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Overview of the Process

The Egg Donor Program of Michigan (EDPM) recruits and meets with all potential donors. The donors receive articles and information on the egg donation process. The prospective donor will undergo psychological testing and a bio-psycho-social medical evaluation. If the donor is acceptable to EDPM, they are included in a database with basic characteristics, medication information, family background, fertility history, etc.

Once the recipient couple selects a donor, the donor will undergo a physical examination, blood testing, and screening for infectious diseases. Once the medical staff has approved the donor, the donor and the recipient wife’s cycles are synchronized and the donor will start the ovarian stimulation process.

The donor eggs are retrieved using a transvaginal approach. The mature eggs are then cultured with the recipient husband’s sperm. Approximately 48 hours later the embryos are transferred into the recipient wife’s uterus via catheter. The recipient wife will have also been receiving hormones to prepare her uterus for pregnancy.

The following is a general outline of the steps that may be required for donors and recipients:
Donors will be given “fertility drugs” to stimulate a normal menstrual cycle. They also will undergo blood tests and ultrasounds to evaluate the response of the endometrium to the “fertility drugs”. After that, they undergo a minor surgical procedure under IV sedation on an out-patient basis. Then the mixture of the oocytes with a sperm specimen can take place.
Recipients receive estrogen patches, HCG and daily progesterone injections following the transfer for up to eight weeks. Blood tests are taken during the remainder of the cycle to determine hormonal levels and whether pregnancy has occurred.

There are some risks for both the recipients and the donors. EDPM ensures that all parties involved are aware of these risks prior to beginning the procedure.
For example, the procedure may have to be terminated without warning at any stage in any particular cycle. This could require repeating some or all of the steps involved in the process, including all of the time, discomfort and expenses involved in repeating the treatments.
EDPM stresses that these are possible risks and do not occur often. As donors and recipients get further along in the process all of the risks are explained to them in our consent forms.