Only certain women have what it takes to be an egg donor. Egg donation is a selfless act of compassion and kindness. While it’s wonderful, not everyone can be an egg donor. So, what disqualifies you from being one?
Even if you have a huge heart, a generous personality, and you want to be an egg donor, you must still meet certain eligibility requirements. Every intended parents wants to use eggs that come from high-quality, reliable sources so they can have a healthy, genetically-thriving baby. When we decline someone’s application to be an egg donor, it’s usually because they don’t meet the criteria, like one of the below reasons:
7 Disqualifications for Egg Donation
1) You’re outside the age range
As a woman ages, her egg supply gradually decreases. Fertility begins to decline in your early 30s. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) says that egg supply falls more rapidly during the mid-30s, and by the age of 40, most women have less than 10% of their prebirth egg supply.
The American Society Of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) recommends that egg donors are between the ages of 18-30. There are some exceptions. For example, The Fertility Agency will consider some egg donors over the age of 30 — in most cases, if they have been a successful egg donor in the past or have some unique qualifications.
2) Your body mass index (BMI) is too high
BMI is your height and weight ratio. Most fertility clinics set their own requirements for egg donors, including the desired BMI. Some won’t accept anyone over a BMI of 30, while others will accept up to 35. You can use this tool to calculate your BMI.
3) Your menstrual cycle is irregular
When a woman has a regular menstrual cycle, she ovulates each month. That process involves the maturation and release of follicles. Even with regular menstrual cycles, only a tiny fraction of the follicles that are available ever mature into eggs. You can imagine how much more difficult the egg donation process becomes without a regular menstrual cycle.
4) You have a family health history of serious inheritable genetic disorders or diseases
Some diseases can be passed down from family member to family member without any signs, symptoms, or official diagnosis. Egg donors can pass those same inheritable genetic disorders or diseases on through their eggs. To ensure the donated eggs are as healthy as possible, we require that egg donors do not have a family history of conditions like:
- Beta thalassemia
- Congenital deafness
- Cystic fibrosis
- Huntington disease
- Marfan syndrome
- Neurofibromatosis type 1
- Sickle-cell anemia
- Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA)
- Tay-sachs disease
5) You smoke
We require our egg donors to be non-smokers. Based on scientific evidence, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) says that smoking negatively impacts a woman’s reproductive health. It can impair fertility and hormone production. In general, not smoking is healthier and is why we require all of our egg donors to be non-smokers.
6) You have health issues
How well you take care of yourself impacts the quality of your eggs and your reproductive health. That’s why we require our egg donors to live healthy lifestyles. While some alcohol consumption is OK, you shouldn’t use psychoactive drugs or nicotine and you should have no significant psychiatric disorders in yourself or close family members.
7) Even tiny needles scare you
Egg donors must be willing to self-administer injectable medications and undergo an outpatient procedure. If a loved one can assist with injecting the medications, that’s OK too, but you must be able to have the injections every day for a required amount of time. The needles are small, but if you’re terrified of needles or don’t do well with health care procedures, becoming an egg donor might not be the right avenue for you.
The above list includes a handful of the most common reasons people are disqualified from becoming egg donors. This is not a comprehensive list. You can see our full list of qualifications to get a complete picture of what it takes to qualify for egg donation.
Learn More About Our Fertility 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. Contact us for more information.
