Egg Donor Agency vs. Egg Bank

Benefits of using a donor agency

Egg donor agency vs. egg bank: which is better? While there’s no right or wrong way to pursue fertility treatments, there are several benefits to using an egg donor agency over a donor egg bank.

Egg Donor Agency vs. Egg Bank: What’s the Difference?

An egg bank retrieves, freezes, and stores eggs from egg donors. Intended parents choose from the bank’s donors and purchase the frozen eggs to be fertilized at their preferred fertility clinic. Egg banks do not offer fresh donor eggs.

An egg donor agency recruits eligible donor candidates for fresh egg donation cycles. Intended parents choose from the agency’s donors, who then go through an egg retrieval cycle. The eggs are either fertilized for an immediate fresh egg cycle, or fertilized and frozen for future transfer.

Egg Donor Agency vs. Egg Bank Benefit #1: Egg Donor Agencies Offer a Wider Range of Donors

Egg donor agencies often have access to a wider donor pool than egg banks. Egg banks often recruit local donors, while donor agencies may screen donor candidates from all over the country. Donor agencies are also more able to find candidates with specific qualities, if you’re looking for a donor with a particular heritage, culture, aptitude, or educational background.

Egg Donor Agency vs. Egg Bank Benefit #2: Fresh Cycles Can Offer More Eggs Than Frozen

Egg banks typically sell frozen eggs in batches of six. This is usually enough for only one successful embryo transfer. You can sometimes purchase more eggs for additional cost, but they’re not always available.

With an egg donor agency, you may be able to get significantly more eggs through a fresh cycle. This means more embryos, which increase your fertility treatment options. Additional embryos allow for genetic testing to increase the chance of a successful pregnancy. Genetic testing also allows for gender selection. Finally, you can freeze extra embryos for future use. In general, more embryos = higher success rates, and an egg donor agency often provides significantly more eggs for fertilization.

Egg Donor Agency vs. Egg Bank Benefit #3: Better Opportunity for Genetic Siblings

The limited number of eggs through egg banks makes it harder to have siblings using the same egg donor. Donors give a finite amount of eggs to a bank, with no future donations, so you need to decide when purchasing if you want extra eggs for future siblings. Even then, you may need all of the eggs for just one successful pregnancy.

With an egg donor agency, you will probably get more eggs to freeze for future use. Egg donor agencies also keep in contact with their donors, so you can ask if a donor is interested in another donation cycle down the road.

Egg Donor Agency vs. Egg Bank Benefit #4: Options for Contacting Your Donor In the Future

Egg donor agencies usually keep current contact information for their donors, even after the cycle is completed. This means you have the option to contact your donor in the future (depending on your agreement at the time of donation). Some reasons why it’s important to be able to contact your donor include:

  • To ask about additional donation cycles for genetic siblings
  • To receive any health updates that many be genetically relevant
  • To provide your child with an accurate medical history
  • If your child is interested in meeting their donor when they turn 18

Egg banks usually do not maintain records on their donors, making it nearly impossible to contact your donor, regardless of need.

Still Wondering About the Benefits of Egg Donor Agency vs. Egg Bank? We Can Help!

Navigating the egg donor process can be tricky, but we’re here to answer your questions along the way. Contact us for a free consultation today.