictly maintained unless a court of law requires such disclosure in the future – only your donor number will be given to the recipient and kept in their chart.