One of the top questions prospective egg donors ask is, “How old do you have to be to donate eggs?” The answer isn’t so simple. Age requirements vary across egg banks and egg donor agencies. At Fairfax EggBank, we require donors to be in the range of 19 and 30 years old to participate in our egg donor program. Colorado is the only exception, requiring all egg donors to be between 21 and 30 years of age.
This age requirement isn’t meant to discriminate against those who want to donate. We have a minimum and maximum age at which you can donate your eggs to prioritize your health as the donor. This guide is intended to help you understand these requirements and inform your decision about egg donation.
Protecting the physical and mental well-being of our egg donors while providing the best IVF success rates to intended parents are our main goals. Having an age requirement for egg donation helps us ensure success and safety.
Medically speaking, age matters when it comes to eggs. A woman is born with her set amount of eggs—about 1 to 2 million at birth. She will not produce “new” eggs but instead release a set amount per menstrual cycle depending on whether or not they’re fertilized.
By the time she reaches her mid to late 30s, the quality and quantity of her eggs start to decline. And once she reaches menopause, that number naturally declines to several hundred. We set our maximum age limit for applicants at 30 years old in consideration of the quality and quantity of eggs that can be donated to intended parents.
Speaking of intended parents, many women who pursue IVF with donor eggs are doing so because they suffer from infertility due to age-related issues. The thing is, IVF with donor eggs is an expensive treatment. And it often comes after an emotionally draining journey through years of other fertility treatments.
To have better odds of IVF success, a couple may need to fertilize and implant many eggs. As an egg bank, we want to give intended parents the best quality donor eggs in their cohort to ensure IVF success. Eggs that will offer the best chance at success are from a donor within the age range of 19 to 30.
Being between 19 and 30 years old is just one of our egg donor requirements. When you become an egg donor, you’re committing yourself to a lot mentally and physically. Before you officially become a donor, there are a few steps to get approved.
First, you must submit an egg donor application that asks for your personal medical history along with your family medical history. From there, you will go through medical testing and a thorough screening process that includes:
Fairfax EggBank’s egg donor screening ensures you understand what’s involved in the egg donation process. Our extensive testing can also give you an idea of what working with the doctors and staff during the six to eight weeks of donation will be like.
Not only is donating your eggs a physical and mental commitment, but it’s also a time commitment. Here are a few factors you’ll want to consider to see if egg donation will fit into your schedule:
These aren’t meant to seem intimidating, but donating eggs requires a certain level of responsibility that we want to make sure prospective donors are aware of and can commit to. As a thank you for giving time and effort to donate, our egg donors are compensated for their time.
Our age requirements serve two goals: to make sure our egg donors are ready for this important responsibility and to give those seeking donor eggs the best chance for successful conception and pregnancy. If you meet our egg donor qualifications, apply to donate today to help make family dreams come true.
If you’re curious to learn more about the egg donation process outside of age requirements, check out our FAQs for egg donors or contact us for more information.
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