What Is The Cost Of Egg Donation?

The cost of egg donation is usually described in terms of an IVF cycle - a cycle refers to one complete IVF treatment. That is - extracting the eggs from the donor, getting them fertilized with your partner's sperm in the lab and then inserted into you, the recipient. A pregnancy test is carried out 9 or 11 days later. While some women are fortunate enough to fall pregnant on the first cycle, some will require up to 4 or 5 cycles. It is expected that 80 percent of women undergoing egg donation should be pregnant by the 4th cycle. For more details, see how does egg donation work?

The average cost of a cycle is between $12,000 and $17,000 in most fertility clinics and you will need to pay a further $3,000 to $4,000 for infertility drugs which covers both you and the egg donor. You will also need to pay the donor a fee, and administrative costs for her (about another $10,000). Added altogether with various additional costs, expect to pay between $25,000 and $30,000 in total per cycle. For this, you would expect to receive about 10 to 15 eggs from your donor who will be taking fertility medications to boost her production before 'harvesting'. To find out more about clinics, see what is an egg donation clinic?. You may also find it useful to read more about IVF costs.

Designer Eggs: Blowing The Budget

Did you know, you can now order a designer baby? While the average cost of an egg donation cycle is between $25,000 and $30,000 - it appears, like everything else in the world, you get what you pay for. If you're looking for a nice regular child then the standard package will suit you fine. But what if you want the donor to look like America's next top model, to have a Harvard degree and to be running an animal’s charity on the side? This too is possible - but at a price. What the industry terms 'Grade A egg donors' are now offering eggs for about $5,000 each. This raises the average price of one cycle to about $75,000. Some ‘high-end’ donors even advertise their ‘eggs’ directly over the internet.

Costs Other Countries

Canada
For ethical reasons, paying for donor eggs is not legal in Canada - which naturally means far fewer eggs are available. However there are reports of an active black-market where eggs fetch $5,000 to $7,000 Canadian dollars each. In practice many couples choose to travel to the United States or other countries in search of a clinic willing to help them.
United Kingdom
The average cost is between £8,000 and £10,000 per IVF cycle.
Ireland
The average cost per cycle is €10,000 but many couples choose to travel to the continent where costs are cheaper and waiting lists are shorter. The average cost in Spain is €9,500 with a 2 to 4 week waiting list. In the Czech Republic the cost is €3,200 per cycle but there is an 8 month waiting list. About 500 children are born through egg donation in Ireland every year, but most of these eggs are sourced in other countries.

Is There Any Way To Reduce The Costs?

Yes, you might consider sharing your donor’s eggs. This is where an egg donation clinic matches 2 or 3 couples to one egg donor, and the eggs are split among the couples. So instead of buying 10 or 15 eggs, you divide the eggs between you. This can reduce the cost of an IVF cycle by nearly 50 percent. Or alternatively, you can choose to keep all the eggs yourself, and only implant 2 or 3 at a time - have the others frozen - in case you need them for another cycle. Some clinics claim the pregnancy success rate of a shared program is equal to that of traditional egg donation. Check out how can I find an egg donation clinic?

Related Questions
What is egg donation?
What are the pros and cons of egg donation?
Success Rates and Statistics
How many IVF cycles are average before becoming pregnant?
Testing For Infertility
How does a doctor test for infertility in women?
How does a doctor test for infertility in men?
Natural Ways To Improve Fertility
How can I increase my fertility naturally?
How long does it take to get pregnant?
Egg Donation Questions For Potential Donors
What type of egg donors do clinics want?

• Got another question? See: Womens Health Questions and our Guide to Infertility

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