May 22, 2020

Should I choose Fresh or Frozen Donor Eggs?

Who Qualifies for Donor Eggs?

Anyone wanting to start or continue a family qualifies when considering donor eggs as an alternative family-building option. For example, mature single women may know they want a family of their own but haven’t found the right partner yet, or don’t feel like it’s necessary to have a partner at all. With advances in donor egg and sperm donation, there’s no longer any obstacles standing in their way to creating the family they desire. Additionally, any LGBTQIAP+ individuals who want to share their love with a child can take advantage of using donor eggs with a gestational surrogate, if needed.

While typical recipients are women struggling with fertility issues, the fact remains that raising a child isn’t limited to the heteronormative mother/father relationship. A family structure is stable because of the love, attention, and support interwoven into the fabric of what it means to be a family. Donor eggs provide an opportunity for any individual to have their very own family to love and nurture.

Choosing Fresh or Frozen Donor Eggs

With egg donor databases from frozen donor egg banks, like Donor Egg Bank USA, offering donors from all over the country and around the world, the range of available egg donors now includes any individual characteristic you can possibly think of.

Since donors undergoing frozen egg donation don’t need to be confined to a potential parent’s geographical area, egg donor recipients are able to choose from a vast pool of candidates and be very selective in the egg donor they choose. Whether skin colour, height, academic background, or any other unique trait are qualities a hopeful parent holds in high regard, frozen donor eggs provide a greater opportunity to find that donor.

Additionally, since frozen donor eggs are safely cryogenically stored, the timing of your donor egg cycle isn’t nearly as strict as with fresh donor eggs. By using frozen, a woman struggling to conceive in Massachusetts may find her potential donor lived in Iowa. This opens a whole new world for hopeful parents to find their perfect donor match. Further, the flexibility this affords has an additional benefit: lower overall costs because timing the donor’s cycle with the intended parent’s or gestational surrogate’s cycle is no longer an issue.

In contrast, fresh donor eggs must immediately be fertilized and implanted after they’re retrieved. As previously mentioned, this requires a rigid synchronization of cycles between the donor and the egg recipient, whether she’s the intended parent or a gestational surrogate. This becomes significantly more costly, and appointments can’t be rescheduled, or the cycle may be cancelled.

With fresh eggs there’s no guarantee how many mature eggs will be retrieved per cycle; in comparison, frozen donor eggs typically come in groups of 5-8 eggs. This provides the hopeful parent(s) the chance to fertilize multiple eggs to achieve a transfer or possibly freeze extra blastocysts for future biological siblings.

You may also be on the other side of the spectrum and wish to become an egg donor. This is a very selfless act and one in which you feel might allow you to give something back!

Making the Right Choice for You

You deserve the chance to have a family. Whether you’re a single woman or man, a couple or part of the LGBTQIAP+ community, you have the right to raise a child if it’s your wish. With donor eggs — fresh or frozen — that dream can become reality. By thoroughly researching, finding a reputable clinic and egg bank, or researching for the right surrogate cost and asking questions, you’ll have the tools required to make the best decision for you.

Thanks for reading xxx