The True Costs of Egg Donation: What Every Intended Parent Needs to Know

In this episode, I am here to demystify all of the costs involved in egg donation. Whether you are an egg donor or an intended parent, I break down the various expenses you may encounter. From agency fees to travel coordination, psychological evaluations to legal fees, I cover it all. Get a clear understanding of what to expect financially and tips on how to manage these costs effectively.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Are you someone who is fascinated by all the pregnancy, childbirth,
and motherhood stuff few people talk about because they're too embarrassed?
If so, welcome to the motherload of all things taboo, or at least really wild and interesting.
The Asking for a Pregnant Friend podcast is based off the book of the same name

(00:21):
and dives in to all of the pregnancy, birth, and mothering topics that make
many people blush or scratch their heads.
I do all the boring research so you don't have to and bring you interviews with
the leading experts in the topics I cover.
I also share all the things about myself, Bailey Gaddis. I'm all about TMI.

(00:45):
You'll also hear stories from brave women who gave permission to have their
stories shared. So come along, my friend, on a journey into the beautiful underbelly
of making, growing, and raising babies.
Music.

(01:08):
I am here to demystify all of the costs involved in egg donation.
So if you are an
egg donor watching this you will incur absolutely zero
costs everything is reimbursed so if you have to purchase birth control that's

(01:30):
reimbursed all travel that you might need to do is reimbursed if you have to
drive for over 15 miles i believe at least at
my agency, Graceful Beginnings, you are reimbursed 55 cents per mile.
So again, zero costs. A donation costs zero for you. You only make money.

(01:52):
If you're an intended parent, there are a lot of various costs.
So egg donor agencies, they do not handle any of the medical costs associated with egg donation.
That is all handled through the clinic that they are working with.
So the donor medication, the appointments for the donor's medical evaluation

(02:16):
and monitoring appointments, and then the cost for the donor's egg retrieval.
That is all paid to the clinic.
So the agency, there are various costs that we are responsible for.
So the agency fee, that is the only payment that goes directly to the agency.

(02:37):
All other funds for everything else that I'm about to list, it all goes into
an escrow account and is paid out from the escrow account.
So one other thing that can go directly to the agency is the travel coordination fee.
So if the donor is out of town and will require the agency to book airfare for

(03:03):
her and her companion, accommodations, transportation.
Issuing per diem, then most Most agencies, we charge a $500 travel coordination
fee that is added on to the agency fee.
We also are responsible for procuring the egg donor insurance policy.

(03:25):
So this currently, as of May 2024, the insurance policy that our agency uses is $425.
So that amount goes into the escrow account. If it is a first-time donor,
the fee for the psychologist who will perform the donor's psychological evaluation is $350.

(03:50):
And the family risk assessment, which is just a phone call with the genetic
counselor that the egg donor has
to go over her personal and family health history, that is $315. dollars.
The genetic carrier screening that the donor does, which is a saliva test that's
sent back to a lab, that is paid through the clinic, not the agency.

(04:14):
We also collect, again, as of May 2024, a $5,000 deposit, or not deposit,
a $5,000 fee for the donor's travel.
Sometimes we need less Less than that, sometimes a little bit more,
depending on the specifics of travel.
For example, donors that are doing a cycle in New York City,

(04:38):
sometimes we need a little bit more because the costs are so high.
Okay. For a donor that's not out of town, we still usually collect maybe $1,000,
$2,000 for travel because some donors are eligible for mileage.
So for us, if a donor lives more than 15 miles away from the clinic,

(04:59):
she receives $0.55 per mile for the round trip for her trips to the clinic.
And then from this we also pay out
you know incidentals such as the donors
per diem so for donors that actually have
to travel and stay overnight the donor receives 75 per
day and her companion receives 50

(05:22):
per day and if a donor isn't
out of town but say she needs to she's
going to to be gone from home for a significant amount of time to
travel to travel to and back from the the
clinic then she is able to receive
25 for food for that that round trip okay attorney fees so typically the fee

(05:48):
for the intended parents attorney that will draft the the donor agreement and support negotiations.
Most attorneys that we work with, they charge a flat fee of $1,000 to $1,500 for the service.
This is paid directly to the attorney. It does not go through escrow or the agency.

(06:12):
However, the fee for the attorney that the agency retains for the donor does go go through escrow.
Currently, that fee is a flat fee of $500.
The escrow management fee. So if intended parents use a service such as Seed Trust, that fee is $400.
It goes directly to escrow, not through the agency.

(06:36):
Intended parents can also choose to have their attorney hold escrow.
Most attorneys, at least in Southern California, charge a flat fee of $500 for escrow management.
And then the last cost is the donor fee,
which again is negotiated before the
match is made that fee is put into the

(07:00):
the retainer agreement that is signed to
create that match and after that point it it cannot be changed by any parties
that goes into escrow as well and the agency instructs escrow to release that
donor fee to the donor after her egg retrieval.

(07:21):
So those are all of the costs that the agency helps to handle.
Some of the costs that again are paid directly from the intended parents to the service provider.
And again, all medical costs are paid to the clinic or the clinic instructs

(07:41):
where you need to pay, such as the pharmacy that provides the donor medication.
So I really recommend having a sit-down with the financial coordinator at the
clinic that you're working with to fully understand all the fees to see if there
are any potential discounts.
Sometimes there are really, there are some great discounts that you can find

(08:02):
at different pharmacies for the medication.
So definitely ask. Ask them to also review your insurance to see if insurance
might cover any of the medical costs of a donation.
Alright, if you have any questions about this or anything else,
let me know in the comments below.
You can also email me at the email provided in the video description.

(08:24):
If you can like, subscribe, comment, that would be so incredibly helpful.
That will allow me to keep providing this content for you guys. Alright, love you!
Is pregnancy or early motherhood making you feel other than?
Is it triggering all sorts of weird emotional and physical stuff you are sure
no one else is going through?

(08:45):
If so, get your copy of Asking for a Pregnant Friend, 101 Answers to Questions
Women Are Too Embarrassed to Ask About Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Early Motherhood.
This book is like the modern-day Dear Abby for pregnant women and new moms who
want to get straight yet loving answers to the pregnancy, birth,

(09:06):
and mothering questions they're too afraid to ask.
Those questions that make you blush.
You can get your copy of Asking for a Pregnant Friend on Amazon or from Barnes
& Noble, Target, and everywhere else books are.
Music.