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Egg Donor Matching Process

The following steps describe the typical egg donation matching process at Tiny Treasures:

1. The Egg Donor submits an Egg Donor application/profile to Tiny Treasures.
2. Tiny Treasures reviews the application to ensure that the Egg Donor meets our criteria and, if the Egg Donor is accepted, she is included in our Egg Donor database.
3. There is a "waiting period," during which we wait for Prospective Parents to show interest in working with the Egg Donor. It is difficult to estimate the length of this waiting period (anywhere from days to months). The Egg Donor's profile is sent to Prospective Parents upon request (no identifying information is released to the Prospective Parents, such as the Egg Donor's name, address, contact information, etc.).
4. Tiny Treasures will inform an Egg Donor when Prospective Parents have decided that they are interested in pursuing an egg donation agreement with her.
5. Prospective Parents may ask additional questions of the Egg Donor that are not addressed in her profile and/or may request to have a phone conversation with the Egg Donor (which Tiny Treasures can set up anonymously via conference calling) and/or may request to meet the Egg Donor (if the Egg Donor is agreeable to an open donation).
6. Prospective Parents complete a brief profile about themselves, which will be given to the Egg Donor they are interested in working with (minus identifying information). The purpose of this profile is to enable the Egg Donor to get a sense of whom she would be donating to.
7. If the Prospective Parents decide that they want to work with the Egg Donor, they must submit a non-refundable agency fee to Tiny Treasures to reserve that Egg Donor for their egg donation cycle. An Egg Donor's availability cannot be guaranteed until this fee is submitted and Tiny Treasures cannot otherwise place the Egg Donor on "hold" for Prospective Parents. The Prospective Parents will then sign a service agreement
   with Tiny Treasures and deposit funds into a Trust Account to cover the financial aspects of the egg donation arrangement.
8. The Egg Donor and Prospective Parents will then sign an egg donation contract with one another (each party will be represented by an independent attorney). This contract will address all the legal implications of an egg donation agreement, including the legal responsibility of both parties, compensation agreement terms, ownership of eggs resulting from the donation, etc.
9. Once the contract has been signed, the Egg Donor will then be medically and psychologically screened. The Prospective Parents’ IVF clinic/physician will determine exactly what types of screening the Egg Donor must undergo. This screening may either be completed at the Prospective Parents’ IVF clinic or, in the case of an out-of-state egg donation, Tiny Treasures can arrange for the screening to be carried out at a clinic more convenient to the Egg Donor. Some IVF clinics do require that the Egg Donor be screened at their site, in which the case the Egg Donor must be willing to travel to the clinic to complete this mandatory screening. Such screening, as designated by the Prospective Parents' IVF clinic, may include the following:
   
   Medical Screening
   Generally consists of a series of blood tests, cervical cultures, a physical exam, and a vaginal ultrasound. This screening is done to confirm that the Egg Donor is healthy and able to donate. Additionally a blood test is usually required on the second or third day of the Egg Donor’s menses to assess hormonal levels.
   
   Genetic Screening
   Generally in the form of blood tests; investigates whether the Egg Donor is a carrier of genetics diseases, such as Cystic Fibrosis.
   
   Psychological Screening
   Conducted by a psychologist or social worker to ensure that the Egg Donor is aware of all the psychological implications of the egg donation process. This screening will help determine whether the Egg Donor is psychologically sound enough to be a Egg Donor.
   
   Partner Screening
   If the Egg Donor has a sexual partner, s/he may also be required to undergo blood tests to screen for sexually transmitted diseases.
10. If the Egg Donor successfully passes all of her psychological and medical screening, the egg donation cycle begins.