Special women who want to make a difference in someone’s life can do so by donating their eggs. Egg donors make couples’ or individuals’ dreams come true by allowing them to become parents. While egg donors are financially compensated for their selfless gift, they also benefit from knowing they’ve changed people’s lives for the better.
If you’ve never donated eggs before, you probably have many questions, including: How many times can you donate eggs? Can you do it more than once, twice, or even three times? And if the answer is yes, is there a time limit you have to wait between donations?
Women can donate eggs six times during their life, as dictated by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Whether you donate your eggs at one clinic or different clinics, you can only donate six times total.
Why can you only donate eggs six times?
By donating eggs, a woman has to undergo a medical procedure for egg retrieval that involves medications and anesthesia. With any medical procedure, there are risks. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine sets a limit to the number of times a person can donate eggs because of the risks of controlled ovarian stimulation, the egg retrieval procedure, and anesthesia.
Setting a limit to the number of times a woman donates eggs can also prevent inadvertent consanguinity, which is when two people who don’t know they’re genetically related have a romantic relationship. One example of this is if two people who are unknowingly half-siblings become romantically involved.
What is the average number of eggs retrieved during a donation cycle?
During most egg retrievals, there are between 10 – 40+ mature eggs. The body naturally reabsorbs any eggs that aren’t retrieved or used. After retrieval, the clinic will release the results of your egg donation so you can find out how many eggs were retrieved.
How long do you have to wait between donating eggs?
The process can be as short as 8 to 12 weeks from when you are selected until the eggs are retrieved. If you stick with the same clinic, it might be shorter the second time around because you won’t have to go through the qualifying process again. Every time you donate, we will match you with intended parent(s), which may take time between cycles. Expect to wait at least a month between donations.
Will egg donation impact your fertility?
No, donating eggs should not affect your fertility. Many egg donors go on to have healthy pregnancies of their own.
Even though you are giving eggs away, you will still have plenty left. Fertility medications allow about 9 – 40+ eggs to mature. But remember that women start their lives with about 300,000 – 400,000 eggs. That means you still have many eggs left after one cycle.
Who can donate eggs?
Now that you understand egg donation frequency, you’re probably wondering if you qualify. What are the eligibility requirements? In order to donate your eggs, you must be:
- Between the ages of 18 and 30: There are some exceptions and we will consider some egg donors over the age of 30—in most cases if they have been a successful egg donor before or have some unique qualifications.
- A healthy BMI: Height / Weight Ratio is within a normal range.
- Experiencing regular menstrual cycles.
- Not currently pregnant or breastfeeding.
- Physically healthy.
- A non-smoker.
- Not currently using any psychoactive drugs or nicotine (some alcohol is acceptable).
- Not registered with any Native American tribes.
There are a few additional requirements to keep in mind in addition to the above list.
Now that you know how many times you can donate eggs, if you’d like to donate yours, you can start your egg donor application. We’ll explain the steps in more detail, answer any questions you might have, and make sure you’re a good candidate.
Egg Donor and Surrogacy Services
Since 2004, The Fertility Agency has helped bring over 1100+ babies into the world. We work with all intended parents, surrogates, and egg donors no matter their sexual preference, relationship status, ethnicity, location, etc. Our personal experiences and years of expertise provide us with the perfect balance of business and passion.
