5. SIGN A DONOR AGREEMENT

The donor agreement

When a program accepts you as a donor, you will be asked to sign a Donor Agreement. The specific details of the laws vary depending on what state you live in, but they uniformly address the fact that in signing the donor agreement, you also agree to the following:

  • You agree that you have no parental claim or rights to a child born from the egg/s taken from your body (even if you want those rights). The child legally belongs to the recipient couple 100%.

  • The donor agreement must also clearly state that the financial responsibility for the procedure, as well as for raising the child belongs to the recipient couple; they're paying for the cost of your hormone shots, your clinic visits, your psychological counseling, and the egg retrieval procedure (hey, they're the ones that want the baby).

  • The donor agreement must state that the recipient couple has legal and financial responsibility for the child throughout his/her life. You are never required to give child support.

The donor agreement is a legal document, and as with anything you're signing your name to, make sure you read it carefully and understand it. If you have questions, ask the clinic and see if you can get a lawyer friend to skim it too. Again, specific laws vary from state to state, but you can find guidelines and sample agreements through The American Surrogacy Center. You'd be especially smart to read over this sample agreement so that you know exactly what to ask when you visit the center. Remember to specifically ask about that state's laws.

The financial compensation

Many women donate their eggs because it's a darn nice thing to do: it doesn't prevent you from having successful pregnancies of your own, and it can make all the difference in the world for a grateful infertile couple who say annoying phrases like "the pitter-patter of little feet." But as you undoubtedly realize, there's also money involved! For you!

All medical fees (the injections, doctor visits, counseling, medical exams, etc.) are paid for by the recipients, but egg donors also receive payment for their participation in a donor cycle. Think of it this way: you are not selling your eggs or your body; you are being compensated for your time and commitment. The sum varies depending on where you live and how good a candidate you are, but compensation from respectable clinics and accredited programs currently ranges between about $2500 and $5000 per cycle (sorry, not per egg). There are cases where you could earn much more, but these strikes are pretty rare.

If you are dropped from a program mid-way, you may receive partial compensation. Why would you get dropped? Perhaps you do not respond adequately to the hormones (in other words, you're not producing enough eggs to be a feasible donor). If that happens, it's OK -- we know you're probably good at lots of other stuff!