Egg Donor Program Helps Expand Families
If a woman lacks sufficient eggs to conceive, she and her partner may choose oocyte donation as an alternative.
University Hospitals Fertility Center is proud to have the only in-house egg donor program in the area. Our egg donors undergo extensive genetic and medical testing and complete a thorough questionnaire before their eggs are approved for use. Utilizing the UH Fertility Center donor bank is less expensive than going through a private agency.
Benefits of Egg Donation
Egg donation removes many of the questions and concerns that patients have about conception and pregnancy. Couples view egg donor profiles and select an egg from a donor with their desired characteristics.
It can bring a deeper sense of connection to the process to know that the baby is genetically related to the male partner, and the woman who carries the baby can exercise complete control over the pregnancy management and ensure the baby receives outstanding prenatal care.
The Shared Oocyte Program Allows One Woman to Give the Gift of Motherhood to Another
The Shared Oocyte Program allows women younger than 35 years old who are undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) to share their extra eggs anonymously with women who are unable to become pregnant because of age or premature menopause.
This special arrangement allows the younger woman to assist the other without any extra effort – in essence, the program has IVF and egg donation offered as one combined service.
The Program also has cost benefits: both couples split the cost of the in-vitro fertilization cycle instead of each couple having to pay for their own.
Egg Fertilization Process
Once a donor egg is selected, it is fertilized with the male partner’s sperm during in-vitro fertilization. When the resulting fertilized egg develops into an embryo, it is then implanted in the female patient or a surrogate to carry for the remainder of the pregnancy. The baby is biologically half the egg donor’s and half the male partner’s, but the woman gets to carry and deliver the baby.