How to Choose an Egg Donor

At Pacific Surrogacy and Egg Donation, Inc., we have helped many women who were struggling with infertility to fulfill their dreams of having babies by matching them up with appropriate egg donors as part of the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process. Our physicians have exceptional success rates in working with egg recipients.  Our physicians listen carefully to patients and guide them through the often complex process of choosing an egg donor at our Los Angeles clinic. Patients are helped  to define their goals and focus their priorities as they evaluate their options from among the many candidates included in our extensive list of egg donors.

How to Choose an Egg Donor

There is no right or wrong way to choose an egg donor. Obviously, choosing an egg donor is an enormous decision that will potentially affect the remainder of your life; however, you must keep in mind that there is no such thing as a perfect egg donor, nor are you likely to find a donor who meets all of your criteria to an exact degree. This is why it is important to have a clear sense of priorities. You need to establish which physical, mental, emotional, and psychological traits are most important to you in a donor, and understand that these traits may or may not be passed on to your child.

While there is no right or wrong method when it comes to choosing a donor, there are certain considerations that you may want to bear in mind as you contemplate your choices:

• Consider not only the characteristics of the donor, but also the characteristics of the donor’s immediate family, if they are known. For example, if the donor has blonde hair, is she the only member of her family with blonde hair? Is she unusually tall compared to her siblings? Is she the only girl in a family with six children?
• Do you want your child to reflect your natural talents and abilities, or to have talents and abilities that you wish you had? For example, if you are a gifted musician, and musical talent runs in your family, you may want to select an egg donor with similar talents. However, if you wish that you were, say, a more gifted visual artist, you may want to select an egg donor who is an excellent painter.
• Selecting an egg donor with as many physical traits in common with the female partner is a good idea if you want to have a child who resembles both parents. You can be as specific as you like in terms of hair color, eye color, ethnic background, weight, and height.
• Other popular attributes to consider in egg donors are physical attractiveness, IQ level, educational background, health history, work ethic, and history of success with egg donation in the past.

Remember, the criteria you use for selecting an egg donor is very personal and completely your own. Don’t let anyone tell you that you are “wrong” in applying certain criteria. If physical beauty is important to you, there is nothing inherently wrong with that. Likewise, there is nothing wrong with wanting to have a child who is likely to be intelligent or athletic or otherwise gifted in a certain way. Just keep in mind that:

• No particular trait is guaranteed, even if it is present in the egg donor.
• No egg donor is likely to have every quality that you find ideal, either in yourself or in a human being in general.

Learn More about Choosing an Egg Donor

To learn more about choosing an egg donor, please contact Pacific Surrogacy and Egg Donation today.