Hi Sharon,
My wife and I are looking at options for finding an egg donor as my wife is 43 and our doctor has told us that she thinks our chances of getting pregnant are less than 1%. We are form Canada where the laws are restrictive for receiving a donor egg.
What are the impacts of going to the US and purchasing an egg and are there any legal ramifications we would need to consider. In Canada the birth mother is considered the legal parent.
What would be the process to start the procedure and find a donor egg?
Thanks,
S & E
~~~~~~~~~~
Hello S & E,
Thank you for contacting me and you have a couple of very good questions. I first need to tell you that I am not an attorney nor do I claim to know any of the laws in Canada vs the USA.
Having said that I have a few suggestions for you. First of all you might consider finding a RE and clinic in the states. A majority of clinics offer their own egg donation program where you can easily find a local (to the clinic) donor, have the egg retrieval at the clinic and then 3 to 5 days later have the embryo transfer. Leftover embryos can be frozen and possibly moved to a clinic in Canada. For that matter you could actually have the egg donation happen in the states, fertilize them and freeze the embryos and then move them to Canada. I would consult with your RE/Clinic and see if they will work with this scenario. I would also contact a locate reproductive attorney to see what other options you might have.
Lets not forget that you are not "purchasing an egg" as eggs are "donated". You are reimbursing the donor for her time, pain and suffering for the donation. That cost alone can be anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 for a first time donor....and not usually over $10,000 according to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine guidelines. (ASRM) You can expect to get anywhere from 12-20 eggs on average depending on how well the egg donor stimulates. Over stimulation should be avoided at all costs. Not all eggs will fertilize but if they are healthy, most might.
If you want a certain type of egg donor (certain qualities or race) you might do better looking at egg donor agencies. These agencies do cost extra, however, they can find you a match that might meet your standards and give you more background information then you would normally receive from a clinic's egg donation data base. You may even have the option to meet the donor if you so choose.
I hope that this has answered your questions and I wish you all the best. You can read more about egg donation at http://infertilityanswers.org/.
Sharon
Sharon LaMothe
Thank you for contacting me and you have a couple of very good questions. I first need to tell you that I am not an attorney nor do I claim to know any of the laws in Canada vs the USA.
Having said that I have a few suggestions for you. First of all you might consider finding a RE and clinic in the states. A majority of clinics offer their own egg donation program where you can easily find a local (to the clinic) donor, have the egg retrieval at the clinic and then 3 to 5 days later have the embryo transfer. Leftover embryos can be frozen and possibly moved to a clinic in Canada. For that matter you could actually have the egg donation happen in the states, fertilize them and freeze the embryos and then move them to Canada. I would consult with your RE/Clinic and see if they will work with this scenario. I would also contact a locate reproductive attorney to see what other options you might have.
Lets not forget that you are not "purchasing an egg" as eggs are "donated". You are reimbursing the donor for her time, pain and suffering for the donation. That cost alone can be anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 for a first time donor....and not usually over $10,000 according to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine guidelines. (ASRM) You can expect to get anywhere from 12-20 eggs on average depending on how well the egg donor stimulates. Over stimulation should be avoided at all costs. Not all eggs will fertilize but if they are healthy, most might.
If you want a certain type of egg donor (certain qualities or race) you might do better looking at egg donor agencies. These agencies do cost extra, however, they can find you a match that might meet your standards and give you more background information then you would normally receive from a clinic's egg donation data base. You may even have the option to meet the donor if you so choose.
I hope that this has answered your questions and I wish you all the best. You can read more about egg donation at http://infertilityanswers.org/.
Sharon
Sharon LaMothe
Infertility Answers, Inc.
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