Donating your eggs is what the medical profession refers to as Assisted Reproductive Technology or A.R.T. A.R.T. offers a wide range of options to achieve pregnancy such as sperm donation and in vitro fertilization. The donation of an egg by a woman is one option. Let’s start with the basics. Eggs are Female reproductive cells (oocytes). Women are born with a finite number of eggs. A woman has hundreds of them, but it is a finite number nonetheless.
Ovaries are the glands that produce these eggs and other hormones. A woman has two of them located on either side of her pelvis. A follicle is a fluid filled sac in the ovary that releases the egg at ovulation

The Uterus is the hollow muscular female reproductive organ where the fetus grows.

Estrogen is the female hormone that directs the reproductive cycle. The levels of estrogen in a female are particularly high from puberty to menopause

As you probably recall from sex education class in junior high school, a fertile woman ovulates once per month. One or two eggs travel down the fallopian tubes and into the uterus waiting to be fertilized by a single sperm. In many women, the ovulation works in a normal way, however no egg is produced. Other factors that lead to infertility include chemotherapy, disease, and other physical abnormalities.

Obviously egg donors are very sought after. People have been known to offer upwards of 50,000 U.S. Dollars for an egg. Bear in mind that the process of harvesting an egg is a surgical procedure, so you will be going under the knife for this deal. What are some of the requirements of an egg donor?

First of all, you must be a woman in your peak productive years. This is usually generally considered to be between the ages of 21-35 in the fertility profession. You must be healthy and be the appropriate weight for your height. Your family history must be clear of any hereditary diseases such as heart disease, cystic fibrosis, and birth defects. Some clinics prefer that you have already conceived a child. You must be a person that possesses low risk behavior. In other words, don’t be a drug addict, alcoholic, or have a high risk for having STDs.

Alright, so you have checked out the above requirements and you feel you are a good candidate. What do you do next? There are all kinds of magazines that advertise for egg donors as well as doctors who recruit people. One good web site is located at www.sart.org. This is the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. Just click on your state, enter your address, and it will guide you to the clinic nearest you. When checking out the clinic, make sure that the doctors there are board certified ob/gyn specialists or reproductive endocrinologists. Ask a lot of questions, because this after all, your body they will be dealing with. Don’t sign or agree to anything until you have talked to and interviewed the doctor extensively. Find out how many of these procedures they have performed. Ask about complications that could arise from the procedure and have them tell you about all the risks involved. Ask for a list of referral patients so that you can speak to other women who have already dealt with that particular clinic. If anything seems suspect to you, you should head over to another clinic. They will be more than happy to take you.