FAQ for Intended Parents

Intended Parents FAQ

We are always available to explore your journey. Following are frequent questions from intended parents. Please reach out to discuss your specific questions. For any FAQ, select the toggle to view more information.

We work only with local donors because proximity offers us the best opportunity to really get to know who they are.

After verifying an applicant’s identity with a picture ID, we complete a comprehensive, one on one, interview with each young woman who seeks to be a donor. We have a chance to evaluate her ability to follow through on instructions, keep an appointment, fill out paperwork thoroughly, and do what she says she will do. All of these factors are help us determine whether someone will be able to successfully commit to the detailed process involved in egg donation.

We also believe local donors make for a more economical and less complicated situation for the intended parents. Even if the base donor honorarium might be lower in other areas of the country, the additional costs of long-distance medical monitoring, flights to the intended parents’ clinic, and housing and food for a local stay during retrieval usually end up being higher than the cost of working with a local donor.

Working locally means we also are more knowledgeable about specific routines and medical personnel at the individual clinics we work with and thus can provide better follow-through.

Equally important, since we also represent the best interests of prospective donors, we make sure that, for the actual egg retrieval process, a young woman has someone with her to help with logistics at the clinic, support her during retrieval AND stay with her to provide assistance afterwards, all difficult if someone is away from home. Additionally, should there be any complications from the donation process, the young woman can be cared for by the fertility specialist who has performed the procedure and has expertise in handling any complications. 

Fertility Connections believes that all-inclusive administrative fees work to the benefit of the agency but not the intended parents. For example, if the donor has had a previous cycle within the last year, the fees for the psychological evaluation, in most cases, do not need to be repeated. These savings can be passed on to the intended parents instead of automatically being kept by the agency.

I understand that there are 3 levels of clearance for the donor. What happens if we sign a service agreement with you and the prospective donor does not pass the psychological screening or background check?

We are happy to refund these costs out of our initial administration fee.

Many agencies require all fees up front and do not refund any portion. They only allow for choosing another donor if a problem arises with screening. Fertility Connections requires only partial payment and requests complete funding of the agreement after the psychological screening and background check (if requested) is passed. We believe that our job is to provide donors who can easily pass both of these screenings.

I understand that after the psychological screening and background check (if requested) are done, we sign an egg donation agreement with the prospective donor and the medical screening is then done. What happens if we sign the egg donation contract and the prospective donor does not pass the medical screening?

Fertility Connections keeps a fair administrative fee for work to date (as laid out in the service agreement) and refunds the rest of the fees. If someone would like to pick another donor with us, we are happy to help by providing another donor at a reduced agency fee. Or they are welcome to go elsewhere. We work to earn the trust of those working with us and, if the rare obstacle happens to arise, we want someone to stay with our agency out of choice, instead of being locked in.

Our goal is to help intended parents to actually become parents. We know the heartbreak that infertility can bring and the joy of finally being able to have a child. Our job is to help intended parents find a donor that they feel really good about. To make this  an exciting time, filled with hope, we do our best to take care of all the issues surrounding the process so that the donors feel cared for and the intended parents can keep their focus  getting pregnant. We want everyone who works with us to walk away feeling that things went as well as they possibly could.

If you would like to take a look at our donor base, you can call or email for a password to the website which contains a brief description and two pictures of each donor. We can also schedule a video call to review the process or communicate by email.

What happens if we do not see the person we want to want to work with in your donor base?

If you want to work with us and let us know  what you are looking for in a donor, we’ll be happy to keep our eye open for you at no extra cost, or possibly discuss advertising for a specific donor.

And the best of luck in this process, however you proceed!

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