Egg Donor Program
The Egg Donor Program at the NYU Langone Fertility Center can help match egg donors with people who do not have viable eggs for achieving a healthy pregnancy. This can be the result of age, illness, genetic abnormalities, prior surgery, or an unsuccessful response to fertility medications used to stimulate ovulation. This option is also available for LGBTQ+ people and their partners.
Women can either use an anonymous donor who is currently ovulating or one whose eggs were previously frozen. Less commonly, women select a directed donor, meaning someone who is known to them.
When donor eggs are used, a person is often able to carry the pregnancy in their own healthy uterus. To achieve pregnancy, the donated eggs are combined with sperm, and the resulting embryo is implanted into the person’s uterus or the uterus of a gestational carrier. In some circumstances, a person’s uterus is considered unsuitable for pregnancy, or less commonly, they do not have a uterus. Embryos created from donor eggs can also be transferred to the uterus of a gestational carrier.
All patients using an egg donor are scheduled for a private consultation with a donor egg nurse to review consents, treatments, and medications.
Choosing an Egg Donor
The ideal donor is 21 to 30 years old and must pass comprehensive screening procedures put in place by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the New York State Department of Health, and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. These include medical and psychological examinations, genetic testing, drug screening, and testing for sexually transmitted infections.
If you choose to pursue an anonymous donor through the Fertility Center, you are asked to provide a description of the ideal candidate as well as a photo of yourself. When a donor is found that matches your specifications, you are provided with the comprehensive donor profile including: height, weight, eye color, the results of a psychological evaluation, and genetic testing reports. You are not, however, told their name or given any identifying information. Pictures of donors can be viewed in person at the Fertility Center but are not shared electronically. The average wait for an egg donor is less than is six months.
Recipients also have the option of selecting an anonymous egg donor through a New York State–licensed donor agency. Our program provides a list of donor agencies. After a confirmed match is made through the agency, all initial medical, psychological, and genetic screening takes place at the Fertility Center.
You may also choose to work with a directed egg donor, meaning a person you know. This process can bring about unique challenges, both logistically and emotionally. You can discuss the potential benefits and challenges of directed egg donation with your doctor. These topics, along with other psychological components of egg donation, are addressed during your donor consultation, which is required for all donor egg recipients and their partners.
Frozen donor eggs may also be used and may reduce your treatment wait time. The Fertility Center uses eggs from our own donor egg bank or those from My Egg Bank North America and Fairfax Egg Bank.
Contact Us
To learn more about the Egg Donor Program, please contact our administrator Sylvia Wadowiec at 212-263-0054, our coordinator Alyssa Vargas at 212-263-0011, or one of our nurses: Aleks Kostyra, RN, at 212-263-7647; Tatiana Alicea, RN, at 212-263-0028; or Nancy McGoff, BSN, at 212-263-7451.