Financial Planning for Intended Parents: How Much Does an Egg Donor Cost?

There’s no question, the process of egg donation can get expensive. It can cost anywhere from $40,000-$65,000  from start to finish, and as intended parents, it’s up to you to cover all the fees associated with the process. But, don’t let that stop you from growing your family.

How Much Are Donor Eggs? 

Not sure where all the money’s going? Here’s a breakdown of what you can expect to pay and why.

Egg Donor Agency Fees

Finding a donor through an egg donation agency offers advantages that you may not have otherwise: access to many donors, background checks, and the option to choose between shared or solo cycles to name a few.

Agency Fees cover the agencies costs to connects a donor with intended parents. When working with an agency, make sure you are clear about any refund policies. It’s important to know exactly what happens if the egg donor backs out, doesn’t pass her evaluations, or fails to produce any eggs.

Most egg donor agencies will refund some amount if the process hasn’t started yet. But if the donor backs out halfway through the process, only a partial refund -- or no refund at all -- will be given. Just make sure you are familiar with the agency's policies before you commit.

Legal Services

In a perfect world, there would be no need for written contracts, but to protect all parties involved, legal issues will need to be addressed.

The legal agreement between the egg donor and intended parents includes:

• The egg donor voluntarily relinquishes all rights to the eggs.
• The egg donor has no parental responsibility on any children created using those eggs.
• The egg donor has no obligations over the child.
• The timeline of how and when the eggs will be retrieved.
• How the intended parents will pay for any necessary travel expenses
• If and how any medical costs will be covered
• Compensation
• Any fees for canceled cycles
• The level of contact between the donor and the intended parents.

The legal service fees will cover the time it takes to make up the individual contracts that all parties must agree on.

Your Donor's Insurance

Intended parents will cover the medical expenses of the egg donation, but in addition to the clinical costs, they may also be required to buy accidental egg donor insurance if the agency does not provide this.

This additional insurance will protect the intended parents if there is a medical problem, so they are not stuck paying outrageous medical bills. Some agencies will have an in-house policy or a preferred insurance company they use, so be sure to ask about it.

Psychological Evaluations and Screening

Every egg donor must go through a psychological evaluation. These evaluations are used to gather detailed family history and any personal information. The information collected will help to determine if there are any behavioral patterns that we should be aware of.

These evaluations will also ask questions about the donor’s education experiences to look for any signs of learning disorders.

Another reason for psychological evaluations to determine if the donor is fully aware of this critical decision. If the donor isn’t fully cognitively developed, she may not understand the long-term effects of this decision.

Egg Donor Compensation

Egg donors need to be compensated for their generous donation. This price can vary between donors and agencies. Typically, donor fees start around $8,000 but increase with prior donation experience and other special qualifications. For example, because proven donors are in high-demand, they’re compensation may be higher.

Genetic Assessments and Screenings

Both egg and sperm donors are required to go through screenings to determine if there is an increased risk of passing on a genetic condition. This is an essential step because the combination of genes could impact the health of the child.

Autosomal Recessive Conditions: These are conditions where both the egg and sperm must carry some variant of the same condition. Examples of these conditions would be cystic fibrosis or Tay Sachs disease.

Carriers of Recessive Genes: A lot of times we can be carries of conditions and may not even realize it. The genetic assessments will be to determine what could happen if a child gets a working copy of that recessive gene.

Genetic assessments are not to scare you away from having a baby. It is to provide you with excellent information so you can make the best decision possible for your family. The more you know about your baby’s genetic make-up, the better prepared you will be.

Escrow Accounts

Escrow accounts are often set up to distribute the funds during the egg donation process. Having an escrow account allows the agency to have the money available to pay the clinics, travel expenses, and medication without having to call the intended parents over and over.

This helps keep the process moving without having to wait for payments as well providing peace of mind that funds are securely maintained.

Managing Payment for Egg Donation Costs

We get it, adding up egg donation costs can be overwhelming. But, think of the outcome. After all this, you’ll get to hold a new baby in your arms.

So, don’t hesitate to your book your consultation today to get the process going. We’re confident we can help you achieve your goal of growing family.