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Intended Parents

Requirements for Egg Donors

Egg donor requirements exist to uphold the integrity of the process; ensuring donors are ready psychologically, emotionally and physically.

Knowing these requirements can give you peace of mind when browsing through potential egg donors that the profiles you see can help you experience what it’s like to be a parent.

Contact us online to be connected to fertility clinics that are close to you. You can acquire donor eggs from them if they have an egg donation program and you will need one for the in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures that create embryos.

Below, we’ll break down the requirements to be an egg donor and what the screening process looks like to ensure you see the best egg donors.

What Are the Egg Donor Requirements?

When it comes to the qualifications to be an egg donor, it’s dependent on where you’re located and who you work with.

In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates human reproductive tissue, including donated eggs.  Any professional that recovers, processes, stores, labels, packages or distributes human cells, tissues and cellular and tissue based products (HCT/Ps) has to be registered with the FDA.

You can find registered HCT/P professionals on their website.

Although professionals may have slightly different stipulations depending on the requirement, the basics generally include:

Prospective egg donors should be between the ages of 21 and 34 years old.

BMI is a tool used to assess body fat percentage based on a person’s height and weight. Most clinics have a BMI threshold because it can impact the retrieval cycle and egg quality.

A comprehensive physical examination is a requirement for egg donors to ensure a hopeful donor can safely conduct and complete the required medical procedures.

If you or your partner has a family history of a genetic disease, having potential donors screened identifies overlapping genetic conditions.

A healthy lifestyle is needed to become an egg donor. Smoking, excessive uses of drugs or alcohol are all examples of lifestyle habits that could disqualify a hopeful donor.

Screenings to become an egg donor will include psychological history as part of the egg donor criteria to assess their mental health and ability to complete the egg donation process from start to finish.

Depending on the professional you work with, donor egg banks may require a minimum education level.

Is there a maximum age for IVF with donor eggs?

No, there is no maximum age for IVF with donor eggs.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s (ASRM) guidelines recommends the egg donor be between the ages of 21 and 34 because of the research suggesting better outcomes.

One 2019 paper from the National Library of Medicine found that the chances of a live birth rate among IVF cycles using egg donors that were under 25 years old were 13% lower for those using donors between the ages of 25 and 29

This older 2012 paper from the National Library of Medicine looked at 3,889 fresh donor egg cycles. It found that the egg cycles from donors between the ages of 30 and 34 had a higher live birth rate vs. cycle from donors under 30 years old and older than 34.

The age of the donor directly impacts the success of a donor egg IVF cycle because the older females get, egg quality and quantity decrease which is why you may see egg donor age limits with some professionals.

What rules you out of being an egg donor?

There are various medical and lifestyle-related reasons that may rule out a woman from being able to donate her eggs. Your medical background, medications, breastfeeding, tobacco use, drug use, age and BMI are all examples of things that could rule you out.

Learn more about the cost of using donor eggs

Egg Donor Screening Requirements

We’ve touched on the screening process that’s a part of the egg donor requirements.

Now, we’ll take a deeper look into what that screening process entails.

Medical Screening

This requirement to be an egg donor is to ensure that they are healthy enough to be a donor. The medical screening can include:

  • Fertility evaluation

  • Physical exam

  • Pelvic exam

  • Ultrasound

  • Blood tests to check hormone levels

  • Infectious disease testing

    Genetic Screening

    In the past, genetic screening could look for specific genetic disorders that you or your partners were at risk of passing on to your child.

    Now, in addition to looking for those specific disorders, the technology has evolved to the point where genetic screening tests for the diseases that are most prevalent.

    Psychological Screening

    This egg donor qualification exists to assess a potential donor’s state of mind.

    It can identify emotional issues, determine the reasoning for their desire to donate and make sure that the potential donor understands the physical, mental and legal risks that can come with their decision.

    Do Egg Donors Get Drug Tested?

    Yes, egg donors do get drug tested. Pinnacle Egg Bank, for example, requires a urine test that tests for:

    • Amphetamines
    • Barbiturates
    • Benzodiazepine
    • Cocaine
    • Opiates
    • Phencyclidine
    • Methadone
    • Propoxyphene
    • Nicotine

    Their urine test is used not only for drug testing, but to detect additional sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhea and chlamydia too. 

    Learn more about how to find an egg donor

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