Donor Egg IVF Process
A step-by-step overview of the donor egg IVF process at Donor Nexus, from browsing donor profiles to your embryo transfer and beyond.
The Donor Egg IVF Process, Step by Step
This page walks you through the donor egg process from start to finish for both the Fresh Matching Program and the Frozen Egg Bank. Your specific experience may vary depending on your circumstances and your fertility clinic’s protocols, but this will give you a clear picture of what to expect.
Step 1: Find an Egg Donor
Register for free access to our online database to browse egg donor profiles. You can search on our website. The database includes donors available through the Fresh Matching Program as well as frozen egg cohorts in our Frozen Egg Bank. New profiles are added regularly.
Once you have narrowed your search, connect with us by phone, email, or video call to discuss specific donors and program options. If you have questions about a particular donor, we will reach out to her on your behalf.
Step 2: Secure Your Donor or Frozen Egg Cohort
Once you have chosen a donor or frozen egg cohort, you will receive preliminary paperwork, a contract, and an invoice. All items must be completed and returned within 7 days. Once we receive your signed agreement and initial deposit, the donor or cohort is secured, and we send the official match sheet to your IVF clinic.
For fresh cycles, the donor’s status is changed to “in cycle” on the database at this point.
The deposit for our fresh cycles is $12,500, and the deposit for the egg bank is ⅓ of the cost.
Steps 3 through 6 apply only to the Fresh Matching Program. If you are using the Frozen Egg Bank, your donor has already completed screening, and the eggs are ready to ship. Skip ahead to Step 7.
Step 3: Donor Screening (Fresh Matching Only)
With the cycle confirmed, your donor begins her screening process. This includes medical evaluations, psychological screening, and a legal consultation. Screening can take up to 4 months to complete, depending on the donor’s menstrual cycle. She may or may not be placed on birth control during this time.
Step 4: Donor Begins Cycle Medications (Fresh Matching Only)
Once your clinic provides medical clearance, we submit the psychological evaluation and legal clearance. The remaining balance is due at that point.
The clinic then provides the donor with a cycle calendar and medication instructions. She will have a baseline appointment to check her ovaries and blood levels before starting stimulation medications. Once cleared, she will have monitoring ultrasounds and blood work every 2 to 3 days.
We stay in close contact with the donor throughout her cycle, sending appointment reminders and checking in on how she is feeling.
If your donor is from out of state, most physicians will allow her to complete a baseline ultrasound and 1 to 2 monitoring appointments near her home before traveling to your clinic for 6 to 10 days of monitoring. Donor Nexus coordinates all outside monitoring, travel, and accommodation for the donor and her companion.
Step 5: Trigger Shot (Fresh Matching Only)
At the end of the stimulation phase (approximately 10 to 12 days), once the donor’s hormones have reached the appropriate levels, she takes the trigger shot. This injection causes the eggs to release from the follicles. It is administered about 34 hours before the egg retrieval.
Step 6: Egg Retrieval (Fresh Matching Only)
The egg retrieval takes place at your chosen fertility clinic and lasts approximately 20 to 30 minutes. The donor is accompanied by her companion. If she traveled for the cycle, she would typically fly home the day after the procedure. Most donors can return to normal activities the next day. The donor receives her compensation upon completion of the retrieval.
Step 7: IVF Lab Process
Once the eggs are retrieved (fresh) or received by your clinic (frozen), the IVF process is managed by your fertility clinic. We remain available if you need anything from our end.
The eggs are placed in a petri dish with sperm to fertilize. In some cases, ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) is used to inject a single sperm cell into an egg. Once fertilized, the embryos are grown in the lab for 5 to 6 days until they reach the blastocyst stage. If you choose PGT-A testing, viable blastocysts will be biopsied and sent for genetic testing, with results typically returned in 1 to 3 weeks. You and your physician will then decide which embryo(s) to transfer.
Step 8: Embryo Transfer
The embryo transfer takes place at your fertility clinic. On the morning of the transfer, your physician will review the cycle results and show you photos of the embryos. Together, you will determine which embryos to transfer, freeze, or discard. Most physicians recommend 2 days of rest following the transfer.
Step 9: Pregnancy Test
You will have a bHCG blood test at your local clinic 10 to 12 days after the embryo transfer. If the result is positive, you will continue monitoring at your fertility clinic through the first trimester. Once you reach the second trimester, you transition back to your OB-GYN for the remainder of your pregnancy.
Questions About the Process?
If you have questions about any step or want to talk through how the process applies to your specific situation, our team is here. Contact us by phone, email, or video call.
Frequently Asked Questions
Donor Nexus is an egg donor agency, egg bank, and embryo donation program based in Newport Beach, California. We've helped bring more than 2,000 babies into the world since 2012. If you're here, you're probably in the middle of one of the most significant decisions of your life — and we want to make sure you have clear, honest answers.
If something isn't covered here, reach out. We're always happy to talk.
Each physician sets their own guidelines. For patients over 45, most physicians order additional testing — typically a stress test, EKG, chest X-ray, mammogram, and pap smear — to confirm you're healthy enough to carry. Most of this can be completed by your primary care physician.
These terms describe the relationship between you and your donor, and each donor's preferences are listed on her profile, so you know what she's open to before you ever reach out.
- Nonidentified means only non-identifying information is shared. You see her profile; she doesn't know who you are.
- Identified means both of you have agreed on some form of future contact, that could be medical updates only, photos of the child as they grow, or the possibility of meeting in the future. You negotiate the terms together.
For our Frozen Egg Bank, Open ID means the donor has consented to release her identifying information to any donor-conceived individual aged 18 or older, if that person ever requests it.
One important note: with the rise of commercial DNA testing, we counsel both donors and intended parents that we cannot guarantee permanent anonymity regardless of the donation type chosen.
Once we receive your match paperwork and first payment installment, we send your doctor and nurse coordinator an official match sheet. The match is only confirmed once all items are received.
Fresh Matching Program: If a genetic incompatibility is found after matching, you can choose a new donor or receive a full deposit refund minus any hold fees. If the donor doesn't pass medical screening, you can choose a new donor at no additional agency cost or receive a refund minus a $2,500 administration fee and any costs already disbursed.
Frozen Egg Bank: our Blastocyst Embryo Guarantee means that if at least one blastocyst isn't achieved by day 7 and semen analysis criteria are met, you qualify for a replacement cohort at no additional cost.
Generally up to 12 months.
At least 9 months after a vaginal delivery, at least 12 months after a c-section. If you're breastfeeding, stop breastfeeding and have two normal periods before completing pre-testing.
