First of all, we don’t give donors money for anything. When a couple in need of an egg donor comes in, selects a donor and signs their contract, they are required to put the donor’s compensation of $8,000 into an escrow account to be given to the donor at the completion of the cycle.
The donor is receiving that compensation for her time, effort, availability, and compliance. There’s more involved in being a donor than just coming into the office for a consultation. A woman who donates eggs’ has to give herself injections, come in for multiple appointments consisting of blood draws and ultrasounds, and basically needs to be available for appointments and directions from us through the entirety of her cycle. Sometimes she may have less than a day’s notice before we need to see her and because of the time sensitivity involved in being an egg donor, she needs to drop whatever she is doing and come to our office.
Sometimes we refer to the money that the donor receives as “reimbursement”, but that shouldn’t imply that she pays for anything out of her pocket. We do not bill a donor for any procedure she has in the office, nor do we even ask for her medical insurance information. The payment she receives reflects compensation for her time, effort and willingness to donate her eggs. The money only flows in one direction, to the egg donor.
