What’s the deal with egg donation? Sure, we’ve heard of it, but we’re not exactly sure on how it all works. (And considering the first study ever was done last year about some of the complexities involved, we’d like to know more ASAP!) Which is why we asked Aisha Lewis (she/her), president of Everie—a full-service egg donor program—all about it. We’ll go ahead and let Aisha egg-splain the rest.

What is Everie, and why was it created?
Everie is a first-of-its-kind comprehensive fresh and frozen egg donor program which encourages known donation as the clear choice for donors and intended parents. Traditionally, egg banks keep both donors and recipients in the dark on their match, creating a detached experience for something that is so deeply personal. Our proprietary Mutual Match™ process gives recipient parents and egg donors an equal say in their match, so donors can have a voice in who is receiving their genetics and remain involved with the family.

Through our NorthStar affiliate Circle Surrogacy, we saw that over 90% of egg donations in the last six years were requested to be known between recipient parents and egg donors, which informed our launch in 2023.

Tell us about egg donation. How does it work? What does it feel like?
Egg donation is when a woman goes through an egg retrieval process for recipient parents, who then create embryos to build their family. The process typically takes ~three months for frozen donations and four to six months for fresh donations from start to finish. The average number of eggs retrieved in a single donation ranges from 10-20. Healthy, fertile women in their 20s have hundreds of thousands of viable eggs, so these retrievals don’t come close to taking all of them and won’t interfere with a woman’s fertility or ability to have children in the future.

The retrieval procedure itself is about 20 minutes long. The donor is sedated while the eggs are retrieved using an ultrasound probe and suction needle. The recovery is usually just a couple of days and mimics period symptoms like bloating, cramping, and light spotting.

What’s the prep process?
Potential egg donors must first complete an application and undergo a routine medical screening—they’ll share detailed information about themselves, their health, and their blood-related family, personality traits, hobbies, talents, goals, an introductory video, and pictures. Once approved, we help match a donor with chosen parents through Mutual Match™. The donor then preps their body for egg retrieval by giving herself at-home hormonal injections beginning on the second day of their next menstrual cycle. Most women will administer these injections at home for about 10-13 days. These injections stimulate ovaries with follicle-stimulating hormones (FSH), resulting in more follicle growth and more than one mature egg ready for retrieval. Over the course of this phase, the donor has regular doctors appointments so their medical team can monitor FSH levels and ensure the dosage and growth look good.

How do you become an egg donor? What are the qualifications?
The process for becoming an Everie egg donor includes a pre-qualification application form, meeting with our team, and screening process. From there, donors will decide the best egg donation cycle and type for them. Qualifications include age, medical history, and ability to travel. You can also view all of our requirements here.

How much are egg donors usually paid?
Payment differs from organization to organization, but at Everie, we provide first-time donors $9k. We want donors to feel adequately compensated for their time, energy, and commitment for helping others. We believe in equitable compensation and see value in all kinds of traits and characteristics.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?
There are tens of thousands of donor-conceived children in the U.S., many of whom are or will be curious about their origins as they get older. Our program is a direct response to the growing number of people who want more options when it comes to navigating their fertility journey. We firmly believe that known donation is the future of egg donor services, and are leading a transformative change in the industry by prioritizing transparency, fostering emotional connections, and giving equal care to donors, recipients, and donor-conceived children.