The Process of Egg Donation

Why do women of all races, occupationsand from various locations across theUnited States & Canada decide to

become egg donors?

It can be a very rewarding feeling toknow that you have helped an infertilefamily to experience the joy of having a

child.

The compensation can be very helpfulto the donor in paying for college, travel

or other expenses.

What is involved inbecoming an egg donor?

All donors must meet certain criteria in order to be accepted into our program.If you are very responsible and can answer yes to the following, please apply.

•I am 20-34 years of age.

•I am healthy & a non-smoker.

•I do not use recreational drugs.

•I am height & weight proportionate.

•I have access to the medical and genetic history of my biological family.

•I am willing to participate in a medical evaluation to include physical, psychological and drugscreening.

•I have not had any tattoos or body piercings within the past six months.

•I have not had a Norplant birth control device or taken Depo-Provera in the past 6 months.

•I am willing to travel for 5-10 days (all expenses paid) to a fertility clinic approved by the AmericanMedical Association for participation in an egg donor cycle. Or, my primary residence is in a majormetropolitan area.

•I am willing to self inject medications for my participation as an egg donor.**Please note that instructions for administering the medications will be provided by a RegisteredNurse.

Height & Weight Guidelines

Height Maximum WeightUnder 5' 4" -> 150 lbs.5' 4" - 5' 7" -> 170 lbs.5' 7" - 5' 10"-> 180 lbs.5' 10" - 6' 0"-> 190 lbs.

These guidelines are set forth by the clinics and physicians we work inconjunction with to make sure women becoming egg donors are ofadequate health to participate in egg donation.

The first step to becoming an egg donor is to complete ouronline egg donor application.

1) You may do this on our website: www.hbed.net2) Select the page in the left hand column entitled, ‘Egg Donors’ .3) Select the link entitled, ‘Egg Donor Application / Login’.4) Scroll down the page and complete the Donor Contact Form and

prequalification questionnaire and select, ‘Submit’.5) Upon submitting this form you will immediately be directed to your

donor home page which contains links to the additional applicationforms.

**You must complete all of the application forms for your applicationand mark each form as complete at the bottom of each form to beconsidered and submit at least one, clear adult photo of yourself.

You may save your application and log back in with the emailaddress and password you selected to complete the forms a time

permits.

What type of information is requested in theEgg Donor Application?Donor Contact Information

General Information

Educational Background

Personality Information

Traits of your family members(ie. Hair color, eye color etc.)

Personal Health Information

FDA Eligibility Questions

Family Medical History

What are the next steps after completingthe egg donor application?

Completion of an interview is required.In this interview we will discuss your motivations for becoming an eggdonor, your personal & family medical history, and we will go through theprocess of egg donation with you in detail. At this time we will address anyquestions or concerns that you may have.*If you are not local to one of our office locations, we will arrange to complete this

via web cam.

Completion of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI).This assessment, or test, is used to help identify personal, social, andbehavioral issues and is required to be completed prior to participation in anegg donation cycle. This will help us to determine that you arepsychologically suited to participate in our program as an egg donor.

What happens after you have been approved to bean egg donor in our program?

You will be assigned a Donor ID and the information contained inyour application minus your name and contact information will beplaced in a password protected database.

Intended Parents working with our agency will be provided with apassword to access our Egg Donor Database and may search throughour donor profiles to make their egg donor selection.

How long does it take to be matchedwith Intended Parent(s)?

This is probably the most difficult question for us to answer. The amount of timeit takes to match you with Intended Parent(s) can vary greatly.

Intended Parents will choose a donor based on various factors such as:Height, Weight, Hair Color, Eye Color, Ethnic Background, Personality,

Educational Background and Location.

Intended Parents are usually seeking a donor with traits and characteristicssimilar to themselves, so they may conceive a child with traits and characteristics

similar to those of their family.

How does the process work once I have been selected byIntended Parent(s) to be their Egg Donor?

1) The first step is that we will contact you and request some informationfrom you to confirm that you still meet our eligibility requirements andare currently available to participate in the medical screening and eggretrieval process.

2) We will provide you with basic information about the Intended Parent(s),inform you of the fertility clinic you will be working with and if travel willbe required for your participation in an egg donor cycle.

3) You will then accept or deny to work with the Intended Parent(s).

4) If you accept the egg donor cycle, then we will email you a Cycle MatchAgreement to sign and return to us. This will outline our agency policies,your requested compensation and any expenses that will be covered bythe Intended Parent(s) during your participation in the egg donor cycle.

5) We will also arrange for a reproductive attorney to represent you in reviewing the eggdonation agreement / contract between you and the Intended Parents.This agreement will outline the legal implications involved in being an egg donor and theexpenses and compensation you will receive during egg donor cycle. The attorney canreview with you over email and telephone communication, if necessary.

*This attorney will be paid from the donor expense account funded by the Intended

Parents.

What is the Compensation and Expenses you may expect to be paid by theIntended Parents during your participation in an egg donation cycle?

Your requested compensation $3500. - $10,000. per the guidelines set by theAmerican Society of Reproductive Medicine.Terms of Compensation: $750. paid upon starting first injectable medication. Theremainder is paid within (5) days following the egg retrieval procedure.

Non-Local Donation Expenses:

• Meal Allowance for Donor on any required travel more than 200 miles one way from donor’s home is $50.00 Daily Non-accountable per diem. Including travel days.

• Meal Allowance for Donor’s Companion on the Retrieval Trip (if it takes place more than 200 miles one way from donorshome) is $25.00 Daily Non-Accountable per diem. Including travel days.

• Childcare may be reimbursed with receipts up to $50.00 per day $350.00 maximum for required travel days. Up to amaximum of $350.00 for the entire cycle.

• Hotel & Coach Plane Ticket will be paid for donor on any required travel more than 200 miles one way from donors home.

• Hotel & Coach Plane Ticket will be paid for donor’s companion on the egg retrieval trip if it takes place more than 200 milesone way from donors home.

• Rental Car (Insurance & 1 tank of gas), Parking & Tolls (actual cost) provided receipts are submitted to agency.

OR Taxi Fare may be reimbursed for any required travel more than 200 miles one way from donor’s home (actual cost)provided receipts are submitted to agency.

• Long-term parking may be reimbursed (actual cost) provided receipts are submitted to agency.

• Mileage at a rate of $0.50 per mile may be reimbursed for actual miles incurred by donor for all travel where donor must useher own vehicle for appointments, airport etc. in donor’s home area as it relates to her participation in the donor cycle.

• Additional expenses as necessary for the donor’s participation in the egg donor cycle and pre-approved by the agency.

Local Donation Expenses:

• Meal Allowance of $50.00 Daily Non-accountable per diem for the following dates (maximum of 3 days):1) Day of Medical Screening Appointment2) Day before Retrieval (if hotel stay is necessary)3) Day of Retrieval

• Meal Allowance of $25.00 Daily Non-accountable per diem for companion for the following dates (maximum of 2 days):1) Day before Retrieval (if hotel stay is necessary)2) Day of Retrieval

• Hotel (Actual Cost) if the donor resides more than 100 miles from the clinic for the following dates:1) Day before Retrieval2) Day of Retrieval

• Mileage at a rate $0.50 per mile round trip for all miles incurred from donor’s home to clinic appointments and the egg retrieval procedure if sheelects to use her personal vehicle.

OR Rental Car (Insurance & 1 tank of gas, actual cost of parking & tolls) for the week prior to the retrieval to attend monitoring appointments and theegg retrieval procedure provided receipts are submitted to agency.

OR Taxi Fare may be reimbursed for any required travel from donor’s home to clinic appointments and the egg retrieval procedure (actual cost)provided receipts are submitted to agency.

• Childcare may be reimbursed with receipts up to $50.00 per day for the following dates (maximum of 3 days):1) Day of Medical Screening Appointment2) Day before Retrieval3) Day of Retrieval

• Childcare may be reimbursed with receipts up to $25.00 per day for the dates of all other required clinic appointments pertaining to the donor cycle.Childcare is reimbursed at a maximum of $350 for the entire cycle.

• Additional expenses as necessary and pre-approved by the agency for the donor’s participation in the egg donor cycle and pre-approved by theagency.

Are there additional requirements once I have beenselected by Intended Parent(s)?

1) We will request copies of your pap smear results within the past twelvemonths. You will need to assist us in obtaining copies of these results.

2) We will arrange for you to complete a psychological evaluation.

3) We will then work in conjunction with the fertility clinic to schedule you tohave blood work completed on Day 3 or 4 of your menstrual cycle.*This test is performed to assess that your hormone levels are in the preferred range for an eggdonor.

4) Once we have received all of those test results, we will schedule for you tocomplete a complete medical screening at the primary fertility clinic.**This screening will include blood tests to check for infectious diseases (HIV, Hepatitis C etc),

genetic diseases (Cystic Fibrosis, Fragile X syndrome etc.), sexually transmitted diseases(Gonorrhea, Chlamydia etc.) and a drug screen. In addition, you will undergo a complete physicalassessment. You will meet with the physician and nurses and discuss the risks and possiblecomplications, types of medication required and instruction on administering the medications willbe provided.

Please note you will be required to present a state issued photo id at every clinic appointment,no exceptions!If the primary clinic is not local to your home you may be required to travel for a one day /overnight trip for this medical screening. All expenses for this trip will be paid and a minimum of2-4 weeks notice will be provided.

If all the test results come back within normal limits:

You will be provided with a cycle calendar bythe IVF clinic.

*This calendar will outline the dates and times you will need toadminister your egg donor cycle medications, the dates and times

you will need to visit a clinic for monitoring by means of vaginalultrasound and blood work and the dates you will be required totravel to the area of the Intended Parent(s) clinic (if applicable).

**If your egg donor cycle in not local to your home area then youwill be typically be required to travel to the area of the primary IVF

clinic for 5-10 days for monitoring appointments and the eggretrieval procedure. The exact number of travel days will be

determined by your response to the cycle medications and the IVFphysician.

Oral Contraceptives (i.e.. Birth Control Pills)*This medications are required to be taken for a period of time (approx.30-45 days) in order tosynchronize your menstrual cycle with the Intended Mother or a gestational surrogate.

GNRH AGONIST (Lupron, Synarel or similar) will be required to be self administered as asubcutaneous injection. Usually taken once daily for up to one month prior to the egg retrievalprocedure.*This medication is used to prevent the release of eggs by ovulation and assists in maintainingproper FSH and LH levels throughout your egg donor cycle.

Gonadotropins (Follistim, Gonal F, Menopur, Repronex, Bravelle or similar) will be required to beself administered as a subcutaneous injection. Usually taken 1-2 times daily for 8-14 days prior tothe egg retrieval procedure.*This medication will contain a follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), which causes folliclescontaining eggs to develop in the ovaries.

HCG (Ovidrel, Profasi, Pregnylor similar) will be required to be administered as an intramuscularinjection approximately 34 - 36 hours prior to your egg retrieval procedure. Usually a one timeinjection. If necessary, we will arrange for a nurse to administer this injection for you.*This medication causes the eggs to mature prior to the retrieval.

Antibiotics will typically be required to be taken orally for a few days before and after the eggretrieval procedure to prevent infection.

**Instruction will be provided for administering all cycle medications.**

Egg Donor Cycle Medications

Are there side effects to the medications?The typical side affects that some donors experience are mild instances of the following:

Hot FlashesHeadacheBloatingFatigueMoodiness

A very rare more serious side effect that could occur is Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome,commonly referred to as OHSS. This side affect that can be associated with the overstimulation of your ovaries by follicle stimulating hormone medication. It has occurred in asmall percentage of ovarian stimulation cycles. It is imperative that you administer yourmedication exactly as instructed by the reproductive physician you are cycling with andattend all monitoring appointments to prevent complications. Notify the clinic immediatelyif you are experiencing any body changes or extreme side affects. The reproductivephysicians that we work in conjunction with will monitor you very closely by means offrequent vaginal ultrasounds and blood work to minimize the chances of this occurrence.Treatment for this condition may include hospitalization and a minor procedure. Failure toseek proper treatment can result in extremely serious complications including blood clotsand stroke.

How is the egg retrieval performed?Donors will be required to fast the night before the procedure. On the morning of theprocedure donors will be required to arrive at the clinic one - two hours prior to the eggretrieval procedure. The clinic will inform you of the date and time the procedure will takeplace and the time the donor should arrive at the clinic.

In most situations, the egg retrieval procedure will take place in a sterile, surgical roomwithin the fertility clinic or in a nearby hospital. Donors are usually given IV sedation or alight, general anesthesia for the procedure. The retrieval process is usually performedthrough the vagina using an ultrasound guided needle to aspirate the follicles. The processusually takes approximately twenty - thirty minutes. Although, donors will be required toremain at the clinic for at least one hour after the completion of the retrieval procedure tobe monitored following the egg retrieval procedure.

After the follicles are aspirated they will be examined and mixed with the intended fatheror a donors sperm. They are then incubated for 3 - 5 days to allow fertilization to occur.Then the embryos will be placed in the intended mother or a surrogates uterus via theembryo transfer procedure

*Donors are required to have an adult companion accompany them to the egg retrievalprocedure and stay with them until they are released by the clinic staff.

Egg Donor Monthly Check-InOnce you have been accepted as an egg donor in our program, we will send out an emaileach month requesting that you login to your egg donor home page. At this time we willrequest that you perform a monthly check in. You may log in using your email address andthe password you selected when competing your application. Once you have logged Inand are able to view your egg donor home page, you may click the monthly check inbutton at the top right of your donor home page This will notify our office that you havechecked in for the current month are still interested and available to be an egg donor.

If at any point in time, you decide you do not want to participate in our egg donorprogram or are not going to be available to participate as an egg donor, please send anemail to lynda@happybeginningseggdonation.com and your profile will promptly beremoved from our database or listed as unavailable for your selected period of time.