Marijuana Is Legal in Illinois – What Next for Egg Donors?

Unless you live under a rock, you know that as of January 1, 2020, marijuana is legal in the state of Illinois for recreational use.  Does this change the drug screening policy of our egg donors and gestational carriers?

Absolutely not.  We will still continue to screen our egg donors and gestational carriers as we have been, including for marijuana use.  According to a prospective study on the effects of female marijuana use on in vitro fertilization published by the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, both timing and amount of marijuana use negatively affected IVF.

• Women who used marijuana during fertility treatment had 27% fewer eggs retrieved and one fewer embryo to transfer.
• Women who used marijuana during fertility treatment had infants 17% smaller at birth.
• Women who had used marijuana in the previous twelve months before doing IVF had 25% fewer eggs retrieved and 28% fewer eggs fertilize.
• Women who had used marijuana in the previous 15 years had 12% smaller infants.

These statistics are enough for us to know that even though marijuana is now legal, we need to continue screening our egg donors and gestational carriers to give intended parents the best possible outcome in their family building journey.

Learn more about what we look for in our egg donors by downloading our free e-book, "So You Want to Be an Egg Donor".